Crisis Communication at the Local Level – A Case Study of Novi Pazar

Abstract

Crisis communication is an absolutely vital part of crisis management and emergency response, with a great impact on the success of operational efforts to prevent unwanted events, that is, if these events do happen, their harmful consequences are reduced as much as possible. In this sense, this area must be regulated both normatively and functionally, and this subject is given great attention in developed and successful countries. When it comes to the Republic of Serbia, the establishment of the necessary normative and functional assumptions for successful crisis communication is still in its initial phase of development. This paper analyzes the normative and functional aspects of crisis communication in the town of Novi Pazar based on the available sources of data and documents, as well as a survey of relevant actors. The authors conclude that although significant efforts have been made in launching a crisis communication system at the local level, nonetheless, there are certain oversights, weaknesses, and shortcomings in this area, i.e. significant room for improvement of crisis communication of the city headquarter for emergency situations and competent organizational units within the city offices.