Thomas A Birkland

How proximity and trust of policy narrators motivate their audience

Shanahan, E. A., DeLeo, R. A., Anderson, D., Taylor, K., Birkland, T. A., Chow, C. M., … Koebele, E. A. (2026, January 8). Journal of Public Policy.

Social-ecological-technological drivers of freshwater salinization in the Occoquan Reservoir, United States

Grant, S. B., Bhide, S. V., Spiesman, A., Misra, S., Rippy, M. A., Galik, C. S., … Studholme, A. (2026, January 5). Communications Earth & Environment.

Decision rules for salt –feedback loops in One Water systems and their implications for collective management

Roston, B. H., Rippy, M. A., Misra, S., Grant, S. B., Schenk, T., Birkland, T. A., & Kaushal, S. (2025, September 1). Global Environmental Change Advances.

Focusing Events in Public Policy

Birkland, T. (2025, January 1). (Vol. 1). Vol. 1.

Focusing events and attention

Birkland, T. A., DeLeo, R. A., & Taylor, K. (2025, September 9). Edward Elgar Publishing EBooks.

How memorable messages about COVID-19 were recalled over time: results of a multi-wave panel survey

Hartigan, D. B., DeLeo, R., Shanahan, E., Taylor, K., Jeschke, N., Crow, D., … Minkowitz, H. (2025, July 15). Patient Education and Counseling, Vol. 137.

Joint fact-finding to tackle difficult water challenges

Schenk, T., Roston, B., Rowles, K., Rippy, M., Birkland, T., & Grant, S. (2025, October 10).

Narrative power in the narrative policy framework

Shanahan, E. A., DeLeo, R., Koebele, E. A., Taylor, K., Anderson, D., Blanch‐Hartigan, D., … Minkowitz, H. (2025, May 26). Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 5.

COVID-19 memorable messages as internal narratives: stability and change over time

DeLeo, R. A., Shanahan, E. A., Taylor, K., Jeschke, N., Crow, D., Birkland, T. A., … Minkowitz, H. (2024, July 8). Policy Sciences, Vol. 7.

Characterizing the social-ecological system for inland freshwater salinization using fuzzy cognitive maps: implications for collective management

Rippy, M., Roston, B., Berglund, E., Aminpour, P., Krauss, L., Bhide, S., … Grant, S. (2024, January 1). Ecology and Society, Vol. 29.

Learning from Crisis: COVID-19 Agenda and Policy Change and What it Means for a Future Research Agenda

Anderson, D., Albright, E. A., Taylor, K., DeLeo, R., Birkland, T., & Shanahan, E. (2024, January 1). International Review of Public Policy.

Simulating the emergence of institutions that reverse freshwater salinization: An agent-based modeling approach

Armstrong, K., Zhong, Y., Bhide, S. V., Grant, S. B., Birkland, T., & Berglund, E. Z. (2024, September 23). Journal of Hydrology X, Vol. 25.

Estimating the effect of policy entrepreneurship on individual vaccination behavior during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Taylor, K., DeLeo, R. A., Albright, E., Koebele, E. A., Birkland, T. A., Crow, D. A., … Shanahan, E. A. (2023, December 6). European Policy Analysis, Vol. 12.

Policy Style and The US Policy Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Rebuttal to Lawrence D. Brown’s Fomenters of Fiasco

Taylor, K., DeLeo, R., Birkland, T., & Anderson, D. (2023, January 1). International Review of Public Policy.

Policy entrepreneurs and individuals: Influence and behavior in pandemic response

Taylor, K., DeLeo, R. A., Albright, E. A., Shanahan, E. A., Li, M., Koebele, E. A., … Birkland, T. A. (2023, April 3). Public Administration Review, Vol. 5.

Visual policy narrative messaging improves COVID-19 vaccine uptake

Shanahan, E. A., DeLeo, R. A., Albright, E. A., Li, M., Koebele, E. A., Taylor, K., … Zhang, M. (2023, April 1). (J. V. Bavel, Ed.). PNAS Nexus, Vol. 2.

Can Common Pool Resource Theory Catalyze Stakeholder-Driven Solutions to the Freshwater Salinization Syndrome?

Grant, S. B., Rippy, M. A., Birkland, T. A., Schenk, T., Rowles, K., Misra, S., … Zhong, Y. (2022, September 14). Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 9, pp. 13517–13527.

Policy learning and change during crisis: COVID‐19 policy responses across six states

Crow, D. A., DeLeo, R. A., Albright, E. A., Taylor, K., Birkland, T., Zhang, M., … Cage, C. (2022, October 9). Review of Policy Research.

The United States in Chinese environmental policy narratives: Is there a trump effect?

Ba, Y., Schwaeble, K., & Birkland, T. (2022, August 16). Review of Policy Research, Vol. 8, p. ropr.12503.

