Polycrisis

A polycrisis (from the French polycrise) describes multiple crises (economic, environmental, geopolitical, social, or technological) occurring simultaneously and interacting 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 within global systems, where shocks in one domain (e.g., climate change, financial instability, pandemics, energy insecurity, or political conflict) cascade into others. Beyond describing complexity and fragility, the "polycrisis" also captures elite helplessness in the face of ruptures, as observed in Project Syndicate: "We often complain that [leaders] in Davos are out of touch with everyday people. Today... they are just as confused as the people they are meant to represent." Critics such as Daniel Drezner have characterized it as a buzzword, which may distract from the root causes of crises and create an overwhelming sense of complexity that hinders effective responses. Although the word was coined in the 1990s by French theorists Edgar Morin and Anne-Brigitte Kern, it gained widespread currency in the 2010s through amplification by Western leaders, academics and institutions such as the World Economic Forum (WEF). Adam Tooze is widely credited for popularizing the term, after he was profiled at Davos in 2023 in a prominent segment "Tooze has his say." Defining the meaning and salience of polycrisis, Adam Tooze states: "Here is your fear. This is what it might be called." Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, described global elites' reactions to the polycrisis narrative at Davos as "exhausting and bewildering." 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. Others argue that as a...