Understanding a Crisis
Starting off our last semester with Ad and Pr Lab we encountered Crisis Management for the first time and we got a taste of the power this subject holds. We soon found out that with this lab we will not only learn how to manage and solve issues that might arise, but also how to prevent them. However, before diving deeper into this complex and important world of crises, the first step -after identifying one of course- is learning in depth about it.
Every year our lab choses a current crisis to analyze and work on and this year we are in the unfortunate situation of facing an unprecedented one, the war between Ukraine and Russia. In order to learn how to work with this crisis as a case study, our first assignment was to search and gain knowledge on the situation and what it means for Europe -and the whole world. Therefore with this assignment we covered 3 pillars that helped us gain fundamental knowledge on what’s happening.
The first step was browsing through foreign media to see what is essentially going on, from their perspective. Interestingly enough we learnt that this devastating attack to Ukraine by air, land and sea is refused to be named “war” or even “invasion” by the Russian side, while the consequences -as seen in the form of 1 million Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Europe for example- say otherwise. What’s aimed to be the means to protect the Russian people as well as to “demilitarize” and “de-Nazify” Ukraine is deeply rooted in the years-long Russian refusal to let the former join the European Union and the West’s defensive military alliance, Nato.
And it goes without saying that this will change the face of Europe forever. The whole world is talking about a refugee, humanitarian and diplomatic crisis with consequences ranging from increase in prices (e.g. gas or petrol) to reduction of Euro’s GDP to a significant nuclear risk.
A brief walkthrough of Ukraine’s history timeline shows the importance of Henry Kissinger’s words that the West should understand the complex bonds and history that tie the two countries together as well as why Ukraine will never be just a foreign country for Russia. Starting as Kyiv Rus, a loose type of federation, it was declared as an independent nation after the collapse of the USSR. From 1994 onwards its history is filled with efforts to join the EU, form partnerships with Nato and minimize Russian influence along with the tense relations characterizing the two countries. For Kissinger, Russia’s intentions to force Ukraine into a satellite condemns the former’s relations with Europe and the US. However, the latter should not join NATO but should be free nonetheless to choose its economic and political alliances, a form of government compatible with the will of its people and a policy of reconciliation between the various regions of their country. The other side, lastly, should recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea, according to Kissinger.
Having gathered all this information, it’s safe to say we got what “understanding a crisis first” means. Starting strong with a large-scale real-life crisis is how we do it in Ad and Pr Lab. We gained valuable insights and we look forward to seeing how the coming teachings can be implemented in a case like this, when so many things are at stake.
SOURCES:
Betty Tsakarestou, Mania Xenou
COLAB team members: GeorgiannaChondrou, Despoina Fragou, Angeliki Kyriazi, Angeliki Valeri
