Lessons from Crisis Research

As national governments slowly—very slowly—become aware that an institutionalized crisis management capacity is critically important, new forms of crisis appear on the horizon: cyberterrorism, genetic engineering and health scares, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, infrastructural collapses, and changing weather patterns, to name but a few. At issue is whether our governments are prepared to deal with modern crises in close cooperation with international partners. Moreover, can the wide variety of academic research traditions be brought together to assist policymakers and politicians in increasing their crisis management capacity? We see frequent evidence of how crises outstrip the coping capacity of national governments. The modern crisis does not recognize or respect national borders; it thrives on fragmentation and variety. Its complexity defies governmental efforts to understand its causes, pathways, and potential remedies. The modern crisis does not confine itself to a particular policy area (say health or energy); it jumps from one field to the other, unearthing issues and recombining them into unforeseen megathreats. The modern crisis is not boxed in by set dates that mark a clear beginning and ending; it is an embedded vulnerability that emerges, fades, mutates, and strikes again (see ‘t Hart and Boin 2001). The currency of the modern crisis is not solely, or even primarily, expressed in the number of dead and wounded; it also attacks the legitimacy of the state, undermining its crisis management capacity.