Deadline for proposals: 15 October, 2024.
Guest editors:
Dr. Vitalis Nakrošis, Vilnius University
Dr. Ramūnas Vilpišauskas, Vilnius University
In recent years, many European countries have encountered such transboundary crises as the COVID-19 pandemic or the crises of security and energy. As these crises overlap in time and space, their events can be defined and analysed as a single polycrisis. We define a polycrisis as the simultaneous occurrence of at least two individual crises characterised by high complexity and/or spill-over effects. Although individual specifics of (national) crisis management are well known, our knowledge about multiple overlapping crises remains shallow (Homer-Dixon et al., 2022; Anghel and Jones, 2023).
Despite increasing attention to the field of crises and disaster studies, it remains dominated by single case studies and exploratory research, with a specific focus on the phases of preparedness and immediate response (Wolbers et al., 2021). There was a call for a more longitudinal approach that would allow capturing shifts between different phases of a crisis and grasping its spillover effects (Kuipers et al., 2022). This approach should particularly fit the analysis of multiple interconnected crises that form a single polycrisis because of their spill-over effects. Also, the concept of a polycrisis was developed and continues to be used mostly to refer to climate change, pandemics, and similar global crises, with relatively little research conducted on crises originating from hostile activities of authoritarian states. Although Russia’s war against Ukraine sparked a wave of scholarly interest in its effects on the EU (see recent special issues in the Journal of European Public Policy and the Journal of European Integration), it is usually analysed as a separate crisis, even when it is compared to other crises such as the COVID-19 pandemics.
Crisis events are frequently named as causes of policy or governance change. By illuminating failures of established policies or their implementation (Birkland 2004), they promote the formulation of new governance alternatives. Since due to their scale polycrises are expected to generate more pressure for change, it is important to analyse how governments react to such crises and how capacities are developed for a more resilient governance.
The Institute of International Relations and Political Science is conducting a research project on the response of Lithuanian authorities to the polycrisis that occurred during the period 2021-2025 (see this webpage for more information: https://www.tspmi.vu.lt/en/tyrimas/lithuanian-authorities-response-to-the-multidimensional-crisis-2021-2025-livia/ ). The project is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania.
The special issue on this topic will be published in Fall 2025 in the peer-reviewed Lithuanian political science journal Politologija (English edition). Politologija welcomes proposals for empirical papers examining the Lithuanian and/or other European countries’ responses to the polycrisis.
The proposal for the special issue should be sent by 15 October 2024 to the expected guest editors of the special issue:
Dr. Vitalis Nakrošis (vitalis.nakrosis@tspmi.vu.lt);
Dr. Ramūnas Vilpišauskas (ramunas.vilpisauskas@tspmi.vu.lt).
Proposals for the special issue should include the following:
- a one-page summary of the proposed empirical paper for publication in Politologija. It should convincingly demonstrate how the proposed paper fits the theme of the special issue and its key elements (it should be an original paper not published elsewhere);
- the names and affiliations of all contributing authors.
The proposals for the special issue will be evaluated by the guest editors of the special issue and editors will inform about their decision by 7 November 2024.
Further information on author guidelines and submissions may be found here: https://www.journals.vu.lt/politologija/about/submissions.
The contributing authors of the accepted papers must submit their papers by 1 March 2025. The guest editors of the special issue will offer some guidance and support to the contributing authors, including a draft introductory editorial. Each empirical paper for the special issue will undergo double-blind peer review.
If you have any further queries, please contact Vitalis Nakrošis at vitalis.nakrosis@tspmi.vu.lt