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Decolonising polycrisis : Southern perspectives on interlocking crises

Ruwanpura, Kanchana ; Cederlöf, Gustav and Ramasar, Vasna LU (2025) In Environment & Planning A 57(6). p.697-703
Abstract
This commentary argues that the concept of ‘polycrisis’ must be critically reoriented through a decolonial lens,
particularly about the global South, where overlapping crises have long been the norm. While ‘polycrisis’ has
become a buzzword among global economic and political elites, scholars have studied its relevance mainly for
the global North. Using the climate and debt crises as two entry points, we delineate how these crises interlock
in the global South, calling for the decolonisation of the political economy and global governance architectures.
Deeper theoretical development of polycrisis is required, informed by experiences in the global South. We
propose an agenda for geographers and critical scholars to... (More)
This commentary argues that the concept of ‘polycrisis’ must be critically reoriented through a decolonial lens,
particularly about the global South, where overlapping crises have long been the norm. While ‘polycrisis’ has
become a buzzword among global economic and political elites, scholars have studied its relevance mainly for
the global North. Using the climate and debt crises as two entry points, we delineate how these crises interlock
in the global South, calling for the decolonisation of the political economy and global governance architectures.
Deeper theoretical development of polycrisis is required, informed by experiences in the global South. We
propose an agenda for geographers and critical scholars to (1) engage more rigorously with polycrisis as an
analytical tool, and (2) gain a more nuanced understanding of crisis narratives and crisis complexity from global
South experiences. (Less)
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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Polycrisis, Decolonise, Global South
in
Environment & Planning A
volume
57
issue
6
pages
6 pages
publisher
Pion Ltd
external identifiers
  • scopus:105013200159
ISSN
1472-3409
DOI
10.1177/0308518X251345308
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
77744824-f8d9-4f9a-94cc-f9535dbbdc6f
date added to LUP
2025-09-26 08:31:21
date last changed
2025-09-27 04:02:58
@misc{77744824-f8d9-4f9a-94cc-f9535dbbdc6f,
  abstract     = {{This commentary argues that the concept of ‘polycrisis’ must be critically reoriented through a decolonial lens,<br/>particularly about the global South, where overlapping crises have long been the norm. While ‘polycrisis’ has<br/>become a buzzword among global economic and political elites, scholars have studied its relevance mainly for<br/>the global North. Using the climate and debt crises as two entry points, we delineate how these crises interlock<br/>in the global South, calling for the decolonisation of the political economy and global governance architectures.<br/>Deeper theoretical development of polycrisis is required, informed by experiences in the global South. We<br/>propose an agenda for geographers and critical scholars to (1) engage more rigorously with polycrisis as an<br/>analytical tool, and (2) gain a more nuanced understanding of crisis narratives and crisis complexity from global<br/>South experiences.}},
  author       = {{Ruwanpura, Kanchana and Cederlöf, Gustav and Ramasar, Vasna}},
  issn         = {{1472-3409}},
  keywords     = {{Polycrisis; Decolonise; Global South}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{697--703}},
  publisher    = {{Pion Ltd}},
  series       = {{Environment & Planning A}},
  title        = {{Decolonising polycrisis : Southern perspectives on interlocking crises}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0308518X251345308}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/0308518X251345308}},
  volume       = {{57}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}