Can anyone point me to some good resources about human behavior in the wake of societal collapse and what the aftermath generally looks like? The final third of my story is kicked off by a massive worldwide blackout where everything running on electricity is magically rendered useless, and my attempts to wrap my head around the complexities of how humans would behave in the wake of such a thing (especially since that's not the only magic at play in my world) have so far resulted in frustration as much as it's resulted in good ideas. Are there any good resources about human behavior in massive crises, or at least any well-written books that accurately show the immediate aftermath of a similarly non-lethal but infrastructure-destroying apocalyptic event, that anyone can point me to?
I would also look at documentaries. There is a lot of insight, and gives an emotional perspective. I, too, am deep into this in my story, in a completely different way. I'm starting over, with fundamental issues in mind. Plus, I have a lot of tech to show off! Feel free to ask me about anything in particular.
A nasty solar storm, or an EMP from an atmosphere nuclear detonation, would destroy all electronics in the affected area, or in the storms case planet wide. This would start the societal collapse fairly easily, considering on how much electrical things aid/impact on our lives. And loss of such devices will cause massive civil unrest in a short period of time due to this dependency. At least with a solar storm scenario it is highly plausible, and could happen at any time during a solar maximum event going on with our sun. And it would kill electrical grids and electronics due to them not being shielded from such an event. Might be worth looking into maybe?
Your concept sounds a lot like the show Revolution (2012-2014), which takes place during a permanent electrical blackout. That may be worth checking out. Also SM Stirling's Dies of Fire is another post apocalyptic novel that deals with technology (most notably electricity) no longer working. Both may be worth checking out for comparison sake.
Look at the aftermath of any recent disaster in the news, there's usually an interval before the central government gets a handle on things. Reactions will vary by country/culture as well, in the aftermath of Katrina, there was widespread looting and reports (which were later disputed, I don't know much in depth about it) that the Superdome, where many of the refugees were housed, was turning into the Thunderdome. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, however, people's behavior was quite different. One thing about disasters in Japan, for example, is how quickly the yakuza mafia move in... to provide aid. From Reuters: Yakuza among first with relief supplies in Japan
Germany just prior to the Nazis. Best example I can think of, just a great economic "Whoosh!" and everything was gone.
