Permacrisis
A polycrisis (from the French polycrise) is a situation in which multiple, distinct crises (economic, environmental, geopolitical, social, or technological) occur simultaneously and interact in ways that amplify each other, producing outcomes more severe than the sum of the individual crises. The concept highlights the interdependencies and feedback loops between global systems, where shocks in one domain (e.g., climate change, financial instability, pandemics, energy insecurity, or political conflict) cascade into others.
Although the word itself has appeared in various contexts since the late 20th century, it gained widespread currency in the early 21st century through its use by historians, political scientists, and institutions such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), which organizes the annual Davos summits. Mark Leonard described global elites' reactions to the polycrisis narrative at Davos as "exhausting and bewildering." The notion underscores the increasing complexity and fragility of global systems in an era of globalization, ecological stress, and technological acceleration.
Scholars distinguish a polycrisis from a mere coincidence of crises: it implies systemic entanglement, where crises cannot be effectively understood—or resolved—in isolation. The framing has been influential in academic, policy, and media discussions around global governance, risk management, and long-term sustainability.
Critics of the term have characterized it as a buzzword or a distraction from more concrete causes of the crises, suggesting that it may obscure specific, actionable problems and create a sense of overwhelming complexity that could hinder effective responses. Others argue that as a buzzword of the world's economic elite, the idea has been developed without taking the experiences of people in the global South into consideration, people who have experienced multiple and interlocking crises for decades. One direct counter-narrative is polytunity, which reframes the polycrisis not as paralysis but as a generational opening for deep transformation of global institutions and thought.
Quite Frankly
- 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000000Z
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