Editorial Essay: Innovation in Risk and Crisis Communication: Toward New Topics, Theories, and Methods

Abstract

Climate change, emerging diseases, population migration and dislocation, breakdowns in civil society, aging infrastructure, rising expectations, limitations and competition for critical resources - food, water, energy - technological complexity and collapses, and many other forms of natural, human-caused, and interactive events will challenge and, in many cases, overwhelm our communication processes and capacities. (Seeger, 2018) Just 4 years ago, Dr. Matthew Seeger, the first editor of the Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research (JICRCR) made this prediction in the journal’s inaugural issue. In late 2022, Seeger's prediction appears almost prophetic as we look back on nearly 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, on a series of climate-induced, large-scale disasters across the globe and on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The concurrent and connected global crises we all face pose both challenges and opportunities in crisis and risk communication research. At this point, it seems more important than ever to critically reflect on the status quo, anticipate new developments, and engage in discussion about the future directions in our field. Therefore, in our fourth and final essay as an editorial team for the JICRCR, we ask: Which innovative approaches do we find in the work our community is conducting, in particular, regarding research topics, theories, and methodology? To what degree can they help tackle the most pressuring challenges related to our field? And what needs to be done to foster further innovation? To find answers to these questions, we will reflect on new topics, theories, and methods in crisis and risk communication research.