Economic Globalization’s Polycrisis
Eric Helleiner
Eric Helleiner defines polycrisis as “a cluster of distinct crises that interact in ways that they and/or their effects tend to reinforce each other” and argues that economic globalization is…
Polycrisis Resource Library
The Polycrisis Resource Library is a growing collection of media that help to understand polycrisis, develop strategies to address polycrisis, and build a field of polycrisis analysis.
Youth, Protests and the Polycrisis
Camila Teixeira
The report explores the transformative potential of youth protests while also highlighting the associated risks. It integrates quantitative research on protests with qualitative insights, including perspectives from young people.
European Climate Risk Assessment
European Environment Agency
The European Climate Risk Assessment identifies 36 major climate risks threatening Europe’s energy and food security, ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, financial stability, and public health. The report emphasizes that many…
Transition and Climate Crisis with Sabrina Fernandes at the University of Bath
Sabrina Fernandes
In this video, Dr. Sabrina Fernandes discusses how to rethink the Polycrisis from an internationalist Global South perspective and how it relates to transition and climate justice. Fernandes begins by…
All Crises are Unhappy in their Own Way: The role of societal instability in shaping the past
Daniel Hoyer, Samantha Louise Holder, James S Bennett, Pieter François, Harvey Whitehouse, Alan Covey, Gary Feinman, Andrey Korotayev, Vadim Vustiuzhanin, Johannes Preiser-Kapeller, Kathryn Bard, Jill Levine, Jenny Reddish, Georg Orlandi, Rachel Ainsworth, and Peter Turchin
The authors argue that the current body of research into societal crises—defined here as “periods of turmoil and destabilization in socio-cultural, political, economic, and other systems, often accompanied by varying…
How useful is the concept of polycrisis? Lessons from the development of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic
Shannon Dinan, Daniel Béland, and Michael Howlett
The authors examine domestic policymaking processes amidst polycrisis by tracing the Canadian government’s development of its Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) during the Covid-19 pandemic. They argue that the process…
After Neoliberalism: Economic Theory and Policy in the Polycrisis
Michael Jacobs
This article offers an ‘institutionally pluralist’ view proposing different kinds of institutions for five different spheres of economic life. It argues that economic policy should be seen as a process…
Decision-Making in the Polycrisis Era
Daniel Wagner and Ben Cattaneo
The authors explore the challenges decision makers face to address the impact of polycrisis on essential operational functions such as risk management and strategic planning. They offer insights and tools…
A Dynamic Network Model of Societal Complexity and Resilience Inspired by Tainter’s Theory of Collapse
Florian Schunck, Marc Wiedermann, Jobst Heitzig and Jonathan F. Donges
This study examines the dynamics of societal collapse based on Joseph Tainter’s theory of the “collapse of complex societies.” It explores how rising societal complexity influences productivity and the likelihood…
About the Resource Library
The Polycrisis Resource Library includes resources that:
- Comment on the polycrisis as a concept and as a present global reality
- Undertake similar analysis using different—but related—concepts
- Analyze crisis interactions among multiple global systems
Though not exhaustive, the Library strives to present a diverse representation of views on different aspects of the polycrisis discussion, and will be updated as that discussion evolves. Search for resources with the keyword search bar, or by using the drop-down menus to filter for type of resource, global systems addressed, and key themes.
‘Pre-Polycrisis’ Hazard Mitigation
Nick King
Nick King argues that industrial civilization has created many persistent and severe hazards (such as nuclear waste, methane leaking hydrocarbon infrastructure, contaminated sites, landfills, and deforested land), polycrises in the…