Imperial edict from this country when close to catastrophe (5)
I believe the answer is:
ukase
'imperial edict' is the definition.
(decree in tsarist Russia)
'this country when close to catastrophe' is the wordplay.
'this country' becomes 'uk' (from the perspective of a British newspaper).
'when' becomes 'as'.
'close to' says to take the final letters (the close/ending of).
The last letter of 'catastrophe' is 'e'.
'uk'+'as'+'e'='UKASE'
'from' is the link.
(Other definitions for ukase that I've seen before include "Authoritarian decree" , "Imperial decree in Tsarist Russia" , "Official decree, from Russia" , "Act" , "Tsarist decree; sea UK (anag.)" .)