The Handbook of International Crisis Communication Research

This handbook provides a timely international overview of the research in the field of crisis communication. Crisis communication has become global construct; a growth in media sources and usage has led to crises – as well as public communication about crises – crossing national and cultural boundaries. In addition, crises increasingly have a transnational impact, affecting commodity prices, impacting migration and translocation of victims, and changing national and international political agendas.  Other crisis factors, such as climate change, disease and conflicts, have a regional impact extending beyond national boundaries.

This book addresses these developments by discussing the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of domestic and transnational crises. In addition, it provides a comprehensive overview of how scholarship in the field has developed in countries throughout the world. This book articulates a broader understanding of crisis communication, which includes work in different sub–disciplines and related fields including journalism, public relations, audience research, psychology, political science, sociology, economics, anthropology, and international communication. The chapters present concepts, findings, and their implications regarding a broad range of crisis types, such as war, terrorism, natural disasters, pandemia and organizational crises. In addition, this volume will outline methods and challenges of studying crisis communication cross–culturally. 

Andreas Schwarz is Senior Lecturer and Managing Chair of the Department of Media Studies at Ilmenau University of Technology in Germany. He is also managing director of the International Research Group on Crisis Communication and the founding chair of the Temporary Working Group on Crisis Communication at the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA).

Matthew Seeger is Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Performing and Communication Arts and Professor of Communication at Wayne State University, USA. His influential research in crisis communication scholarship had led to over 100 journal articles, contributions and co–authoring six books on crisis communication and organizational communication ethics. 

Claudia Auer is Research Assistant at the Institute of Media and Communication Science of the Ilmenau University of Technology, Germany. She is a member of the International Research Group on Crisis Communication and the Ilmenau Center of Public Diplomacy Research and Training.