An Emergency Response Model Based On The Gap Theory--With 9.11 Terrorist Attacks As Explanatory Case

Drawing upon Saundra K. Schneider's gap theory, the present paper strives to construct an emergency response model by exploring two major elements influencing emergency response effectiveness. The thesis is that in such a response model which is characterized by the synergy of resilience in governmental emergency management system and the positive involvement of non-governmental forces, the overall effectiveness of governmental response endeavor in the aftermath of disaster can be greatly enhanced.The theoretical framework used is Saundra K. Schneider's gap theory that makes an analytical distinction between bureaucratic norms and public norms. In crisis situation, the two norms are depicted coming into conflict due to the presence of a set of emergent norms resulting from the unexpected event. The key to evaluate governmental response effectiveness, according to Schneider, lies in the size of the gap between bureaucratic norms and public norms, i.e., the smaller the gap is, the more effectively emergent management system can operate. As a tentative application of the gap theory, this paper identifies one major element instrumental in narrowing the gap behind each norm: resilience on government's side and non-governmental forces on disaster-affected population's side. The main body of this paper includes three parts. It begins with a detailed account of the gap theory. In the second part, it will be seen how resilience and non-governmental forces narrow the gap size either through directly encouraging bureaucratic norms' adaptability or indirectly discouraging the growing of emergent norms. Based on that, an emergency response model incorporating both governmental resilience and non-governmental forces' active participation is established. The last part is devoted to concretizing the merits of the model by putting it into a life-real disaster case. In this part, the September 11th terrorist attacks adopted as an explanatory case displays the collective power of governmental resilience and non-governmental forces in bridging the gap and improving the overall response effectiveness in the unprecedented catastrophe.