Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is an important strategy for preventing the consequences of climate change. The Sendai Framework states that all countries need to implement national strategies for DRR, which Sweden has not yet done. The scientific problem is partly that there is a lack of research on DRR in welfare countries, and partly that Sweden's municipalities' strategies to control risk reduction are relatively unexplored. The purpose of the paper is therefore to contribute to filling these knowledge gaps, and to map and evaluate Sweden's municipalities' governance work with DRR, to examine whether the municipalities follow the same guidelines or whether the work is carried out completely differently in all municipalities. The study is conducted with a theoretical framework based on the Sendai framework, polycentric governance and disaster risk governance. The method used is qualitative thematic content analysis, where Arjeplog, Gävle, Gothenburg, Helsingborg and Ljusdal's governance documents are analysed based on the theoretical framework. The results showed that the five municipalities internally govern DRR relatively well, where the main shortcoming, however, is that no municipality uses DRR as a concept. The conclusions are therefore that municipalities need to include DRR more in their governance documents, to make beneficial and deficient factors visible. Governance between municipalities and at different levels is also in need of further development and research.

In 2020, the world and foremost vulnerable groups are facing “new” challenges. Dual crises of coexisting hazards like natural hazards occurring amid the COVID-19 pandemic has become more than a prediction. Hence, this thesis is a case study of dual crises and of how organisations and actors act upon those crises. With the aim to examine how the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) includes vulnerable groups in disaster risk reduction related matters amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a qualitative text analysis has been performed on the selection of five of UNDRR’s publications. Developed from the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction’s four ‘Priorities for Action’ guidelines, four analytical questions were asked to the material. The findings suggest that UNDRR does include vulnerable groups by mainly addressing the lack of resilience among vulnerable groups. However, a lack of concrete suggestions on how to strengthen vulnerable groups resilience and effective responses in the long term was noted. Due to the short time frame in which COVID-19 has existed, the research on vulnerable groups in dual crises of various hazards are still scarce, but nevertheless very much needed as to develop responses adapted towards both biological hazard and natural hazard impacts.

Occurrences of extreme weather events are increasing due to the ongoing climate change driven by human actions. In parallel, this triggers a growing need for humanitarian action in the future to help those impacted by disasters. Disaster risk reduction and management has hereby become a central element of today's national and global governance in the aim of preventing and reducing humanitarian crises and minimizing economic loss often resulting from the impacts of natural hazards. The now more global effects from these events has resulted in a collective vision that is constantly concerned with the future and how to reduce the disaster risks it withholds. Due to climate change and a great number of other risks to our societies having been generated through humanity’s own actions, the possible indication of the global society attempting to gain control over uncontrollable risks through collective disaster risk reduction strategies between countries draws attention. This thesis provides a qualitative content analysis of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, which is the most current international disaster risk reduction policy adopted by the United Nations. The risk society theory by German sociologist Ulrich Beck is applied to this study to examine how the Sendai Framework can be seen as an outcome of a risk society that attempts to gain control over risks from the natural environment, which can be perceived as uncontrollable. The results of this study uncover that the Sendai Framework can be regarded as a product of a risk society through several different aspects, and that it generates an illusion of gaining control over uncontrollable risks.

In this thesis I offer a brief overview of the current legislative, regulatory and treaty frameworks impacting emergency management in British Columbia, with a particular emphasis on Crown-identified First Nation roles. I show that the regime overwhelmingly positions non-First Nation governments, contractors and other organizations to manage emergencies on behalf of First Nations. I explore emergency management as a manifold process that includes protracted planning, mitigation and recovery phases, which, unlike emergency response, are carried out with lower levels of urgency. I consider Canadian Constitution Act, 1982 (s. 35) Aboriginal rights in light of the lack of statutorily prescribed inclusion of First Nations in off-reserve emergency management, particularly at the planning, mitigation and recovery phases concluding that the jurisprudence to date (including the duty to consult and Aboriginal title) does not appear to have revolutionized the regime. While the constitutional status of Aboriginal rights should operate to insure adequate First Nation direction in each stage of emergency management, the regime continues to restrictively prioritize other constitutional priorities, such as division of powers and civil liberties. To better understand the omission, I theorize the lack of Crown implementation of s. 35 Aboriginal rights generally as an ‘obligation gap’, highlighting how an analysis of s. 35 Aboriginal rights as ‘negative rights’ fails to compel implementation of the full scope of Crown obligations implicit within the jurisprudence to date. I then offer a new framework for s. 35 as justiciable ‘recognition rights’ and juxtapose ‘recognition rights’ with the idea of justiciability of government inaction through a brief comparative analysis of socioeconomic rights in South Africa’s constitution and Canada’s constitutional Aboriginal rights. With a decided emphasis on the obligations of the Crown, this thesis attempts to offer fodder to First Nations and legal practitioners seeking to challenge the emergency management landscape where First Nations seek an enhanced role in protecting and restoring their respective territories in anticipation of, and in the wake of, disaster. For convenience and clarity, contemporary geographical and jurisdictional references to the areas now known as Canada and British Columbia are used throughout the thesis without intention to detract from the integrity of First Nation claims to their traditional and ancestral territories.

While early relocation is not makeable, disaster risk reduction seems to be the most effective tool to decrease the impact of a disaster. This case study focuses on three UNDRR frameworks as they appear to be the greatest instance of international documents referring to disaster risk reduction (DRR). Especially, this research examines the representation of women within these frameworks and how their portrayal in DRR has changed over the last two decades. To do so, a critical discourse analysis of the three UNDRR frameworks is conducted. This study benefits from a social vulnerability approach and further engages with the Feminist Political Ecology theory. The analysis finds that even though women are increasingly represented in the frameworks, their roles as active participants remain negligible. Their knowledge and interest are still not recognised as valuable in DRR. Rather, women seem to be employed as tools to include more gender-sensitive programmes. This study recommends a greater and more complex emphasis on women in future DRR policies.

An all-of-society approach is foundational for increasing disaster resilience and creating adaptive capacity in the face of disasters and climate change. Youth participation within disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster risk management (DRM) is an inclusive strategy to engage youth in an all-of-society approach. While this is an emerging and fast-growing area of study, ingraining social inclusion in practice is slow. Through a series of four articles, this dissertation describes two separate qualitative studies exploring youth participation in DRR and DRM through the youth perspective. Participatory research methodologies dismantle power dynamics inherent in traditional research, and they are well-suited for research on youth participation. As such, our first study used Photovoice methodology to explore youth perceptions of youth capabilities in disasters, and to understand their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of youth participation initiatives in DRR are scattered, necessitating exploration of the process of participation in diverse contexts and types of disaster events. We conducted the second study using case study methodology to explore facilitators of - and barriers to - youth contributions towards DRR efforts in the context of local flooding, tornado, and pandemic events in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. This dissertation provides insight on how to promote youth resilience, capacity, and strengths in disasters. Based on these findings, we argue that a paradigm shift in DRR towards an asset-based approach is essential to implement youth participation in practice. An asset-based approach aligns with the capability-oriented worldview in youth participation literature and theories. The complexity arises in attempting to apply asset-based lessons from the literature into the traditionally needs-based orientation of DRR policy and DRM practice. More research is needed to document youth actions in DRR and to determine asset indicators to evaluate implementation efforts. This dissertation begins an important conversation around applying an asset-based approach to youth participation in DRR through the perspectives of youth.