Cilt No: 3 Sayı No: 1, 2026-01-30

This article examines how Critical Disaster Studies (CDS) can provide an alternative theoretical framework for rethinking disasters in the Mediterranean. It approaches the Mediterranean Basin as a space where multiple hazards, historical inequalities, and fragmented governance configurations intersect, and conceptualises disasters not as exceptional “natural” events but as socially produced and politically shaped processes. Through a review of literature, the article addresses the research question: “How can Critical Disaster Studies provide an alternative theoretical framework for studying disasters in the Mediterranean?” The first part shows that dominant scientific and policy discourses on Mediterranean disasters remain largely hazard-centred, technocratic, resilience-oriented, and security-focused. The second part outlines key contributions of CDS, including its emphasis on the historical production of vulnerability, practices of counting and visibility, hierarchies between expert and local knowledge, and the justice dimensions of disaster governance. The third part applies this perspective to several Mediterranean disaster formations, such as wildfires, seismic and hydrological risks, and drought, highlighting how land-use regimes, housing systems, water governance, and border policies structure exposure and loss. The final part sketches an agenda for Mediterranean research and policy that is more historical, multi-scalar, and justice-oriented. Overall, the article argues that engaging CDS can support more accountable and democratic forms of disaster governance in the Mediterranean.

Critical Disaster Studies, Mediterranean, Disaster Governance, Vulnerability, Climate Change.