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.
Daniel F. Lorenz
Daniel F. Lorenz is a senior researcher at the Disaster Research Unit (DRU) at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Additionally, he coordinated projects for the Academy of the Disaster Research Unit (ADRU) and is lecturer of disaster research in a study program on emergency and crisis management. In 2017, he has been a visiting researcher at the International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. He has conducted research in Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Portugal, and Greece, among other places. His research interests include various social science issues in the context of disasters and humanitarian emergencies such as social vulnerability and resilience.