The Australian International Political Economy Network has very kindly supported my past research and presentations in international political economy. Dr Tom Chodor (Google Scholar profile) is kindly facilitating submissions for AIPEN’s 17th annual workshop to be held in February 2027 - the Call for Papers closes on 1st November 2026. Below is my session proposal submission that is currently under consideration (and whose scope are my own view only). Thank you to Dr Chodor (who has been a great past discussant) and valued colleagues. I also commend to you the late Donella Meadows’ essay Leverage Points: Places To Intervene In A System, her book Thinking In Systems: A Primer (New York: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2008), and her YouTube channel of historical lectures and interviews.
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From Crisis Theory to the Global Emergency, Degrowth, and Overshoot Ideology: Pathways, Prospects, and Innovation Opportunities
Dr Alex Burns, ADFA @ UNSW Canberra (Graduate student, Master of Special Operations & Irregular Warfare)
‘Simulation-3’ in the Club of Rome’s now infamous Limits to Growth study (1973) forecast an ‘overshoot and collapse’ scenario of environmental and resources collapse that would accelerate from the 2030s onwards. This paper examines and problematises three influential theoretical frameworks: Karl Marx’s discussion in the Grundrisse (1857-58) and David Harvey’s commentaries (2023), critical / integral futures scholar Richard A. Slaughter’s global emergency (2012), and contemporary degrowth philosophies (notably Kohei Saito and Jason Hickel). Each theoretical framework has made their respective contributions; and each is challenged as predominantly normative approaches via contact with contemporary reality.
Marx, Slaughter, and degrowth exponents like Kohei and Saito each adopted counterhegemonic stances. As such, they either anticipated or have responded to the Limits to Growth study’s legacy which Andreas Malm and Wim Carton as ‘overshoot ideology’: the hegemonic stance in scientific circles now that the Earth’s temperature is likely to rise by 1.5-2 degrees centigrade. Each suggests ontological realities, epistemic and ethical stances, and praxis-informed actions that should be more rigorously evaluated. A ‘team of teams’-based approach (General Stanley McChrystal) would be required for more scalable implementation globally. Catastrophe Bond (insurance-linked securities) innovation for financial markets is also suggested. (195 words)