By Peter M. Weiske, Stephen Dovers, William J. Durch, and John Handmer

In a world of seemingly constant disruption and mounting risks, societies need to understand where these crises come from and how they form, and from that how best to prepare and respond. If we treat each crisis, one after another, as separate situations, we are likely to miss some crucially important insights.

A new book, Re-imaging Risk and Disruption, offers a distinctive exploration of major global challenges. It places disasters, technical accidents, military conflict, climate change and Earth System degradation, pandemics and biological threats, the over-use and abuse of near-Earth space and other disruptions on a common agenda, identifying the underlying attributes of these ‘complex unbounded problems’ that make them so hard to deal with. It provides insights into how these challenges form, often unnoticed or ignored well before crisis onset; how they coalesce and evolve in their threat potential; and how they cross boundaries, defy solutions, and leave a long tail of impacts. Understanding the nature of these challenges lays a better foundation for meeting the great challenges of the modern world.

‘Global risk landscape is becoming complex; risks are becoming interconnected and compounded and cascading hazards are becoming more frequent. In this perspective, this book is an important scholarly contribution which addresses the core issue of complexity of risks and practical risk management and mitigation approaches. A very timely and a must-read academic work with specific global examples.’
– Rajib Shaw, Keio University. Japan

As well as exploring the common attributes of complex unbounded problems, the Re-imaging Risk and Disruption explores features of preparation and response, seeking firmer international collaboration, and better foresight capabilities.

Re-imagining Risk and Disruption is written by Peter M. Weiske, Adjunct Lecturer, Stephen Dovers, Emeritus Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Australia, William J. Durch, Distinguished Fellow, Stimson Center, Washington DC, USA and John Handmer, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Vienna, Austria

Re-imagining Risk and Disruption (publishing later in June 2026) is available to pre-order in hardback here.

The eBook version will become available to purchase once published here.