Governance of Crisis (MSc)

Jonas Carinhas

Alumnus Governance of Crisis

I chose this master’s programme because I wanted to build on my previous security focused education. As someone who wants to develop their career in the field of security, I believe it is essential to be prepared for crisis situations and build one’s resilience and adaptability.

We cannot predict what the next crisis will be, but we can be prepared to quickly regroup and adapt to it. For that reason, I chose the Governance of Crisis track, which focuses on the overall process of crisis management rather than a specific crisis environment. The knowledge I have gained about coordinating, preparing, communicating in, and learning from a crisis are valuable building blocks for strategic crisis management, whichever security environment I find myself in.

What does this master's programme entail?

Crises such as hurricanes, floods, system blackouts and terrorist attacks are considered serious threats to the basic structures or the fundamental values and norms of a society. In the track Governance of Crisis, you will be familiarized with the main body of knowledge on strategic crisis management. You will learn to recognize the political, organizational and societal interests at stake in the strategic management of crises.

In this track you will

• Learn to understand and employ the main theoretical insights on the above challenges for public and private organizations;
• Learn to recognise the political, organizational and societal interests at stake in the strategic management of crises;
• Acquire the analytical skills to understand risk, vulnerability, preparedness and its consequences from a variety of perspectives, such as the regulatory, the societal and the political perspective;
• Be sensitised for the intricacies of sense making, decision making and coordination under time pressure and uncertainty. You will be challenged to assess risk and crisis communication dilemmas from the position of both the responsible public authorities as well as media, victims and other stakeholders within the professional governmental network;
• Be able to analyse and understand the dynamics, consequences and challenges of post-crisis governance, related to political accountability, learning and investigation to improve future safety, and to how society needs to bounce back in terms of recalibration, recovery, and psychosocial care in the aftermath of crises and disasters.

>> Check the admission requirements