Uncertainties are everywhere. Whether it’s climate change, financial volatility, pandemic outbreaks or new technologies, we don’t know what the future will hold. For many contemporary challenges, navigating uncertainty – where we cannot predict what may happen – is essential. But how is this done, and what can we learn from different contexts about responding to and living with uncertainty? Introducing a new book and drawing on experiences from across the world, the talk will explore themes of finance and banking, technology regulation, critical infrastructures, pandemics, natural disasters and climate change. The talk will contrast an approach centred on risk and control, where we assume we know about and can manage the future, with one that is more flexible, responding to uncertainty. The book argues that we need to adjust our modernist, controlling view and to develop new approaches, including some reclaimed and adapted from previous times or different cultures. This requires a radical rethinking of policies, institutions and practices for successfully navigating uncertainties in an increasingly turbulent world.

Dr Ian Scoones' presentation will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Professor Shaila Seshia Galvin .

Explore the book: Navigating Uncertainty: Radical Rethinking for a Turbulent World (politybooks.com)