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.

Global Food Insecurity and Famine from Reduced Crop, Marine Fishery and Livestock Production due to Climate Disruption from Nuclear War Soot Injection

August 15, 2022

Lili Xia, Alan Robock, Kim Scherrer, Cheryl S. Harrison, Benjamin Leon Bodirsky, Isabelle Weindl, Jonas Jägermeyr, Charles G. Bardeen, Owen B. Toon and Ryan Heneghan

The authors examine the global food consequences of nuclear war on food security. Through six scenarios of stratospheric soot injection resulting from nuclear detonations, and using integrated climate, crop, and…

Polycrisis and Long-Term Thinking

Polycrisis and Long-Term Thinking: Reimagining Development in Asia and the Pacific Foresight Brief

August 1, 2022

UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific

This Foresight Brief argues that conventional risk management frameworks cannot grapple with the growing number of systemic and existential risks generated by decades of globalization. Instead, these risks require more…

A Call for an International Research Program on the Risk of a Global Polycrisis

July 20, 2022

Thomas Homer-Dixon, Ortwin Renn, Johan Rockström, Jonathan F. Donges, and Scott Janzwood

The authors propose that hitherto unrecognized, complex teleconnections and self-reinforcing feedbacks among global systems are accelerating, amplifying, and synchronizing crises. The ultimate result of such unrecognized processes could be a…

An Embarrassment of Changes: International Relations and the COVID-19 Pandemic

July 5, 2022

Mathew Davies and Christopher Hobson

Mathew Davies and Christopher Hobson argue that the COVID-19 pandemic is part of an ongoing polycrisis that requires significant changes to the ways in which the discipline of International Relations…

Replacing Sustainable Development: Potential Frameworks for International Cooperation in an Era of Increasing Crises and Disasters

July 5, 2022

Jem Bendell

Reviewing international cooperation on social and environmental change, and particularly the failure to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, Jem Bendell argues that the Sustainable Development framework is unable to address…

Chartbook

June 24, 2022

Adam Tooze

Adam Tooze frequently discusses various aspects of the polycrisis in his blog posts. Notable entries include: “Defining polycrisis – from crisis pictures to the crisis matrix” (24 June 2022) “Calibrating…

The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats – And Our Response – Will Change the World

May 17, 2022

Ian Bremmer

Ian Bremmer argues that the world faces three major crises—pandemics, climate change, and disruptive technologies (AI, lethal autonomous weapons, cyberwarfare, and biotechnology)—but our ability to respond effectively is hampered by…

Briefing note on systemic risk

March 10, 2022

Jana Sillmann, Ingrid Christensen, Stefan Hochrainer-Stigler, Jo-Ting Huang-Lachmann, Sirkku Juhola, Kai Kornhuber, Miguel D. Mahecha, Reinhard Mechler, Markus Reichstein, Alex C. Ruane, Pia-Johanna Schweizer and Scott Williams

This briefing note presents an integrated perspective on climate, environmental, and disaster risk science and practice concerning systemic risk. It provides an overview of the evolving concepts of systemic risk…

Crude Futures

February 22, 2022

Richard Hames

In this blog, Richard Hames discusses polycrisis, societal collapse, existential risk, and related themes. Notable entries include: · “Existential Risk and The Method of Collapsology” (23 June 2022) · “The decisive moment”…

How the World Really Works

January 27, 2022

Vaclav Smil

Against those who anticipate a smooth, timely transition to renewable energy and net-zero carbon emissions, Vaclav Smil argues that we are much more dependent on fossil fuels than we recognize…

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.

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