Tensions and Dilemmas in Crisis Governance: Responding to Citizen Volunteers

Abstract

In the aftermath of a crisis situation, citizen volunteers play an important role by providing first aid and immediate relief. Little is known about how response organizations are successful in governing citizen volunteers. I propose that, due to the spontaneous and emergent nature of convergence by citizen volunteers on disaster sites, it matters how response organizations resolve governance dilemmas when engaging with citizen volunteers. I theorize that specific responses to governance dilemmas likely lead to successful governance outcomes. To illustrate the argument, I have conducted a multiple case study analysis of the Dutch response to the 2015-2016 refugee crisis.