Volume 20 Issue 1

This being the summer edition, it felt like the perfect time to explore the resilience of people and places in the face of disruptions brought on by flooding. But as the weeks went by, the conversations I had with advisors, authors, and friends kept circling back to war. The layers of diplomacy, the ingredients that simmer conflict into reality, and the slow creep of military influence in everyday systems – it all began to feel impossible to ignore. Wars don’t just break out; they seep in insidiously, disrupting supply chains, policy decisions, economies, and everything in between. And this edition doesn’t just look at conflict zones in terms of losses – it looks at a much bigger picture of devastation.

Kunwar Khuldune Shahid examines the global fingerprints marking the most recent India–Pakistan war, while on page 22, Pavel Kiparisov and Christian Folberth push the conversation further by asking what a clash between two nuclear states – such as the ones just mentioned – could mean for the rest of the planet. Other stressors haven’t calmed in the face of war. Nuno Sousa explores the blackout in Portugal’s Setúbal region, while Zainab Farooqui reflects on the effects of climate disasters on refugee populations – and how, in turn, those movements shape the environments they arrive in. Jeannie Barr’s contribution is also essential reading, noting that the work that resilience and continuity professionals do has never been harder – or more vital.

As ever, the edition also puts forward ideas for building better systems of response and recovery. Nicola Lester explores therapeutic interventions for former hostages and their families (page 72), and Ekaterina Kostioukhina looks into medical breakthroughs in space. Cedrick Moriggi’s piece on the immeasurable nature of human resilience is another must-read and a timely reminder of the strength that isn’t always visible on paper.

Whether it's the next disaster or the one already bearing down, we can’t afford to lose momentum. The work of building better response, recovery, and rebuilding systems has to continue.