Daniel F. Lorenz and Cordula Dittmer explore the sometimes-contradictory nature of postdisaster solidarity. Drawing on examples from the European context, they draw out the significant contribution context makes to utopian coming-together during pandemic lockdowns, reflecting on the experiences of those who are affected by these policies, but not primarily by illness itself. Even as the pandemic and its accompanying policies may create feelings of togetherness, especially among social equals with the necessary socioeconomic resources to manage limits on their mobility, more research will be necessary to understand whether these social phenomena can contribute to sustainable social change.
Cordula Dittmer
Cordula Dittmer is a senior research assistant at the Disaster Research Unit (DRU), Freie University of Berlin, Germany; freelancer at the Academy of Disaster Research (AKFS); and lecturer at the Berlin Fire and Rescue Academy. At present, her main areas of work are the monitoring and evaluation of civil protection and disaster management missions, e.g., during the flood of 2013, the migrant and refugee crisis of 2015–16, or the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as well as transdisciplinary research and the perception and management of international and national disasters from the perspective of the affected people. She has conducted extensive field research on disasters in Uttarakhand, India, Northern Greece, and Germany. Her publications and lectures explore, among other topics, EU emergency measures, the results of field research, ethical aspects in disaster research, as well as vulnerability and resilience.