This website presents Control Risks’ RiskMap 2026. It identifies four interconnected risks defining the global business environment in 2026: a new rules — no rules world, where governments are abandoning established norms in favour of transactional arrangements, replacing multilateral frameworks with protectionism and backroom deals; the rise of activated societies, where generations mobilised by grievance […]
In this podcast, David Runciman talks to historian Gary Gerstle about how the idea of the polycrisis was originally conceived, what its current popularity reveals about our times, and whether we are truly experiencing a polycrisis or something else entirely. They also explore questions such as: Why is it comforting to think that the crises
The History of Bad Ideas: Polycrisis Read More »
In this webinar, historian Daniel Hoyer examines the concept of the polycrisis through a historical lens. He explores the lessons past societies offer for understanding today’s complex global challenges and discusses the critical role of youth in shaping responses to the current polycrisis.
Youth in the Polycrisis Read More »
In this article, the authors reframe the concept of polycrisis through a decolonial lens, emphasizing the need to center global South experiences in understanding interlocking crises. Drawing on examples such as Pakistan’s climate-induced debt spiral and Puerto Rico’s post-disaster vulnerabilities, the authors argue that colonial legacies and global financial architectures continue to shape crisis dynamics.
Decolonising Polycrisis: Southern Perspectives on Interlocking Crises Read More »
This report examines the complex and compounding challenges facing economies in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS). It highlights how overlapping crises—such as armed conflict, institutional fragility, climate-related disasters, commodity price volatility, and global economic shocks—interact to deepen poverty, food insecurity, and deficits in human development across FCS economies. The report calls for targeted, sequenced policy
Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations: Intertwined Crises, Multiple Vulnerabilities Read More »
This book explores contemporary public policy and governance in the Global South, offering comparative analyses and detailed case studies from Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. It examines how governments are navigating 21st-century challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, democratic backsliding, deteriorating public services, and geopolitical shifts linked to the rise
Polycrisis! Implications for Public Policy in the Global South Read More »
This article explores the pivotal role of international finance in shaping political responses to four major global crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the climate emergency, and the intensifying geoeconomic rivalry between China and the United States. It highlights how financial mobilization has varied across these crises, serving distinct strategic purposes and
International Finance and the Global Polycrisis Read More »
The authors examine the impact of global risks on economic growth dynamics across more than 200 countries from 1961 to 2023, revealing a consistent decline in growth rates linked to intertwined geopolitical, economic, social, environmental, and technological risks. Through structural analysis and analytical tools, they identify economic and environmental risks as key contributors to the
This article examines the potential of Aid for Trade (AfT) as a tool for building resilience in developing countries and least developed countries amid the growing complexity of global polycrisis. Drawing on evidence from a range of AfT-supported initiatives, it highlights AfT’s capacity to enhance resilience at both macro and micro levels. However, the impact
The authors investigate the evolving nature of global crises by analyzing the temporal trends, geographic distribution, and co-occurrences of shocks across 175 countries from 1970 to 2019. Their findings reveal that shocks have become increasingly co-occurring until 2000, particularly involving conflict, climate, and technological disruptions, followed by regionally varied patterns of stabilization or decline. By
