�����������

The Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Policy and Society (UJPPS) is an emerging interdisciplinary academic journal that publishes peer-reviewed work of undergraduate students in social sciences and humanities. The journal provides a platform for aspiring academics to gain experience in publishing, research, and critical thinking while contributing to current debates and discussions in their disciplines. The UJPPS is currently soliciting submissions in the form of academic essays and literary reviews for its upcoming issue.

The theme of the 2024 issue is Polarization, cohesion, trust and institutions in an era of polycrisis. Current global systems are increasingly defined by several interacting crises crossing ecological, social, economic and technological domains (Søgaard Jørgensen et al., 2024). Many new and serious threats are appearing rapidly, creating a period of great global risk known as “poly-crisis” (Morin & Kern, 1999, p.74). The COVID-19 pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and climate change are all instances which contribute to current poly-crises. As poly-crises have no single underlying cause, current solutions require multi-disciplinary strategies, as solutions to one problem could exacerbate another (Lawrence, 2024).

At the centre of these multiple crises are polarization, trust, cohesion, and institutions. For example, democratic regimes face multiple threats ranging from polarization to a lack of institutional trust to waning social cohesion. The digital age is intensifying these challenges and the capacity to respond to poly-crises. We invite submissions exploring the complex intersections of polarization, cohesion, trust and institutions, particularly examining how these factors shape and are shaped by the ongoing poly-crisis. These themes can engage questions such as:

•  How does a polarized political climate affect international relations and global conflict?
• Can democratic institutions resist poly-crises?
• What impact does technology and social media have on polarization, social cohesion, trust and institutions?
• How do disasters and conflicts influence community mobilization?
• In what ways does this era of poly-crises impact Indigenous governance?
• How do populist actors affect trust in political institutions and social cohesion?
• What role can institutions play in developing new orders?
• How does the era of poly-crises shape political identities?
• How does globalization impact current poly-crises?
• How have responses to poly-crises differed between the Global North and the Global South?
• How has the current poly-crises impacted global, national and local governance?