Academic Journal Article

A delusion of control: Loss of agency in modern complex systems

This article argues that as “we increasingly rely on [globalized complex adaptive systems], we surrender more and more individual autonomy and agency, diminishing our ability to actually control our outcomes and wellbeing.” Concomitantly, “the illusion that we as individuals–or even as a society–can fully control the modern complex systems-of-systems that enable modern living is a […]

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Polycrisis in the Anthropocene as a Key Research Agenda for Geography: Ontological Delineation and the Shift to a Postdisciplinary Approach

Motivated by a desire to strengthen the social relevance of geography in the quest for global sustainability, Matlovic and Matlovicova discuss how the subdisciplines of geography and the rich heritage they present, as well as other related disciplines, can be integrated into the geographical study of polycrisis in the Anthropocene epoch. The authors identify polycrisis

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An interdisciplinary review of systemic risk factors leading up to existential risks

The author explores the interdisciplinary nature of systemic risks arising from economic, technological, sociopolitical, and ecological factors. He aims to establish a foundation for an integrated approach to systemic risks, highlighting the need to align risk factors and terminology to strengthen global resilience against cascading threats.

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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, and the UK (England).

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Exploring Food System Resilience to the Global Polycrisis in Six Asian Countries

The authors explore the resilience of food systems in six Asian countries (Bangladesh, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Pakistan, Philippines, and Sri Lanka) amidst the global polycrisis caused by COVID-19, geopolitical conflicts, and climate change. Using trend analyses of 19 indicators from global and national data sources, the study assesses four key domains of food system

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Economic Globalization’s Polycrisis

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 experiencing a polycrisis made up of five constituent crises: the deepening trade war between the United States and China; the move towards national self-sufficiency in

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All Crises are Unhappy in their Own Way: The role of societal instability in shaping the past

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 amounts of violence and sometimes significant changes in social structure”—concentrates on a narrow selection of historical examples. Addressing this, the authors compile a database of

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How useful is the concept of polycrisis? Lessons from the development of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic

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

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