Crisis Management: A Historical and Conceptual Approach for a Better Understanding of Today's Crises

We argue that the basic and contemporary concepts related to crisis management, especially in the communication field, share some similarities with what was practiced in ancient civilizations such as the importance of direct contact between the leadership and the public. Other similarities include the accurate diagnosis of the real causes of the crisis, the forbiddance of the dissemination of false news and the reassurance of the public opinion that there is a solution to the crisis, a sound management decision, and a good plan for its implementation. We link the past time crises to the contemporary era, providing a comparison framework. The history of crisis tends to show us that the study of crisis management cannot be linked to a specific civilization or era, especially when humanity had witnessed multiple and complex environmental, political, economic, and military crisis. Moreover, some of the problems and complex issues in the modern era are rooted in history. Thus, many geopolitical crises nowadays are the result of old causes. The study of crisis management from an academic point of view should be a multifaceted analysis, including a historical, a cultural, and an anthropological one, which determines the course of evolution and consequences of the crisis.