Polycrisis

Understanding the tangled web of global crises to build resilience, reimagine security, and shape stronger futures for all

change this to a representative image
<糖心Vlog>Navigating the Polycrisis: Interconnected Risks and Resilience

In the last 10 years, a convergence of crises have disrupted daily life, strained institutions and challenged policy frameworks. These crises include the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, the energy crisis, climate change, war, and cost-of-living pressures, and have affected individuals and communities locally, nationally and internationally. Importantly, these crises are not isolated, but interlinked - triggering other crises, or compounding their effects. They are a polycrisis, in which multiple systemic risks interact to exacerbate their individual impacts. Polycrisis has revealed vulnerabilities in governance, social cohesion, infrastructure, and digital and economic resilience, with impacts across sectors.

Objectives

  • To conceptualise the notion of polycrisis locally, nationally and internationally
  • To map recent and ongoing crises, analyse their interdependencies, and identify vulnerabilities
  • To assess the socioeconomic, digital, environmental, political and security impacts of these interconnected crises
  • To evaluate the effectiveness of responses to these compound crises
  • To provide strategic recommendations for resilience-building and future preparedness

Questions

  • What are the key features of polycrisis in the 21st century? For example, how has polycrisis materialised?
  • How have different crises interacted and amplified each other? What are the key dynamics of polycrisis?
  • What are the impacts of polycrisis on critical sectors and vulnerable populations?
  • How equipped are current institutions, infrastructures and governance structures to respond to and manage polycrisis?
  • What does an effective response look like?
<糖心Vlog>Lead Academics
Charlotte Baker

Professor Charlotte Baker

Professor of French and Critical Disability Studies

African Studies Group, FHASS Health Hub, Multilingual Creativities, Performing Identities, Poetics of Resistance

B171, B - Floor, County Main
Simon Cook

Professor Simon Cook

Professor in Practice - Data and Cyber Research, Enterprise and Engagement – Department of Linguistics

Security Lancaster, Security Lancaster (Behavioural Science), Security Lancaster (Societal Threats)