Crisis Leadership in Governing Floods: Lessons from the western Balkans

Abstract

Crisis

leadership challenges exacerbate when leaders have to deal with a structural

resource shortages, public institutions in transition, ongoing deep-rooted

ethno-political conflict, and a history and continued presence of clientelism in politics and administration. Yet media and the public display a strong tendency to arrive at quick and shallow judgments on leadership performance during and after crisis. This chapter aims to look beyond the superficial frame that dominates political debates and media coverage by using an evaluation framework of leadership tasks to draw lessons on leadership performance during the floods of May 2014 in the Western Balkans. This leadership evaluation is based on the best practices and shortcomings in crisis management from the empirical studies on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia presented in the chapters in this book. The lessons emanate from this particular context but their implications are most relevant for communities and leaders of the affected countries, facing similar contingencies in the coming years.