Communication in Times of Crisis - A Systematic Comparison of Political Communication

The global economic and financial crisis touched all EU-member states to the quick. Das Progressive Zentrum examines the actions taken by the governments of Great-Britain, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands in order to contain the crisis.

The aim of the study was to identify, analyse and compare communication efforts and strategies that relevant governments of other European states used during the crisis to gain national public approval for their crisis management. A key focus of the project was to use empirical data from 2008 and 2009 as well as qualitative interviews to determine the effectiveness and success of various communication efforts. Also, based on international comparison, conclusions were drawn and recommendations made for the communicative work of the Federal Ministry of Finance. Finally, another aim was to develop suggestions on how to improve the coordination of political communication amongst European treasuries. In the light of the current Euro-crisis the study gains further importance.

A special focus is put on how the Governments communicated their anti-crisis policies in the public. Click here, to download the English executive summary of our study.

The complete version of the study (German) can be downloaded here.