What is a crisis and how politics works when we have one? In ordinary times of "normal policymaking" the policy cycle is smooth, there is plenty of time for consultation and the legislative process follows a pre-determined pace. But when a crisis happens political time and political space contract or expand according to the magnitude and the duration of the shock. The horizon of what is feasible and desirable is redefined as crisis-management strategies often require bold action and out of the box thinking. Institutional trajectories may be disrupted, norms might be suspended, or even worse, civic rights might be infringed for the sake of national interest and security. Crisis-management and power politics are inextricably linked since the political game never stops, it only gets more complicated and high-stakes when a shock interrupts normalcy.

Unlike natural phenomena, crises are construed and interpreted by actors in the shadow of limited rationality and incomplete information. Often, uncertainty prevails and contingent events spin history in unexpected ways. In the brave new world, we live in, crises overlap, and policymakers must deal with multiple challenges simultaneously. From the war in Ukraine, persisting inflation, climate change and insufficient energy resources, leaders and policymakers are called to manage a plethora of interdependent crises and arduous policy tradeoffs.

This course aims at familiarizing students with crises that marked the 21st century and analyze their economic consequences. While the course starts with theory from political science and international political economy it gradually becomes more applied both in terms of content as well as requirements, since students are called to apply knowledge, present independently complex crises episodes and position themselves in the shoes of policymakers in what-if scenarios.

- Hannah Arendt, 1967. “Truth and Politics”. Originally published in The New Yorker, February 25, 1967*

- Suggested podcast: Talking Politics: History of Ideas - Weber on Leadership | The Profession and Vocation of Politics, 1919*

- Peter Hart (1993), Symbols, Rituals and Power: The Lost Dimensions of Crisis Management, Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 1: 36-50.*

and a lot more on OLAT and in the Syllabus

Arjen Boin, Paul 't Hart & Allan McConnell (2009) Crisis exploitation: political and policy impacts of framing contests, Journal of European Public Policy, 16:1, 81-106, DOI: 10.1080/13501760802453221

Suggested film Wag the Dog (1997)