Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

People with disabilities have throughout history been more vulnerable in crisis and disaster contexts. This has mainly been due to exclusion and failure in understanding the needs of people with disabilities. The purpose of this essay has been to examine Swedish strategies for crisis management and inclusion of people with disabilities. Previous research has suggested that people with disabilities are more vulnerable and affected disproportionately by crises and disasters, as a result of poorly adapted infrastructure, warning systems and failing to understand the needs of people with disabilities. The theory that has been used for the essay is Brenda D. Philipps’ inclusive emergency management, which sets certain factors that needs to be met in order for emergency management to be considered inclusive. This has been applied to material from the Swedish agencies MSB and Socialstyrelsen through a qualitative content analysis. The findings that were presented suggested that Swedish crisis management, through MSB and Socialstyrelsen, failed to meet all the requirements for inclusive emergency management and, therefore, can not be seen as fully inclusive. Thus the contribution of this essay is to be seen as an understanding of the lack of inclusion of people with disabilities in Swedish crisis management, and hopefully lead to actions toward inclusion. Further research could delve into the regional and local level of management and the potential inclusion (or exclusion) there, as well as compare Sweden with another country in terms of inclusion.