From Climate Change to National Security: Analysis of the Obama Administration’s Federal Resilience Mandates and Measures

Abstract

This article provides an empirical basis for understanding the Obama administration’s resilience policy mandates and measures in the United States. Specifically, this article seeks to evaluate two propositions. The first proposition is that the administration’s climate adaptation and extreme weather policies have largely focused on resilience, as conceptualized and mainstreamed within the institutions of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and national security. The second proposition is that federal institutions that have incorporated resilience planning have done so with a focus on extreme events and social effects and have given little attention to long-term transformative adaptation by and between social and natural systems. These propositions are evaluated through a mixed-methods sequential research design that centers on both a policy narrative and an analysis of a sample of federal resilience measures classified by a taxonomy originally developed by the National Security Council. The findings support an affirmation of the first proposition and a partial affirmation of the second proposition. Overall, this article provides empirical evidence that suggests a broader federal government transition away from transformational socioecological adaptation to climate change in favor of a focus on DRR for extreme events. This article advances a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the development of resilience and adaptation policies across a broad spectrum of federal policy regimes.