We can never foresee crisis — Asian Studies professor
Asian Studies professor Jonathan Libut speaks at the online lecture, "Crisis Analysis and Governance," organized by the Asian Studies Society and the Asian Studies Program on February 19, 2024, via Zoom Cloud Meeting.
By Shaira Dennisse Sindayen
We can never foresee the development and eruption of a crisis, Asian Studies Prof. Jonathan Libut said. Despite this, he discussed that it is important to have a comprehensive grasp of a crisis in order to manage it appropriately, particularly due to the current situation in the global society.
In his lecture on Feb. 19 via Zoom Cloud Meeting, Libut stated that analyzing and governing a crisis is the better way to approach it. Meanwhile, he discussed the usefulness of having an interdisciplinary lens using disciplines such as history, anthropology, and the scientific method in crisis analysis and governance.
“Governing is highly complex…you don’t just simply want to erase or troubleshoot an issue, but you really want to tackle it directly.” He added that crisis governance entails having a sense of responsibility and commitment to handle such situations.
Libut also noted that the context is vital since specific protocol recommendations in addressing crisis might be more harmful to the people, resulting in more “division and friction.” “You don’t recommend policies and protocols right away, and people have different norms,” he said.
Regarding safety and security in crisis analysis, Libut tackled the need to balance both, citing the Cuban Missile Crisis, during which security was given much focus without addressing the potential harm to the people.
“When a crisis arrives… the way how you see [it] should be both a security and safety issue,” he reiterated.
Libut mentioned having a sense of structure and guidelines when governing a crisis through a set of indicators based on credible sources of data. “You can borrow them and contextualize them into your own socio-demographic habitat,” he added, referring to the potential indicators that should be context-specific to the institutions or groups.
Moreover, he emphasized the roles of reliable databases in verifying and validating certain perceptions circulating online. “If there’s an academic celebrity on Twitter (X), don’t go over them; you have to go for the data,” he said.
The webinar entitled “Crisis Analysis and Governance” is organized by the Asian Studies Society and the Asian Studies Program as part of the Asian Studies Interdisciplinary Lecture Series.