Addressing the contribution of indirect potable reuse to inland freshwater salinization

Bhide, S. V., Grant, S. B., Parker, E. A., Rippy, M. A., Godrej, A. N., Kaushal, S., … Schenk, T. (2021, April 19). Nature Sustainability.

During Disaster: Refining the Concept of Focusing Events to Better Explain Long-Duration Crises

DeLeo, R. A., Taylor, K., Anderson, D., & Birkland, T. A. (2021, January 1). International Review of Public Policy.

Governing in a Polarized Era: Federalism and the Response of U.S. State and Federal Governments to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Birkland, T. A., Taylor, K., Crow, D. A., & DeLeo, R. (2021, May 28). Publius The Journal of Federalism, Vol. 8.

Toward a rational and ethical sociotechnical system of autonomous vehicles: A novel application of multi-criteria decision analysis

PLOS ONE, 16(8), e0256224.

Clinicians, cooks, and cashiers: Examining health equity and the COVID-19 risks to essential workers

Roberts, J. D., Dickinson, K. L., Koebele, E., Neuberger, L., Banacos, N., Blanch-Hartigan, D., … Birkland, T. A. (2020, September 1). Toxicology and Industrial Health, Vol. 36, pp. 689–702.

Crisis Agenda-Setting and Aviation Security Policy After the September 11 Attacks

An introduction to the policy process: theories, concepts, and models of public policy making

(Fourth Edition). New York: Routledge.

Breaking the Ice: ISE to Play Key Role in Shaping Arctic’s Future

ISE Magazine, 51(11), 28–33.

Natural Hazards Governance: An Overview of the Field

The Politics and Governance of Mitigation

In The Routledge Handbook of Urban Disaster Resilience (pp. 76–91).

Citizen participation in disaster recovery projects and programmes in rural communities: a comparison of the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina

Disasters, 42(3), 498–518.

Focusing Events, Risk, and Regulation

In E. J. Balleisen, L. S. Bennear, K. D. Krawiec, & J. B. Wiener (Eds.), Policy Shock (pp. 107–128).

Agenda Setting and the Policy Process: Focusing Events

Attention and natural disasters

Conceptualizing resilience

Politics and Governance, 4(4), 117–120.

Policy Process Theory and Natural Hazards

In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Natural Hazard Science.

An Introduction to the Policy Process: Theories, Concepts, and Models of Public Policy Making

(4th ed.). New York: Routledge.

Book Review: Pathways of Power: The Dynamics of National Policymaking

Birkland, T. A., & Kretzer, W. T. (2015, March 1). The American Review of Public Administration, Vol. 45, pp. 627–629.

Critical Infrastructure in Extreme Events

In D. L. Kleinman, K. A. Cloud-Hansen, & J. Handlesman (Eds.), Controversies in Science and Technology (Fourth, pp. Chapter 3). New York: Oxford University Press.

Focusing events and policy windows

In Routledge Handbook of Public Policy.

Organizational and Policy Learning: Post Crisis Assessments

In N. Schiffino, L. Taskin, C. Donis, & J. Raone (Eds.), Organizing after Crisis: The Challenge of Learning (pp. 235–256). Brussels: Peter Lang.

Focusing Events in Disasters and Development

Birkland, T. A., & Warnement, M. K. (2014, January 1). Environmental Hazards, pp. 39–60.

Catastrophic politics: How extraordinary events redefine perceptions of government

[Review of ]. Public Opinion Quarterly, 77(4), 1032–1034.

Disasters, Focusing Events, and Sociolegal Studies

In S. Sterrett (Ed.), Disaster and Sociolegal Studies. New Orleans: Quid Pro Books.

Building a Theory of Recovery: Institutional Dimensions

International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 30(2), 147–170.

Emergency Response, Doctrinal Confusion, and Federalism in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Birkland, T. A., & DeYoung, S. E. (2011, May 11). Publius The Journal of Federalism, Vol. 41, pp. 471–493.

Learning from catastrophes: Strategies for reaction and response

[Review of ]. Public Administration, 89(3), 1201–1494.

Federal Disaster Policy Learning, Priorities, and Prospects for Resilience

In A. Boin, L. Comfort, & C. Demchak (Eds.), Designing Resilience: Preparing for Extreme Events. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Retrospectives and Prospectives on Hurricane Katrina: Five Years and Counting

Comfort, L. K., Birkland, T. A., Cigler, B. A., & Nance, E. (2010, August 31). Public Administration Review, Vol. 70, pp. 669–678.

Review of Robert R M. Verchick, Facing Catastrophe: Environmental Action for a Post-Katrina World

[Review of ]. H-Net Reviews. http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=30991

Advancing FEMA in the Post-9/11 World

[Invited comment]. Natural Hazards Observer, 34(2), 18–20.

