Nikolina Pejović, MSc, PhD Student
University “Mediterranean”, Podgorica (MNE)
Abstract
Crisis situations caused by natural disasters require an extremely rapid and pre-defined institutional response at all levels, as well as timely and clear public communication. The ancient Greek poet Archilochus stated: “under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training.” The relevance of this idea in this specific case is reflected in the need for state institutions to continuously monitor contemporary communication trends in order to build trust, reduce the spread of panic, and improve coordination across all available resources.
During the wildfires in Montenegro in 2025, digital communication channels of state institutions played a significant role in the real-time distribution of information. Through these channels, institutions informed citizens about the current situation, fire locations, ways in which they could contribute to firefighting efforts, self-protection measures, and all other necessary information. The subject of this study is the perception of Montenegrin citizens regarding the role of digital communication channels of state institutions during the 2025 wildfires in Montenegro. Of particular importance for the study are the assessments of the timeliness and reliability of information disseminated by institutions during the crisis. The research was conducted using a survey questionnaire on a sample of Montenegrin citizens. The aim of the study is to determine the relationship between the quality of institutional digital communication, citizens’ trust, and their level of informedness during the 2025 wildfires.