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16 - Risk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2020

By
Klaus Rasborg
Edited by
Peter Kivisto
Peter Kivisto
Affiliation:
Augustana College, Illinois
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Summary

Based on an overview of the history of risk from ancient Greece to the modern era, the chapter discusses some of the most influential perspectives on risk in contemporary social theory.This includes the (world) risk society perspective, the governmentality perspective, and the systems theoretical perspective.A claim is advanced that each of these perspectives highlights key aspects of risk and thus can be seen as contributing, when connected to other perspectives, a coherent understanding of the role risk plays in contemporary societies.

Danger, governmentality, insurance, risk, second-order observation, systems theory

Klaus Rasborg is Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Business, Roskilde University.He is the Danish translator of Ulrich Beck’s Risikogesellschaft (1986), and has published several contributions to the discussion of modernity, risk, individualization, and inequality and class.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Social Theory , pp. 313 - 332
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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References

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  • Risk
  • Edited by Peter Kivisto, Augustana College, Illinois
  • Book: The Cambridge Handbook of Social Theory
  • Online publication: 03 December 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316677452.017
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  • Risk
  • Edited by Peter Kivisto, Augustana College, Illinois
  • Book: The Cambridge Handbook of Social Theory
  • Online publication: 03 December 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316677452.017
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Risk
  • Edited by Peter Kivisto, Augustana College, Illinois
  • Book: The Cambridge Handbook of Social Theory
  • Online publication: 03 December 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316677452.017
Available formats
×