Disaster Research and Social Network Analysis: Examples of the Scientific Understanding of Human Dynamics at the National Science Foundation

Population Research and Policy Review, 27(6), 1–10.

Disasters, Catastrophes, and Policy Failure in the Homeland Security Era¹

Birkland, T. A. (2009, June 22). Review of Policy Research, Vol. 26, pp. 423–438.

Disasters, Lessons Learned, and Fantasy Documents

Birkland, T. A. (2009, August 13). Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Vol. 17, pp. 146–156.

Economics Nobel Sends a Message

Birkland, T. A. (2009, October 14). Charlotte Observer. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/viewpoint/story/999836.html

Emergency Management and the Courts in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina

In A. Sarat & J. Lezaun (Eds.), Catastrophe: Law, Politics, and the Humanitarian Impulse. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.

FEMA Again a Victim of Politics

Birkland, T. A. (2009, May 8). Wilmington Star-News. http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090508/ARTICLES/905084006?Title=Thomas-Birkland-FEMA-again-a-victim-of-politics.

Media Framing and Policy Change After Columbine

Birkland, T. A., & Lawrence, R. G. (2009, March 27). American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 52, pp. 1405–1425.

Still Too Much Risk in the Beach Plan

Birkland, T. A. (2009, September 22). News and Observer. http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/columnists_blogs/story/60531.html.

The Politics and Policy Challenges of Disaster Resilience

In C. P. Nemeth, E. Hollnagel, & S. Dekker (Eds.), Resilience engineering perspectives: Vol. 2: Preparation and Restoration. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

Disaster Research and Social Network Analysis: Examples of the Scientific Understanding of Human Dynamics at the National Science Foundation

Suter, L., Birkland, T., & Larter, R. (2008, November 7). Population Research and Policy Review, Vol. 28, pp. 1–10.

Environmental and socioeconomic dynamics of the Indian Ocean tsunami in Penang, Malaysia

Horton, B., Bird, M., Birkland, T., Cowie, S., Eong, O. J., Hawkes, A., … Yasin, Z. (2008, November 1). Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, Vol. 29, pp. 307–324.

Is Federalism the Reason for Policy Failure in Hurricane Katrina?

Birkland, T., & Waterman, S. (2008, January 30). Publius The Journal of Federalism, Vol. 38, pp. 692–714.

Review of Disaster Policy and Politics: Emergency Management and Homeland Security

Birkland, T. A. (2008, January 19). Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Vol. 5.

Emergency management in the courts: Trends after September 11 and Hurricane Katrina

Justice System Journal, 28(1), 20–35. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-34147172702&partnerID=MN8TOARS

Encyclopedia of media and politics

Washington, D.C: CQ Press.

Review of Meeting the Challenge of 9/11: Blueprints for More Effective Government

Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 4(2).

Review of The Storm by Ivor van Heerden

Birkland, T. A. (2007, September 25). Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Vol. 4.

Socio-Technological Systems Integration to Support Tsunami Warning and Evacuation

Little, R., Wallace, W., Birkland, T., & Herabat, P. (2007, January 1). Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

Agenda Setting

In F. Fischer, G. Miller, & M. S. Sidney (Eds.), Handbook of Public Policy Analysis. New York: Taylor and Francis.

Encyclopedia of Media and Politics

Washington: CQ Press.

Environmental Policy in New York State

In J. Stonecash & R. Pecorella (Eds.), Chapter in Governing New York State (4th ed.). Albany: State University of New York Press.

Learning from disaster: The process and politics of learning from earthquakes and other extreme events

8th US National Conference on Earthquake Engineering 2006, 15, 8752–8761. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84865856107&partnerID=MN8TOARS

Lessons of Disaster: Policy Change After Catastrophic Events

In Georgetown University Press.

Lessons of Disaster: Policy Change after Catastrophic Events

Washington: Georgetown University Press.

The Impact of the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami on Tourism in Thailand

Birkland, T. A., Herabat, P., Little, R. G., & Wallace, W. A. (2006, June 1). Earthquake Spectra, Vol. 22.

Review of Mark Considine, Making Public Policy: Institutions, Actors, Strategies

Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 7(4), 371–372.

Emergency Planning and the Judiciary: Lessons from September 11

Retrieved from Center for Court Innovation website: www.courtinnovation.org

Environmental Successes and Continued Challenges in the Hudson Valley

Albany Law Environmental Outlook, 8(2), 187–211.

Everything Has Changed—Or Has It? Policy Change in the Months after September 11

Review of Policy Research, 21(2), 177–198.

Guns, Hollywood, and School Safety: Defining the School‐Shooting Problem Across Public Arenas^*

Lawrence, R. G., & Birkland, T. A. (2004, December 1). Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 85, pp. 1193–1207.

