Crafting Crisis Narratives

Springer eBooks, pp. 65–85

Abstract

Abstract Communication is pivotal when a society faces a sudden, disruptive and disturbing event. People want to know what is going on, why it is happening, what is done to safeguard them and what they can to protect themselves. During COVID-19, governments were the main sources of that information, at least initially. Governments tried to shape the attitudes, emotions and behaviours of citizens in accordance with their policies. Over time, alternative crisis narratives emerged and influenced citizen behaviour. This chapter examines crisis communication in the COVID-19 crisis: how did leaders try to ‘make making’ of this unprecedented threat? How did they deal with the alternative crisis frames that emerged over time?

Authors 3

1. Arjen Boin Aachen Department of Political Science

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Political Science, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Allan McConnell corresponding

   The University of Sydney

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney, Darlington, Australia

3. Paul ‘t Hart

   Utrecht University

   Affiliation as printed

   School of Governance, Utrecht University, Driebergen-Rijsenburg, The Netherlands