When participation entrenches authoritarian practice: Ethnographic investigations of post-disaster governance

How does everyday politics of participation manifest in post-disaster contexts? Can a disaster prompt political system to shift more inclusive, open, and participatory governance direction? In this article, we draw on our ethnographic work the Philippines aftermath Typhoon Haiyan 2013 Nepal after Gorkha Earthquake 2015 explore these questions. Our comparative analysis shows that attempts at institutionalising served further entrench authoritarian practices rather than promote citizen voice government accountability. Post-disaster policies invoke people’s participation, argue, tend (a) control democratise information; (b) silence voice; (c) distort respond grievances. findings call for reorientation understanding accountability governance. Decision-makers, not merely disaster-affected communities, deserve be focus area scholarly attention policy reform, if community-led reconstruction agenda is realised practice. conclusion has implications study practice democratic disasters unequal societies prone disasters.