The global crisis is a complex, interconnected array of systemic shifts with massive implications for human and planetary well-being. Those shifting forces include humanity’s degradation of the natural world, rapid development of technology, competition for natural resources and widening inequalities. Combined, they are amplifying, accelerating and synchronizing global crises, creating a polycrisis.
Global crises can occur in a range of domains, such as climate change, financial instability, food insecurity and war. Many of these issues are linked to globalisation, which has shaped people’s attitudes and behaviour. In 2021, for example, more children will be on the move than ever before in history due to conflict and climate change. The result will be increased hunger, disease and poverty for millions of families and children.
This is a time of great uncertainty, which makes it even more important for citizens to understand the causes and consequences of global crises and how to respond. The societal impact of the current crisis is immense and demands greater collaboration, responsibility-sharing, and transparency to address it effectively.
A key concern is that the global crisis has generated widespread distrust of international institutions and national governments. This distrust has been exacerbated by the perception that the international financial architecture is too complicated and ineffective to manage global crises. Moreover, causal attributions about which institutions are responsible for the global crisis have a negative effect on international institutional trust if those institutions fail to control the crisis’ local impact (Tomlinson and Mayer 2009). This is particularly true when the crisis is perceived to be caused by the incompetence of (national) international institutions.