Our Common Future: World System Scenarios for the 21st Century

This podcast episode, prepared by EXTRA – Existential Threats and Risks to All, an initiative of the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), explores one of the most important questions facing humanity today: How can world system scenarios help us understand and govern the polycrisis of the 21st century? The conversation brings together Heikki Patomäki (Professor of World Politics, University of Helsinki), Barry Gills (Professor Emeritus of Global Development Studies, University of Helsinki), and Thomas Reuter (Chair of EXTRA; Professor, University of Melbourne), along with Ortiwn Renn (Professor Emeritus for Environmental Sociology and Technology Assessment at the University of Stuttgart), to examine the deep structural forces shaping global instability. Rather than treating climate change, inequality, geopolitical fragmentation, and democratic erosion as separate crises, this episode shows how they are interconnected outcomes of the world system itself. Building on world systems theory, globalization theory, and critical realist thought, the discussion traces Heikki Patomäki’s intellectual journey from economics to planetary macroethics, temporal socialism, and world-making projects. It also asks whether the current hegemonic transition could open space for more democratic global governance, stronger regional cooperation, and a fairer economic order — or whether entrenched power will continue to block meaningful reform. 🔍Key Questions Explored: -How can world systems theory help explain today’s existential risks and systemic crises? -What does “polycrisis” mean in practice, and how is it different from isolated crises? -Can global governance be democratized before inequality and instability deepen further? -What role might BRICS, the EU, ASEAN, and new coalitions play in shaping a more just international order? -How do concepts like temporal socialism and planetary macroethics reshape long-term political thinking? -Is a new era of global cooperation still possible in the 21st century? 🔗 More information & related content: EXTRA InfoHub: https://worldacademy.org/extra/ 📧 [email protected] #polycrisis #worldsystemstheory #globalgovernance #existentialrisk #extra #worldacademy #waas #HeikkiPatomäki #climatejustice #democracy #globaldevelopment #hegemonic #transition #worldpolitics