1st Edition
The Forever Crisis Adaptive Global Governance for an Era of Accelerating Complexity
This book is an introduction to complex systems thinking at the global governance level. It offers concepts, tools, and ways of thinking about how systems change that can be applied to the most wicked problems facing the world today.
More than an abstract argument for complexity theory, the book offers a targeted critique of the today’s highest-profile proposals for improving the governance of our environment, security, finance, health, and digital space. It suggests that we should spend less effort and resources on upgrading existing institutions, and more on understanding how they (and we) relate to each other.
The volume will be essential reading for public policymakers, NGOs and think tanks, foreign policy experts, government officials, and global decision makers.
Introduction 1. A simple guide to complexity 2. Applying complexity to global governance 3. Beyond the tipping point: Environmental governance in the Anthropocene 4. Violence as a disease: An immune system against war 5. Bugs in the system: Cyberattacks and the problem of endless infection 6. Rise of the machines: AI becomes ungovernable 7. Back to the Future: How complexity can help us save the world. An Afterworld
Biography
Adam Day is Head of UN University Centre for Policy Research in Geneva. He co-led the Secretariat of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism and supported the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda report. He previously served as Senior Political Advisor to the UN peace operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in UN operations in Sudan, South Sudan, and the Middle East. A former human rights lawyer, Adam worked for Human Rights Watch, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and Open Society Justice Initiative in Cambodia. Amongst many publications on complexity, Adam’s previous book, States of Disorder, applies complexity thinking to UN state-building.
"Adam Day cuts through the complexity of complexity science, offering a highly accessible introduction to complexity thinking and a bold application of its tools and concepts to a range of big global problems. Instead of sitting on the beach waiting for the waves of disaster to break over us, The Forever Crisis shows us how to dive in, accept the immensity of the ocean, and yet steer the currents of change."
Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America and author of The Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Dangerous World (2017)
"Adam Day has produced a bold and ambitious book that treats today’s global challenges - climate change, (nuclear) war, pandemics, AI – as inherently complex. To manage these risks, we need to employ the concepts and tools of complexity thinking. It is jam-packed with proposed solutions curated from the world’s best minds. The topic is serious, but the message is hopeful. Day offers a pathway for pursuing adaptive and transformative global governance to manage the biggest risks facing humanity today."
Cedric de Coning, Research Professor, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), author of Complexity Thinking for Peacebuilding Practice and Evaluation
"The Gordian Knot of global crises paralyzes policymakers. Day instead turns the complexity of global governance into a vital analytic lens that reveals new ways forward on our most critical challenges."
Thomas Hale, Professor in Public Policy, Oxford University, author of Long Problems: Climate Change and the Challenge of Governing Across Time
