This special issue features early career researchers (ECRs) in disaster studies. Its aim is to explore different pathways to make this academic field more inclusive. It consists of two volumes. The first volume was published in April 2022. That volume presented papers by ECRs that explore reflective and inclusive research methodologies, provide careful reflections on research positionality, and/or apply progressive theoretical frameworks to the study and communication of hazards and disasters. In this issue, we present papers by ECRs who aim to platform the voices of disaster-affected people in their research. In the editorial of our first volume, we discussed how academic publishing can be made more inclusive (Eelaferi et al., 2022). As such, after an overview of the papers in this volume, we conclude this editorial with a critical reflection on how inclusive our special issue has turned out to be. The seven papers in the present volume address key insights from the Disaster Studies Manifesto [1]. They highlight the importance of ensuring that disaster studies are informed by local realities and explore how to develop respectful, reciprocal and genuine relationships between “local” and “external” researchers in disaster studies. The authors discuss the role that research and educational settings could play in enabling local researchers and young people to contribute to locally relevant disaster research. They explore ways of co-researching with people at risk of disasters and show how cross-country perspectives could be used to foster research that platforms the voices of disaster-affected people. Focusing on academia, Manomita Das discusses the barriers local researchers face when it comes to conducting locally relevant disaster research. Sneha Krishnan, Robert Soden, Bhen Aguihon, Rongkun Liu and Pradip Khatiwada present reflections on the value of setting up academic support groups for inclusive and participatory ways of working. Exploring how educational settings could be used to foster more inclusive disaster practices, Miguel Angel Trejo-Rangel, Adriano Mota Ferreira, Victor Marchezini, Daniel Andres Rodriguez, Daniel Messias dos Santos and Melissa Oliveir show the potential of participatory mapping for involving graduate and high school students in disaster risk reduction (DRR) planning. Revathi Nuggehalli Krishna, Caroline Spencer, Kevin Ronan and Eva Alisic show how participatory methods can be used to co-develop DRR initiatives with children in informal settlements in Chennai.

Also focusing on practice, Abner Lawangen describes his use of two indigenous community-engagement strategies to analyze how communities perceive the role of rural cooperatives in DRR and management. Chrysant Lily Kusumowardoyo and Husna Yuni Wulansari discuss the opportunities and challenges of conducting co-research with people with disability (PWD) in humanitarian programming. Pradytia Pertiwi also focuses on disability-inclusive disaster management practices. Her paper explores how PWD organizations try to overcome systemically-rooted challenges in mainstream DRR initiatives. In sum, the ECRs featured in this paper explore a number of different pathways to inclusive disaster studies.