IGSD News

Very happy to report that our Special Forum on Precarity, Democracy and War, is finally out with Contemporary Security Policy journal Vol.47(4)! It addresses some truly critical issues pertaining to unfolding crises and war, which induce precarity and diminish our agency, thus affecting democracy and our capacity to alter the status-quo. In this forum we argue that transformative resilience, with its emancipatory kennel and focus on agency, may become an important antidote to the current epidemic of precarity and crisis.

I thank all my colleagues for their insightful contributions, and my co-editor, Professor Albena Azmanova, for introducing precarity to my own work! hope you will find the issue of interest!

Prof. Nathalie Tocci
Prof. Michelle Pace & Dr Christian Achrainer

Prof. Dr. Chiara von Hollen-Pierobon
Dr Katsiaryna Lozka, PhD
Dr Bidzina Lebanidze & Dr Veronika Pfeilschifter
Prof. Timur DADABAEV & Dr Akram Umarov

Professor Korosteleva was invited to open the PAIS seminar series for 2026/27 with her talk on Complexity and Resilience in the Anthropocene. She based on keynote on her late book 'Complexity and Community in IR: nurturing resilience in Central Eurasia', Oxford University Press 2025, and her subsequent work on precarity and the polycrisis as the key concepts that define our turbulent times today. The talk was well attended by staff and PG and UG students, and Elena was grateful to both Mat Warson and Stuart Elden for inviting and organising her talk.

We have been awarded a British Council #TNE #Exploratory grant 'HoPE - a HUB of Planetary Ecologies - for sustainability through research, education and societal impact', to build a new partnership with @ADA University in Azerbaijan. Looking forward to renewing our successful relations with Nargiz Ismayilova, Dr. Fariz Ismailzade and their colleagues! And to growing our CPD offerings on Sustainability, further research funding opportunities, and developing a platform for a dual PGR degree.

We have now completed our first international CENSE NOVA (Portugal)-Warwick (UK) Sustainability Training Academy (STA), which brought together 25 participants from 16 countries. The STA was held in ARRABIDA National Park of Portugal and the focus was on human-nature connectedness.
My own takeaway was the community that has emerged as a result of our many learnings, outings and discussions: we all tuned in to each other and the Park around us.
In all this endeavour I'm exceptionally grateful to our hosts at CENSE & NOVA University - Fransisco, Nuno, Yorgos and Sofia- and to the Warwick team - Dr Harriet Richmond , Dr Jane Webb, Dr Adela Glyn-Davies, Dr Lory Barile, Dr Mélina Delmas and EUTOPIA Connected Communities for contributions and financial support! We are also indebted to Prof. Harini Nagendra, and Prof. Chris Ives from Nottingham University for your keynotes which enticed our participants for more in-depth thinking, and, of course, to all the participants who made the community so easy-going and possible!
Have a great summer, and connect with Nature!!

Dr Hita Unnikrishnan, an assistant professor at the Institute for Global Sustainable Development, has been appointed to the Executive Council of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC). The appointment follows the unexpected and tragic loss of previous council member Raul Pacheco-Vega, prompting the organisation to invite new academic perspectives to help steer its mission.

The IASC is a globally recognised professional body dedicated to improving the governance, management, and long‑term sustainability of shared resources — from forests and fisheries to digital commons and urban spaces. It brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from multiple disciplines to advance understanding and develop solutions for commons and common‑pool resource challenges.

Founded in part by Elinor Ostrom - the 2009 Nobel Laureate in Economics whose groundbreaking work reshaped global thinking on collective resource management - the organisation continues to play a central role in shaping policy and research worldwide.

Dr Unnikrishnan’s appointment places her among an international group of experts guiding the strategic direction of the association. The current list of council members can be viewed on the IASC website: IASC Council.