Abstract

As the impacts of climate change become clearer, there is growing debate about the relationship between climate change and security and the implications of climate change for defence policies. Escalating crises in the defence and security space are mirrored by the simultaneous occurrence of a crises across a wide range of economic, political, technological and social arenas, the so-called polycrisis. This paper  explores the psychological roots of the contemporary polycrisis, arguing that the deep roots of these parallel crises, and the cause of much violence and war, lies in the propensity of human systems, including politics, to concentrate power in the hands of a psychologically dangerous minority. The paper argues that defence policy should recognise that defence can be best served by attending to issues of equality, social justice, and care while formulating the means to prevent dangerous narcissistic leadership. (pp. 65-72.)