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, and the UK (England).
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 near future may significantly constrict humanity’s ability to manage these hazards, and therefore societies should prioritize long-term remedial actions now, while they still have the
‘Pre-Polycrisis’ Hazard Mitigation Read More »
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 embodied three key best practices for national-level policy design in a crisis—policy integration, learning, and agility—and show how these elements evade capture by the polycrisis
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 of institutional design and offers illustrative policy proposals in key fields, from climate change to business investment.
After Neoliberalism: Economic Theory and Policy in the Polycrisis Read More »
The authors argue that the concept of the “global problematique” introduced by the Club of Rome over 50 years ago anticipated what we now call polycrisis by presenting a cybersystemic perspective on the linkages between multiple challenges. They warn that the polycrisis concept could suffer the same fate as global problematique by changing discourse but
The report examines how the polycrisis challenges the European Union’s sustainability transition. It focuses on transformative resilience, the ability to absorb, adapt to, and anticipate shocks while driving systemic change. The report explores how this approach can strengthen sustainability policies in three key areas: the energy transition, circular economy, and just transition. It proposes governance
William White argues that climate policy around the world is lacking in dimensions of “should” (clear analysis of what must be done), “could” (the power to implement solutions), and “would” (the actual use of that power to address the problem). The even greater challenge, however, is that climate change is not the only global systemic
Noting that the world is failing to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this report explores six key solution areas to bridge the gap, encompassing policy, public sector activity, technology, infrastructure, private industry, and financial services. It proposes the emergence of a new global system as past “certainties” come to an end, leading to a
Capital as Force for Good: Solutions to Close the SDG Gap Read More »
Joseph Fiskel argues that the Maui wildfire reveals just how unprepared communities are to face polycrises. In response, he advocates systems thinking and greater resilience: “Rather than simply ‘bouncing back’ from crises, a resilient organization will ‘bounce forward’ by sensing threats, adapting to new conditions, and improving its responsiveness to surprise events. This requires long-term thinking,
Hawaii Wildfires Expose Need for Resilience in a Polycrisis World Read More »
The authors argue that a trigger event can’t start a crisis by itself; some underlying stress or stresses must also be operating. They contend that leaders should pay far more attention to these stresses, because they’re ultimately far more important. The original title of the article was “Let’s Avoid ‘Trigger Fixation.” The Globe and Mail
Let’s Avoid ‘Trigger Fixation’ Read More »
