Yuen Yuen Ang argues that the global "polycrisis" should be reframed as a "polytunity" to develop new global paradigms and solutions [1].
This shift in perspective is significant because it moves the international community from a state of paralysis toward a purposeful approach to solving systemic problems. By viewing converging challenges as opportunities, leaders may find paths to reform that were previously obscured by the scale of individual crises.
Ang, the Alfred Chandler Chair Professor of political economy at Johns Hopkins University, discussed these concepts during a Radio Davos episode recorded in Davos, Switzerland [1, 2]. The discussion, produced jointly with a CNA Correspondent from Singapore, focused on the future of geopolitics and the potential for systemic transformation [1, 2].
According to Ang, the term polycrisis served as a useful way to frame the problems the world faces. However, she said that to find actual solutions, the world must consider the global "polytunity" [1]. This approach suggests that the intersection of multiple crises can create a window for comprehensive change rather than just incremental fixes.
Ang specifically noted that China can turn "polycrisis" into "polytunity" [2]. This suggests that the nation's specific economic and political position could allow it to pilot new development models in response to global instability.
In a separate commentary, Ang said that the world must study and tackle development challenges with a purposeful approach, turning crisis into opportunity [3]. This framework encourages a shift away from reactive governance and toward a proactive redesign of how global development is managed.
By reframing the current global instability, Ang suggests that the world can move beyond the fear of collapse. The goal is to identify the specific intersections where different crises—such as economic volatility and political instability—can be solved through a single, integrated paradigm shift [1, 3].
“Polycrisis was a useful way of framing the problem, but to find solutions we should consider the global 'polytunity'.”
The transition from 'polycrisis' to 'polytunity' represents a theoretical shift in political economy. While a polycrisis describes the dangerous synergy of multiple simultaneous disasters, a 'polytunity' suggests that these overlapping failures break old systems sufficiently to allow for the implementation of entirely new global development models. This perspective argues that systemic instability is a prerequisite for systemic innovation.
