Navigating Obstacles to Cross-Border Crisis Preparedness: Preliminary Findings from an Interview Study

Abstract

The Covid‑19 pandemic and the 2024 floods in Central Europe illustrate that disasters do not stop at geographical borders. Cross‑border collaboration is therefore often essential for mitigating risks, reducing impacts, and supporting recovery. This interdisciplinary study contributes to the field of crisis management by identifying key challenges in cross‑border preparedness in a Swedish–Norwegian border region and by proposing approaches for crisis management exercises to address these obstacles. Preliminary findings from interviews with practitioners highlight challenges such as unclear mandates, weak cross‑border networks, communication problems linked to differences in language and terminology, and limited interoperability of digital tools. We argue that joint exercises can help tackle these issues by explicitly addressing roles, responsibilities, and terminology, as well as by prioritising network building and the use of digital technologies in exercise design.