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Responsibility to Prepare: From Individual Security to Collective Resilience

Author

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  • Damgaard, Paulus
  • Toubøl, Jonas

    (University of Copenhagen)

  • Høgenhaven, Lærke

Abstract

In the context of heightened geopolitical tensions, European societies increasingly frame private crisis preparedness as integral to societal resilience. Once viewed as antisocial survivalists, preppers now offer insight into civil society’s role in prepar-edness. Drawing on a netnographic study of one of Denmark’s largest Facebook prepper groups (2015-2024), this article examines how the group members per-ceive responsibility for crisis preparedness across four periods: before COVID-19, during the pandemic, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and following the Danish government’s 2024 appeal for household preparedness. Findings reveal a dominant individualistic framing in stable times, but a shift towards collective understandings of responsibility following official communication during crises. The article con-tributes to sociological research on crisis preparedness by demonstrating how per-ceptions of crisis contexts and state communication shape preppers’ responsibility frames, challenging static portrayals of preppers as antisocial and highlighting how individualised practices of preparedness can evolve into collective orientations that complement state capacity.

Suggested Citation

  • Damgaard, Paulus & Toubøl, Jonas & Høgenhaven, Lærke, 2026. "Responsibility to Prepare: From Individual Security to Collective Resilience," SocArXiv sxgfm_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:sxgfm_v1
    DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/sxgfm_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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