“We are the state”: Does crisis activate urban citizenship?

Source abstract

This study examines urban citizenship under crisis by analyzing how wartime evacuation and violence reshaped community dynamics in Israeli cities following the October 7, 2023 attacks. It argues that emergencies catalyze a reconfiguration of civic life, expanding residents’ roles and elevating the importance of local institutions as primary agents of governance when state capacity falters. Using a mixed-methods design that combines a national survey of 88 cities and towns ( N = 906) with qualitative interviews with community leaders ( n = 24), the study investigates how the crisis affected two core dimensions of urban citizenship: community connectedness and collective action. The quantitative results show that exposure to risk, especially evacuation, significantly increased both. The qualitative findings provide contextual evidence for these mechanisms, demonstrating how community institutions coordinated services, rebuilt social ties, and acted as de facto civic infrastructures. The study advances urban citizenship theory by showing how crisis conditions activate community-based forms of citizenship and offers insights for policymakers seeking to strengthen civic engagement in times of disruption.