As Senior Assistant Professor in Crisis Governance, I study how governance systems and public policies shape crisis and disaster responses and, conversely, how crisis and disaster policies shape state transformation and governance.

More information about Lydie Cabane

As Senior Assistant Professor in Crisis Governance, I study how governance systems and public policies shape crisis and disaster responses and, conversely, how crisis and disaster policies shape state transformation and governance. As a sociologist and political scientist, my research focuses on explaining what shapes crisis and disaster policies and the expansion of crisis policies across policy domains.

My research takes a global and comparative outlook. I look at how states and multi-level governance systems develop crisis and disaster policies, and what this reveals about state transformation, governance, and policy-making in turbulent times. I’ve conducted research in South Africa, the European Union, and now across European states, comparing different types of disaster and crisis policies to explain their expansion across policy domains. Notably I’ve studied how member states and European institutions coordinate responses to transboundary crises, from financial shocks to pandemics. This work points to a growing Europeanisation of crisis management, driven by the adoption of shared preparedness policies.

One question that has intrigued me throughout is how these policies are not only about security, but also about protection and, as such, part of welfare interventions. This was the focus of my book, based on my PhD: The Government of Disasters: State Formation and Disaster Management in South Africa (Palgrave, 2023). It has led me to develop a research agenda on environmental risk protection and climate adaptation, analysing how environmental risk and disaster policies in Europe interact with welfare provision.

Current projects

I currently co-lead or participate in three projects on environmental risk protection, disasters and climate adaptation in Europe:

• PROTECCT (co-PI, funded by the French National Research Agency and the French Social Affairs Ministries): a large-scale comparative study of policies protecting against environmental risks (floods, droughts, heatwaves, coastal erosion) across European countries, explaining climate adaptation policy.
• WELRISCC (cooperation partner, funded by NORFACE/CHANSE): examines welfare state responses to climate-related social risks, combining institutional analysis with new comparative datasets.
• Local heatwave governance: leading a research/teaching collaboration and policy engagement project on urban heatwave planning and response in The Hague.

I'm also working on a series of publications on the intersection of crises and public policy, crises and public problems, crises and political judgment, and crises and policy feedback, to expand this research agenda.

Roles and affiliations

At Leiden, I serve as PhD coordinator at ISGA and elected member of the FGGA Faculty Council. I am Associate Editor of the International Review of Public Policy and sit on the editorial committee of the European Journal of Security Research. I am an associate member of the Crisis Lab at Sciences Po Paris and the Centre for the Analysis of Risk and Regulation (LSE). Before Leiden, I held positions at the London School of Economics and visiting fellowships at Harvard University (STS Program), Stockholm University, and the University of Cape Town. I hold a PhD from Sciences Po Paris (2012).

Activities