Global crisis

Uncontrollable global change
Threat of global catastrophe
Planetary collapse
Polycrisis

Background

The concept of a "global crisis" emerged prominently in the mid-20th century, as interconnected threats—such as nuclear proliferation, environmental degradation, and economic instability—began to transcend national boundaries. The 1972 Club of Rome report, "The Limits to Growth," catalyzed international recognition of systemic vulnerabilities. Since then, the term has been increasingly invoked in policy, academic, and media discourse to describe complex, interdependent challenges requiring coordinated global responses.

Incidence

Global crises have manifested with increasing frequency and severity in recent decades, affecting populations across continents and disrupting economic, social, and political systems. These crises often transcend national borders, overwhelming local capacities and requiring coordinated international responses. Their global scale is evident in the widespread displacement of people, significant economic losses, and long-term impacts on health and security.
A notable recent example is the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and rapidly spread worldwide. By 2021, the crisis had resulted in millions of deaths, strained healthcare systems, and triggered profound economic and social disruptions in nearly every country.

Claim

Global crisis is like an airplane losing rivets? Many rivets can pop out without having any effect on the airworthiness of the plane, but eventually the loss of one-too-many rivets will cause a crash.

We have so many crises: a crisis of democracy, a crisis of the nation state, a crisis of politicians and political institutions, a crisis of ideas, environmental crisis and so on.

Global crisis

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SDG

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