Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science (CNDS)

The Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science, CNDS, is a national platform for research on the nexus between socio-technical vulnerability and extreme events. CNDS researchers are affiliated with the Swedish Defence University, Karlstad University and Uppsala University.

The Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science (CNDS) is an interdisciplinary research centre that brings together researchers from engineering, social and earth sciences to work together in projects on natural hazards, socio-technological vulnerabilities, and societal security. The vision of the centre is to advance disaster risk reduction and contribute to enhancing society’s ability to prepare for and cope with natural hazard risk in the national and international context.

Virtual reseach centre

CNDS is a virtual research centre that was formed in 2010 when the Swedish Government marked natural hazards and disaster science as a strategic research area. Today, CNDS is a research centre on natural hazards, disaster risk reduction and crisis management, comprising ten departments from three universities (Swedish Defence University, Karlstad University and Uppsala University).

Supports early career reseachers

CNDS supports early career researchers who advance in the field of interdisciplinary natural hazard and disaster science by awarding the CNDS Interdisciplinary Grants.

The centre also contributes to the international educational curricula of disaster risk reduction through its international research Summer School on Natural Hazards for doctoral students from both social and natural science backgrounds from around the world.

Outreach and international collaborations

CNDS engages in outreach activities and international collaborations, such as the the periodic Forum for Natural Hazards and Disasters that brings together stakeholders relevant to disaster risk governance and many national and international collaborations, through which CNDS keeps an open dialogue with academics and practitioners in the field.

CNDS at the Swedish Defence University

Since 2024, the CNDS fellows at the Swedish Defence University are organised in a formal research group - Forskargruppen Katastrofstudier - that supports its team members’ independent work and generates new projects. The aim is to enhance the understanding of natural hazards and societal risks through the knowledge developed at SEDU, including but not limited to research and communication on leadership, climate and security and justice perceptions.

The group combines different schools of thought, methods and closeness to various external groups, such as military environments, civil society, decision-makers and practitioners. Together, they hold vast experience in the field, ranging from stays in Turkey, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and the US.

The group also hosts relevant fora to discuss and disseminate their work with other researchers and relevant stakeholders. Fora preparations and activities include CNDS members at other affiliated universities – Karlstad University and Uppsala University.

Members of the research group at the Swedish Defence University

Frederike Albrecht is a senior lecturer in Political Science. She has worked on a variety of topics related to disaster risk reduction, preparedness and crisis management. In recent years, she has conducted research on crisis communication, e.g. during the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis preparedness for animals, and the impact of climate extremes on the food, transport and energy sector.

Rasmus Andrén holds a PhD in Political Science from the Department of Political Science and is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Leadership and Command and Control. His research mainly focuses on climate change and environmental issues and their relation to political stability, peace, and conflict. Throughout his research, he has approached narratives through different methodologies, ranging from analyses of mass data to in-depth interviews.

Per Becker is a Professor of Leadership and Command & Control and Professor of Risk and Sustainability at Lund University, and Extraordinary Professor at North-West University (South Africa). He has mainly worked in risk and crisis management for authorities and international organisations and holds a multidisciplinary background with a PhD in Sociology and another PhD in Engineering (+MRes in Politics) and engages in transdisciplinary research about societal safety, security and sustainability. At SEDU, he primarily focuses on command & control and collaboration in total defence and crisis management, with an emphasis on multi-actor contexts, but also on the impact of leadership on these functions.

Pär Daléus is a lecturer in Leadership and Command & Control. With a background in political science, he has studied leadership and crisis management from a political psychological perspective. In recent years, he has held several management roles at SEDU and is currently conducting research on collaboration in crisis management and the dynamics of collective leadership.

Helena Hermansson is a senior lecturer in Leadership and Command & Control. Her research interests revolve around various aspects of disaster risk reduction and collaborative disaster governance. Currently, she is involved in a three-year research project focusing on collective leadership and collaborative crisis management. Helena has also researched crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her preferred methods are field studies and interviews.

Suanne M. Segovia-Tzompa (PhD in International Relations) is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Leadership and Command & Control, whose work focuses on the intersection between global governance (e.g., sustainable development, climate change and disaster issues) and justice for disadvantaged groups. Her research builds on qualitative methods, statistical analysis, and participatory and mixed methods approaches. Her research on disaster risks has three streams: Justice perceptions of the Pataxó People (Brazil) and Kurds (Turkey) about multi-level disaster governance; disaster risk governance and marginalised groups’ participation and the disaster-conflict-inequality nexus.