Guest editorial : Public administration and crisis governance in small states

Abstract

The editorial sets the scene to the special section that brings together four articles on crisis governance in small states. While questions of crisis management and robust governance have received growing attention in the public administration literature, we lack knowledge on how these phenomena play out in the specific context of small states. The editorial briefly presents the articles and discusses common themes emerging across the very diverse study settings. It becomes apparent that vulnerability and robustness are two sides of the same coin: both are facilitated by typical small state features, including an inevitably higher exposure to external factors and influences, limited governing capacities, and small scale. Paradoxically, smallness facilitates vulnerability to crises as well as robustness in crisis response. The editorial concludes with suggestions for future research.