Organised crisis volunteers, COVID-19, and the political steering of crisis management in Sweden

This paper explores and analyses the activities of Swedish organised crisis volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a questionnaire and interviews, it sets out to answer two research questions on what characterised organised volunteerism during the pandemic, how organised volunteers experienced cooperation with local public actors, and how they viewed political steering. The paper contributes to a growing literature on the role of volunteers and links that role to views on political steering, something that is rarely done in disaster research. Sweden is a useful case study because of how COVID-19 was managed, as well as because there are organised crisis volunteers and a debate is occurring on how the national system is steered. The paper shows how organised volunteers adapted to changing needs and adopted new roles, that experiences of cooperation with local authorities varied, and that calls were made for a stronger national leadership and for more explicit central political steering.

Automated summary

This paper examines the activities of Swedish organised crisis volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic and addresses two research questions regarding the characteristics of organised volunteerism during the crisis, the experiences of cooperation with local public actors, and the views on political steering. It contributes to the literature on the role of volunteers by linking it to political steering, which is rarely explored in disaster research. The findings reveal how organised volunteers adapted to changing demands, experienced varied cooperation with local authorities, and called for stronger national leadership and explicit central political steering.