Abstract

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) path to Homeland Security was paved for 24 years by (1) the actions of five presidents and by new laws, (2) by the outcomes of the agency’s bureaucratic “turf wars” with other federal departments or agencies, (3) by staffing decisions inside the agency that relied on “generalist” managers more than “technocratic” managers, and (4) experience with human-caused disasters ranging from terror bombings to radiological and hazardous materials incidents, under all-hazards emergency management. These are the determinants that prepared FEMA for a major role in homeland security.

Recommended Citation

Sylves, Ph.D., Richard and Cumming, J.D. , William R. (2004) "FEMA's Path to Homeland Security: 1979-2003," Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management: Vol. 1 : Iss. 2, Article 11.
DOI: 10.2202/1547-7355.1023
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/jhsem/vol1/iss2/11