The emergency establishes a radical change in the way security is provided. Emergency laws and ordinances come into force and must be enforced by the police and, in some cases, by municipal law enforcement agencies. Since it justifies in part considerable interferences with fundamental rights, the declaration of an emergency is just as much in need of legitimation as the exercise of the emergency measures themselves. Their acceptance is derived from the state's duty to protect as well as from the recognition in principle of the authority of the state and its organs; conversely, however, a failure of emergency management can call their legitimacy into question, and a refusal to accept individual measures can lead to a general crisis of legitimacy. In this respect, emergencies and emergency measures are the stress test of legitimacy and acceptance concerns.
This is particularly true in the case of emergencies of considerable severity and strong dynamics, of nationwide scope, of longer duration, and even more so when there is only limited experience with an emergency situation, when there is a lack of a "script". In such cases, the impact and vulnerability are distributed very differently locally, regionally and socially. Primary and secondary harm caused by emergency measures arises, and after an acute period the question arises when and how the emergency situation can be overcome. This holds especially true for new types of large-scale harm, whose development is uncertain. A self-legitimizing force based on the evidence of the emergency quickly fades, the apparent lack of alternative for decisions is overlaid by their political character, and the prioritization and distribution of official assistance and the restrictions on social life are subject to justification. Accordingly, in a democracy, plurality of opinions and disputes unfold; even the underlying expert opinions on official measures can be called into question and public support can shift completely.
This change in the reciprocal conditions of the need for acceptance and the requirements for legitimacy in a prolonged emergency has not yet been sufficiently assessed in terms of its logic, its dynamics and its dimensions. The aim of this project is, firstly, to present a systematic analysis of this and, secondly, to use this as a basis for acquiring guidance on the (local ) design of measures and risk communication in emergencies for authorities and organizations working in the security sector. The current pandemic provides the empirical basis for the research, but the objectives refer more generally to wide-ranging emergencies.
The Endowed Professorship for Crime Prevention and Risk Management at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Prof. Dr. Rita Haverkamp, investigates the willingness of the population to cooperate in emergency situation with regards to the relationship and action of the police and/or municipal law enforcement agencies by means of a vignette survey and qualitative interviews. In addition, the focus will be on the municipal implementation of emergency decrees and the locally operating actors of disaster control and civil protection.
The three-year project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the Research for Civil Security program for the announcement "Civil Security - Societies in Transition". It is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Rita Haverkamp from the Endowed Chair for Crime Prevention and Risk Management (University of Tübingen).
