“We live in a world of worry,” says the UN. Beset by the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran, COVID-19, populist threats to democracy, and the world reaching a critical climate “tipping point” — we are constantly surrounded by threats.
The Evolution of Prepping
Prepping used to be a fringe hobby, a cultural curiosity associated with survivalists, eccentric families stockpiling canned goods in their basements, or frightened billionaires building multimillion-dollar bunkers, for some, a kind of “apocalypse insurance.”
Today, it is much broader: a way millions of people doubt the stability of their governments, the reliability of institutions, risks posed by geopolitical change, and unknown risks from breakthrough science such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is generating new doomsday scenarios.
Prepping is no longer just about food storage or emergency kits. It is about political identity, political distrust, and fear of manmade or natural catastrophe. And it is found in many countries. In 2017, Bloomberg reported that Japanese preppers were buying $19,000 bomb shelters after North Korea’s ICBM launch; in South Korea, their term for “prepper” became increasingly common.
What Drives the Rise of Survivalism? America vs. Europe
Prepping in the United States
In the United States, prepping has grown into a massive subculture. Estimates suggest that tens of millions of Americans engage in sustained preparedness activities, ranging from modest emergency planning to full-scale survival strategies.
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
— Benjamin Franklin
For much of its history, skepticism has centered on mistrust of federal authority. Today, many Americans believe that federal institutions are either incompetent, corrupt, or ideologically hostile to their interests, or some or all of the above. It is a bipartisan phenomenon, though it manifests differently across ideological lines.
For conservative and libertarian preppers, distrust often centers on fears of government overreach. They worry about surveillance, emergency powers, and federal mandates. Under the Trump Administration, actions by U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and attacks on balloting by mail (among other things) may reinforce these concerns among progressive preppers, but their fear is often the reverse: that the government will fail to protect vulnerable populations during crises, whether those crises involve climate change, economic instability, or political violence. In both cases, prepping becomes a way to assert control in an increasingly unpredictable political environment.
Political polarization has also made civil unrest a core fear among American preppers. Over the past few years, the U.S. has seen bitterly contested elections, large-scale protests, and rising ideological conflict, with many worrying that these tensions could escalate into widespread disorder, citing concerns about violent protests, breakdowns in law enforcement, and clashes between ideological groups. Media coverage and the speed at which political narratives spread online amplify these fears. Prepping becomes a hedge against political conflict spilling into everyday life.
Gun rights play a unique role in American prepping culture, as individuals feel that they must be able to protect themselves if institutions fail. This feeling reinforces prepping as part of a broader worldview centered on independence from state control.
Geopolitical anxiety is another major driver, with the Iran War spreading and affecting the stability of both the domestic and global economy. Add to this general anxiety the fears of conflict with China or Russia, cyberwarfare, biological warfare, terrorism, electronic attacks, and/or destructive use of artificial intelligence. Preppers view geopolitical risk not as distant but as something that could directly affect daily life.
Prepping Across Europe
In Europe, the legacy of World War II and the depth of the nightmare from war on the Continent continue to shape thoughts, emotions, and attitudes. Even Switzerland, a country that was neutral during that war, has built into its national psyche a need to prepare for calamity, such that Switzerland has more nuclear bunkers than any other country in the world.
In Europe, prepping is driven largely by geopolitical shocks, energy insecurity, doubts about state capacity, and growing concern over Russia, well beyond its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In countries near Russia — including Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and now Sweden — preparedness is increasingly viewed as a rational response to potential military conflict. Citizens are concerned about cyberattacks, drone strikes, infrastructure sabotage, refugee flows, and possible needs for NATO engagement.
Energy security is another powerful factor in Europe. Much of the continent has relied on Russian natural gas supplies in the past and now faces possible shortages, depending on political decisions and geopolitical realities.
The European Union has also faced critical disruptions, including Brexit, the rising influence of right-wing parties (most recently, the AfD in Germany), protests over austerity measures, and sharp differences over burgeoning national debts, immigration, and climate policy. Although Europeans generally trust government institutions more than Americans do, repeated crises have shaken that trust. Prepping is seen as a way to complement or supplement government limitations.
Further, terrorism has shaped Europe’s urban prepping culture. Major attacks in London, Paris, Brussels, and Berlin have made citizens acutely aware of the vulnerabilities of dense urban centers. European urban preppers prepare for evacuation, communication breakdowns, and temporary disruptions. Their motivations are multiple, including concerns about national security, emergency response, and governments’ ability to protect citizens during sudden shocks.
Migration and border politics are another factor. In several European countries, large-scale migration has become a contentious political issue, intersecting with concerns about social tension, pressure on public services, or perceived erosion of social cohesion. These motivations vary widely between countries and political contexts, but reflect the broader reality that political debates about identity and security shape how people think about preparedness.
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A Global Response to Uncertainty
Contrasts between American and European prepping motivations underscore cultural and political differences. In the United States, prepping is often a political identity rooted in distrust and self-reliance, skepticism toward federal authority, and fear of internal political conflict. In Europe, prepping is more closely tied to external threats, whether nearby conflicts that an untrustworthy neighbor threatens to expand, energy insecurity, or terrorism. It reflects concerns about geopolitical instability rather than partisan division.
Although the underlying causes of growing prepping may differ, widespread anxiety exists everywhere, and for most people, prepping is likely nothing more than a short-term solution to perceived threats.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com
