The crisis of generations a millennia ago might be characterized as local, discrete and determinative, with life-or-death results. The crisis of today may be better characterised as global, interconnected, and, while potentially having real individual consequences, may be more strongly impact systems or even civilizations. In this volume, we address concerns regarding ethics and codes of conduct in crises and disasters, and the significance of trust in such fragile situations. We move on to discussing the known and unknown aspects of vulnerability, as well as international versus domestic preparedness responsibility.

We elaborate on questions like these, throughout the three sections of this volume, respectively I) Rethinking Crisis—Concepts, Ethics, and Justice, II) Governance, Communication, and Leadership in Crisis and, III) Crisis in Action—Empirical Case Studies and Lessons Learned. The volume offers a multi-faceted perspective on crises and preparedness, of particular interest to scholars and policy makers engaging with safety issues of the Arctic and High North.