Module description
Crisis situations can be considered as a stress test of a state’s institutions, political leaders and society, allowing us to reveal something that cannot be seen in everyday life. The idea at the heart of this module is to investigate systemically how crisis situations drive social and political development in the digital age. The module explores the role of new and social media, as well as different type of digital platform in situations of crisis, including man-made crises and natural disasters.
The focus on crisis can help us to elucidate the complex relations and explore the tensions between political institutions and citizens in a specific sociopolitical environment. Following a state’s response and crisis-related communication provides opportunities for deepening our knowledge about relations between the state and its citizens, as well as relations within the state’s political institutions, including the position of the leader, and between federal and regional governments. At the same time, crisis situations can be considered as a window of opportunity to introduce a new model of society (Solnit, 2010), as well as providing a momentum for the innovation and sociopolitical development required in order to address the crisis.
Empirically, most of the case studies in this module are taken from modern history of Russia. Russia has a long history of crisis situations, including nuclear disasters, terrorism, natural disasters and significant urban incidents, as well as political protests and international conflicts. Following how Russian leaders respond to and manage disasters, and how this is covered by the media, is particularly important for an understanding of contemporary Russia. For instance, the Kursk submarine disaster is often considered as a key moment in the development of Vladimir Putin’s mode of governance. That said, the module will also address cases from additional countries.
While the module relies mostly on cases taken from Russian history, this is embedded in a comparative and generally applicable theoretical context. It addresses general questions about the role of crisis situations, crisis communication and digital technologies in the socio-political development of semi-authoritarian and authoritarian states. It also raises some more general questions about the role of crises and emergencies in state-citizen relations in different socio-political contexts. Thus, this module should be of interest to students who are interested to obtain theoretical and empirical knowledge about crisis communication and crisis management.
We begin by providing a theoretical basis for the analysis of crisis communication and the socio-political role of crisis situations. We will focus on the analytical triangle of relations between state, citizens and crisis, and on how these relations are mediated by traditional media and digital technologies. We will also introduce a systematic view of relations between the social construction of crisis situations and the role of citizens in relation to a crisis.
The module will then look in depth at five types of crisis situations: technological crises, natural disasters, terror attacks, urban incidents and armed conflicts. The cases will be particularly concerned with the role of new media, as well as various types of digitally enabled innovation, in the context of emergency situations. In every case, it will examine how digital technologies mediate relationships between state and citizens, as well as between citizens and disasters.
The module will include crisis simulation exercise. Every student will be required to present a brief case study analysis in class.
*Please note that module information is indicative and is subject to change for future academic years.
Assessment details
Participation in simulation (15% of the final mark); Case presentation in class (35% of the final mark); 1x 3,000-word case analysis essay (50% of the final mark)
Teaching pattern
Two-hour lecture and seminar weekly over ten weeks (one term)