Volume 13
Issue 1 

CRJ aims to identify and highlight future trends that could manifest as life-threatening hazards and events which will, in turn, confront all those whose concern is to protect lives, livelihoods, the environment and businesses, and consequently the wellbeing and sustainability of nations and communities. We then propose practical solutions.

In many ways, it is a simple matter to isolate and trace the threads in this complex global tapestry of climate, geopolitics, politics, conflict and disputes, modern tribalism that is often fuelled by social media, food insecurity, human encroachment of land previously considered unsuitable for settlement – the list is long but the clues are all there.

This issue’s narrative thread provides a timely reminder – if one were needed – that nature can be the biggest threat of all, with reports on the cataclysmic devastation caused by a particularly active hurricane season. And, as CRJ goes to press, wildfires in California have led to 23 deaths, hundreds more missing and thousands of structures destroyed.

On p30, Casey Brunelle traces links between climate, resource scarcity and conflict, before we move on to John Drake’s analysis of stabilisation progress in the Middle East on p34. The long term and wider ramifications of protracted conflicts are examined on p36, and we consider the impact on communities and individuals on p38. As countries prepare  themselves for the return of foreign fighters or their children (p44 and p46), we look at reintegration and peacebuilding, which are not only said to cost less in the long term, but also create the peaceful and sustainable societiesin which we all want to live (p48 and p50).

Turning to learning, Rob McAllister examines leadership on p62 and Christoph Schroth looks at the supplies all businesses should put together in the form of battle boxes (p64). The persistent and malevolent threat of cyber attacks is examined on p68, before we move on to even more practical solutions.

Page 72 presents developments for the treatment of traumatic brain injury, followed by articles looking on inter-service co-operation and how technology is being harnessed to create more secure and resilient communities. This all serves to demonstrate that the whole picture, complex as it is, can be redrawn with positive outcomes. It is a challenge, but the will and human creativity are in place.