EDITORIAL

摘要

This Special Issue of the Journal of Risk Research was initiated to increase the understanding of, and compare, recent trends in risk and safety management in the Netherlands. Its aim is to inform the ongoing debates that take place in the Netherlands and beyond about risk analysis. Questions have been raised about whether the current Dutch approach is at all 'proportional', what it may actually mean in practice and whether the Dutch way of handling risks has become too risk-averse or not precautionary enough (Van Tol, Helsloot, and Mertens 2011; WWR 2012). This Special Issue sheds light on this ongoing debate at a time when the Netherlands are holding the Presidency of the European Union and when one of the major intuitional players, The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment is undertaking a major rethink of its risk policy (Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment 2014).