The global emergency—Perspectives, overviews, responses

The article reviews a number of recent works that cover different aspects of continuity and change in a complex world. The choice of these sources is governed by criteria that include quality, relevance and fit with the observer’s interests. In this case the fact that humanity had started to overshoot global limits in the 1980s leads to shared concerns about the viability of the current world order. The chosen works respond to these concerns in two ways. The first group of four works attempts to analyse the present global situation and, in so doing, seek to offer conclusions and recommendations. The second group consisting of two works focus more specifically on possible solutions and strategies of response.