Political Crisis Communication

It is only in particularly severe crises that political actors (as opposed to private enterprises) need to act as crisis communicators. However, not least with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that political crisis communication can become the regular and only form of political communication. Considering evolving global challenges like the climate crisis, mass migration, immigration, economic crises, or potential future pandemics, also in the future, crisis communication will be vital for politics on regional, national and international levels. In this context, the section brings together the latest research on political crisis communication, with a focus on political responses to global crises (e.g. the COVID-19 crisis). Questions addressed can be (among others), how country-specific factors (e.g. political systems), different actors (e.g. opposition vs. government, national vs. inter-/supranational), or timing of the crisis shape crisis communication. The section is also interested in research centering around the role of different forms of media and public responses to crises communication and thus also welcomes contributions dealing with, e.g., false balancing in news coverage or the crisis communication of social movements. All theoretical backgrounds and methods, whether qualitative or quantitative, are welcome. Proposals from all relevant subfields analyzing different forms of crisis communication using comparative analyses and case studies are welcome. While we also welcome full panel submissions, we propose the following six panels: - Misinformation and fake news during crises (potential Chair: Alena Kluknavská, Masaryk University Brno) - The role of traditional and alternative media in crisis communication (potential Chair: Lore Hayek, University of Innsbruck) - Government responses to COVID-19 (potential Chair: Christian Schwaderer, University of Innsbruck) - The gender dimension of crisis communication (potential Chair: Sarah Dingler, University of Innsbruck) - Crisis communication by international organizations (potential Chair: Martin Senn, University of Innsbruck) - Comparing, evaluating, and theorizing crisis communication (potential Chair: Olga Eisele, University of Vienna)