This chapter examines the role of governmental institutions during disaster situations. It describes the political and policy context in which governments become involved in disasters, identifying key attributes of the governmental approach to disasters. The importance of the intergovernmental framework underlying a governmental response system is highlighted along with the possibility that different intergovernmental structures can be established and utilized. Regardless of the official arrangement of organizations and personnel in a response system, it is clear that intergovernmental processes have a significant impact on the performance of disaster response systems. And, in turn, crisis response efforts can have broader repercussions, shaping more general assessments of governmental performance in contemporary societies.