Workshop at Nordic Environmental Social Science (NESS) Conference

What happens to crisis preparedness when the focus shifts to war? (Workshop 8)

Conveners:

• Eija Meriläinen, Örebro University, University College London & Hanken School of Economics
• Maija Nikkanen, University of Helsinki
• Erik Persson Pavlovic, Karlstad University
• Sofia Hallerbäck, Karlstad University

Session description:

As imaginaries of imminent military threats and total nuclear annihilation receded with the dissolution of the Cold War, the political agenda had space for more diverse crisis scenarios. The targets of preparedness and crisis governance became broader, ranging from climate change to ‘hybrid’ military threats. The term crisis has since proliferated as a signifier for pandemics and military invasions alike, while disaster governance has cultivated an all-hazards approach, stressing preparedness for natural, technological, and societal emergencies. In Nordic policy the broadened riskscape is evident in the comprehensive and societal security models, as well as in how climate change is approached as one security threat among others.

Whether the Nordic security approaches have been successful at addressing and analysing diverse risks in an effective and balanced way is worth debating, but the war in Ukraine has tilted the balance altogether. Not only has military preparedness been strengthened in the Nordics through a substantial influx of resources and political and media attention, but the whole conceptual and political umbrellas dealing with crises seem to have reverted to a national defense framing. This shift creates a widening gap in relation to other risks, such as the urgent need for action for climate change, environmental degradation and other connected hazards. 

We invite papers that explore the following questions and beyond:

• Which crisis phenomena become overlooked or invisible when the societal focus shifts towards military and defence themes?
• What risks are there for societal crisis preparedness when the focus becomes fixated on defense? How do these manifest on different temporal and spatial scales?
• Do research and researchers have (or should they have) a role in widening the focus towards more diverse threats/crises? 

We look forward to bringing together contributions that build a conversation on these broad topics. Beyond researchers, we invite policy-makers and practitioners to our session. We ask researchers to present a paper draft, but policy-makers and practitioners are welcome to also present without sharing a paper. 

Submission of abstracts:

If you are interested in presenting in our session, please submit your abstract via the NESS online system by 8th Dec 23:59 Central European Time (CET). 

Instructions for abstracts:

Please structure your submitted abstract as follows: Introduction, (planned) methods, (expected) results, (potential) conclusions (max. 350 words). 

We also ask policy-makers and practitioners to provide us with an abstract of your intended presentation, but it does not need to be structured in a similar way. 

Here, you can read more details and link to the submission system.