Bill Durodié is senior lecturer in Risk and Corporate Security at Cranfield University. He was previously Director of the International Centre for Security Analysis, and Senior Research Fellow in the International Policy Institute at King’s College London. His main research is into the causes and consequences of our contemporary consciousness of risk.
"My research explores how perceptions of risk are often disproportionate to the actuality of the threats that we face. Often, the measures taken by regulators, scientists and the police to assuage social fears can end up driving these further. This is particularly pertinent if we examine the various responses to the terrorist attacks of the 11th of September 2001. Politicians and officials felt they had to be seen to be doing something to preclude the possibility of similar incidents. But whether the actions they took are effective remains to be determined.
I was very fortunate to co-ordinate a team of experienced researchers from various institutions with a range of disciplinary backgrounds. We decided to focus on the broader social context within which the terrorist attacks had occurred, as well as the psychological consequences of living in the shadow of terrorism or, more probably, warnings about terrorism. We also explored how local authorities and the media sought to communicate the risks to the public.
As I led on the dissemination of our work I ended up appearing on the BBC documentary series The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear, which went on to win the BAFTA for Best Factual Series. That phrase 'The Politics of Fear' has clearly struck a chord and became very popular since then. In the final episode 'The Shadows in the Cave', I sought to draw out the pessimistic parallels between the policy of pre-emption advocated by the so-called Hawks in the White House with the principle of precaution promoted by various environmentalists. And I also explored how our own crisis of belief in the West lent itself to the exaggeration of the threat posed by al-Qaeda.
Media exposure doesn't always progress your academic career, however. But, I had also taken part in many conferences, organising one major international conference of my own, held at the Royal Institution in London and attended by over 150 delegates. I had also had a number of papers published, both single-authored and with my collaborators. Regardless, there was no guarantee of a full-time position for me at King's College. So when the two-year ESRC grant period came to an end, like any other contract-based academic I was expected to move on. It is worth remembering that researchers often live a quite precarious existence and maybe grant-awarding bodies and Universities should think more about providing bridging funds for those between contracts.
It all turned out alright for me, fortunately. By then I had also been approached by some other institutions with a view to taking me on for a more permanent post and I am now a senior lecturer in the Resilience Centre at the Royal Military College of Science, which is part of Cranfield University and the UK Defence Academy. I have to say that a few years ago I would never have guessed that this is where I would end up, but then I guess that the flip-side of career uncertainty is to discover the unexpected."