The Anthropocene Crisis: A World System Science Approach

Natural scientists have joined forces to develop Earth System Science (ESS), a bold response to the mounting contradiction between the planet's limits and humanity's accelerating demands. However, interdisciplinary insights from social scientists are urgently needed to understand the various ways in which social and natural systems relate to each other, and to analyse the driving social forces within the anthroposphere. This timely volume is a rallying call for a 'World System Science' (WSS) in which social scientists and historians would step into this gap. International Relations experts draw from the fields of history, economics, and sociology to develop methodologies for a social science-led response to the political challenges of the Anthropocene. They identify areas of common ground where Earth System Science and World System Science might work together to generate and promote planetary stewardship, improving humanity's chances of surviving the Anthropocene crisis and looming tipping points in the earth system.

Mathias Albert is Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Sociology at Bielefeld University, Germany. He is the author of many books and articles including A Theory of World Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2016).

Barry Buzan is Professor Emeritus in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His many publications include Making Global Society: A Study of Humankind Across Three Eras (Cambridge University Press, 2023).