Multiple global crises are worsening one another to produce what many policymakers, scholars, and commentators call a “polycrisis.” This website is a hub that helps this emerging community better understand and address the intersecting crises affecting humanity.
LATEST RESOURCES
Interconnected crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty
The authors explore the intertwined crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and poverty, emphasizing how these issues amplify one another and create a vicious cycle that threatens ecosystems, livelihoods, and global stability. They advocate for ...
The interconnected nature of multiple threats is impacting freshwater biodiversity
The article explores the co-occurrence of threats to freshwater species globally and the interconnectedness of threat networks. Using probabilistic network analysis and data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, it reveals that ...
Polycrisis 2025
The author explores the ongoing instability in the United States and its global repercussions, framing 2025 as a year of escalating crises. From geopolitical tensions to tech transfers, mineral extraction, and climate disasters, these disruptions ...
The Chaos Vortex: We’re Going In
John Fullerton examines how Trump’s rise reflects deeper systemic failures, driven by ultra-elites in finance and tech who rely on a flawed, mechanistic worldview. He argues that systemic transformation is needed, advocating for a shift ...
Are we at a turning point in world history?
David Motadel explores the concept of historical inflection points, where major events irreversibly reshape societies. He argues that such turning points are often symptoms of deeper structural transformations and that addressing today’s crises requires understanding ...
Navigating International Crises: The Evolving Challenges for Humanitarian Organizations
In this episode, Nate Hagens talks with Birgitte Bischoff, the European Regional Director for The Red Cross, about her vision for the future of humanitarian work and the challenges and opportunities for more proactive and ...
We’re in a polycrisis. Philanthropy should adopt a systems-focused approach.
The author discusses the interconnected nature of current global challenges, emphasizing the substantial impact of locally-led, systems-focused approaches in addressing multidimensional issues. He highlights the importance of early-stage local organizations' firsthand knowledge of their communities, ...
We live in times of multiple entwined crises – but our policy responses aren’t keeping up
The authors discuss the inadequacy of current policies in addressing interconnected crises like biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. Drawing on two IPBES assessment reports, they argue that while these reports offer effective policy options ...
Why Biden failed
Nate Silver reflects on Joe Biden’s presidency, attributing its challenges to strategic missteps and the difficulty of managing a polycrisis—interconnected issues like the COVID pandemic, inflation, and climate change. He argues that overpromising solutions without ...
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Tracking SDG Achievements in the Age of Polycrisis
The authors examine the impact of the polycrisis on the global SDG Index by assessing the progress of countries worldwide in achieving SDG targets before and after the COVID period. Analyzing five SDGs (poverty, hunger, ...
Understanding biodiversity – ecosystem service linkages in real landscapes
The article examines the impact of human-driven biodiversity loss and its consequences for ecosystem functions and services, emphasizing its role in the global polycrisis. It highlights the need for large-scale, real-world studies to understand biodiversity-ecosystem ...
Institutional designs and dynamics of crisis governance at the local level: European governments facing the polycrisis
The authors analyze the institutional design variations in local crisis governance responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and their intersection with other significant local crises from a cross-country comparative perspective, focusing on France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, ...
Try our guided tour of essential themes in the polycrisis discussion and key texts in the Polycrisis Resource Library.
This map charts the emerging community of scholars and practitioners working on polycrisis and closely related topics.