This project examines effects of environmental disasters on political participation. The aim is to
shed light on the conditions under which disasters have political impacts, especially on electoral
behaviour. The disaster-political participation relationship is not well understood and given the
growing frequency of disasters, there is a mounting urgency to do so. The project addresses
this urgency through an analysis of both political elite behaviour and public attitudes in the
disaster aftermath. Several methods will be used to collect and analyze data, including a variety
of language-based techniques such as content analysis as well as focus groups and
experiments. Geographically, the project focuses on Central Europe as a region vulnerable to
disasters and political destabilization. The project makes conceptual and empirical contributions
to the debates in environmental politics and political communication through looking for new
conditions and mechanisms and contributing new empirical evidence to better understand the
relationship between disasters and political participation.

Sustainable Development Goals

Masaryk University is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to improve the conditions and quality of life on our planet by 2030.

Publications