Information, Technology and Coordination: Lessons from the World Trade Center Response

Albany, NY: Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany, SUNY.

Information, Technology, and Coordination: Lessons from the World Trade Center Response

Dawes, S. S., Birkland, T., Tayi, G. K., & Schneider, C. A. (2004, June). Center for Technology in Government, SUNY Albany.

Introduction

Birkland, T. A. (2004, September 26). American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 48, pp. 275–280.

Learning and Policy Improvement After Disaster

Birkland, T. A. (2004, September 26). American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 48, pp. 341–364.

“The World Changed Today”: Agenda‐Setting and Policy Change in the Wake of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks

Birkland, T. A. (2004, February 12). Review of Policy Research, Vol. 21, pp. 179–200.

Information Needs for Sustainable Development

In Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (ELOSS). The United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and EOLSS Publishers.

Jokes Aside, The Case for Being Prepared

Birkland, T. A. (2003, February 20). Times Union (Albany, NY).

Major Terrorism Events and Their U.S. Outcomes (1988-2001)

(Working Paper No. 107). Boulder, Colorado: Natural Hazards Research Applications and Information Center.

River Ecology and Flood Hazard Mitigation

Birkland, T. A., Burby, R. J., Conrad, D., Cortner, H., & Michener, W. K. (2003, January 16). Natural Hazards Review, Vol. 4, pp. 46–54.

New York's Beasts of Burden: Counties are creatures of the state, so mandates come with the turf

Birkland, T. A. (2002, September 13). Newsday (Long Island).

Program evaluation in a challenging authorizing environment: Intergovernmental and interorganizational factors

New Directions for Evaluation, 2002(95), 5–22.

The Social and Political Meaning of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Birkland, T. A., & Lawrence, R. G. (2002, June 1). Spill Science & Technology Bulletin, Vol. 7, pp. 17–22.

The Social and Political Meaning of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Spill Science and Technology Bulletin, 7, 3–4.

Expertise and policy change after "focusing events"

Journal of Urban Technology, Vol. 8, pp. 121–124.

Our Political System Will Keep Doing its Job

Birkland, T. A. (2001, September 30). Times Union (Albany, NY).

Review of Rutherford Platt, Disasters and Democracy

[Review of ]. Environmental Hazards.

Scientists and coastal hazards: Opportunities for participation and policy change

Environmental Geosciences, 8(1), 61–67. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-34250198145&partnerID=MN8TOARS

The Exxon Valdez and Alaska in the American Imagination

In S. Biel (Ed.), American Disasters. New York: New York University Press.

Business and Political Dimensions in Disaster Management

BIRKLAND, T. H. O. M. A. S. A., & NATH, R. A. D. H. I. K. A. (2000, December 1). Journal of Public Policy, Vol. 20, pp. 275–303.

Earthquakes and Weather: Lessons for Policy and Science

Birkland, T. A. (2000, April). [Guest editorial]. Weatherzone.

[Review of Economic Consequences of Earthquakes: Preparing for the Unexpected, by B. G. Jones]. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 16(2), 221–222.

Disasters and the Courts' Agenda

Judges’ Journal, 37(4), 7–11.

Environmental taxes: China's bold initiative

Environment, 40(7). http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0345451015&partnerID=MN8TOARS

Focusing Events, Mobilization, and Agenda Setting

Journal of Public Policy, 18(1), 53–74.

In the Wake of the Exxon Valdez: How Environmental Disasters Can Spur Policy Change

Environment, 40(7), 4–9 , 27–32.

In the wake of the Exxon Valdez: How environmental disasters influence policy

Environment, 40(7). http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0345698799&partnerID=MN8TOARS

Law, policymaking, and the policy process: closing the gaps

Policy Studies Journal, 26(2), 227–243. http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-0032415493&partnerID=MN8TOARS

National Earthquake Probabilistic Hazard Mapping Program

[Review of , by E. Mittler, C. Taylor, & W. Petak]. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 16(3), 371–373.

After Disaster: Agenda Setting, Public Policy, and Focusing Events

Washington: Georgetown University Press.

After Disaster: Agenda Setting, Public Policy, and Focusing Events

In Georgetown University Press.

Factors inhibiting a national hurricane policy

Coastal Management, 25(4), 387–403.

Natural Disasters as Focusing Events: Policy Communities and Political Response

International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 14(2), 221–243.

Earthquake risk reduction: An examination of local regulatory efforts

May, P. J., & Birkland, T. A. (1994, November 1). Environmental Management, Vol. 18, pp. 923–937.

Integrating Strategic Planning and Budgeting: A Case Study at the New Jersey Department of Transportation

Transportation Research Record, 1305, 147–152.

Emergency Management, Climate Change, and Complex Governance in Arctic Alaska

In More than ‘nature’: Research on infrastructure and settlements in the North.