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The authors explore the impact of accelerating change and increasingly complex global and local challenges on the city as a complex socio-ecological service ecosystem (SES) and its capacity to ensure sustainability or ecosystem health. Drawing on systems science and the service ecosystems perspective, they present a framework for systemic management that prioritizes holistic, integrative, adaptive, […]
In this article Huan Liu and Ortwin Renn examine the concepts of polycrisis and systemic risk. They outline key commonalities and differences and develop a joint understanding to inform risk assessment, governance, and communication. The authors argue that traditional, siloed approaches are no longer adequate in a world marked by cascading, interconnected crises. Drawing on
Polycrisis and Systemic Risk: Assessment, Governance, and Communication Read More »
In this paper, Ruth Richardson argues that the global polycrisis demands a transformative shift in how systemic risks are assessed and addressed. Traditional, siloed approaches to risk management are no longer sufficient to confront the cascading and compounding nature of today’s interconnected challenges. She emphasizes the need for integrated, transdisciplinary methods that draw on diverse
Critical Responses to Global Systemic Risk in an Era of Polycrisis Read More »
This paper illustrates the potential of systems thinking by applying system archetypes to advance the conceptual understanding of the polycrisis. It explores three archetypes adapted to the study of polycrises: Converging Constraints (based on the Limits to Growth archetype), Deepening Divides (from Success to the Successful), and Crisis Deferral (from Policy Resistance). By mapping feedback
Polycrisis Patterns: Applying System Archetypes to Crisis Interactions Read More »
This paper examines the United Nations’ 2024 Summit of the Future and its Pact for the Future, suggesting that while the Pact addresses key global challenges, it does not fully account for the systemic nature of emerging risks such as polycrisis and planetary overshoot. The authors argue that existing governance models may be insufficient for
Towards the Governance of Global Systemic Risk: Reforming the Summit of the Future Read More »
One year after the call for papers for the Polycrisis in the Anthropocene special issue, 13 articles have been published, with more contributions forthcoming. This webinar features five authors from the first set of papers in the Global Sustainability special issue “Polycrisis in the Anthropocene.” It explores a range of efforts to deepen our understanding
Polycrisis in the Anthropocene – A Global Sustainability Webinar Read More »
The authors explore the relationship between polycrisis and metacrisis, proposing a three-layer logic model to explain their connection. While polycrisis refers to the entanglement of interconnected global crises that intensify one another, metacrisis points to the foundational conditions that generate these crises. Just as symptoms indicate an underlying illness, polycrisis is seen as a manifestation
From Polycrisis to Metacrisis: a short introduction Read More »
Malte Brosig examines the conditions under which crises may transmit across systems, presenting a conceptual analysis that draws on a diverse set of theoretical frameworks, including neofunctionalism, rational choice, complexity theory, assemblage theory, and epidemiology. He argues that crisis transmission is not automatic but may be shaped by factors such as stressor similarity, functional interdependencies,
How Do Crises Spread? The Polycrisis and Crisis Transmission Read More »
This chapter examines ‘restricted complexity’ research approaches and their effectiveness in addressing global polycrisis. It explores the potential of ‘complexity-congruent’ designs, which incorporate key traits such as temporal dynamics, multi-level scaling, and participatory methods. The chapter outlines a three-pronged framework: employing complexity-congruent methods, identifying time–space leverage points for intervention, and constructing scenarios of ‘boundary objects’
Complexity-Congruent Research: Methods and Methodology. In: Global Crises Read More »
Mike Berners-Lee explores the concept of Polycrisis and examines why, despite decades of clear scientific evidence and technically feasible solutions, humanity continues to fall short in responding effectively to these crises. Through a critical examination of structural, political, and economic forces, the author seeks to uncover what is preventing meaningful action and what can be
A Climate of Truth Read More »
