IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/climat/v153y2019i1d10.1007_s10584-018-2358-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The turbulent world of resilience: interpretations and themes for transdisciplinary dialogue

Author

Listed:
  • Susanne Moser

    (Susanne Moser Research & Consulting)

  • Sara Meerow

    (Arizona State University, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning)

  • James Arnott

    (Aspen Global Change Institute
    University of Michigan, School for Environment & Sustainability)

  • Emily Jack-Scott

    (Aspen Global Change Institute)

Abstract

Resilience has experienced exponential growth in scholarship and practice over the past several decades. We conduct a meta-analysis of recent review papers on resilience from all relevant fields to distill key themes emanating from both research and practice. These themes reflect prevalent debates, trends and insights from the thousands of underlying papers. The seven themes are: 1) the distinction between resilience as a system trait, process, or outcome; 2) the importance of resilience as a strategy for dealing with uncertainty; 3) a shift from understanding resilience to active resilience building; 4) the incorporation of transformation into resilience; 5) the increasingly normative interpretation of resilience; 6) the growing emphasis on measuring and evaluating resilience; and 7) the mounting critiques of the resilience agenda demanding attention. We discuss each in detail and find that they help explain both why resilience has attracted widespread attention, but also why it is an increasingly contested concept. We offer several steps to engage in productive dialogue across differences in resilience interpretations and conclude that this interand transdisciplinary dialogue is the difficult and necessary work that must be done, if resilience scholarship and practice is to advance in productive ways in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Susanne Moser & Sara Meerow & James Arnott & Emily Jack-Scott, 2019. "The turbulent world of resilience: interpretations and themes for transdisciplinary dialogue," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 21-40, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:153:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-018-2358-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-018-2358-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10584-018-2358-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10584-018-2358-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sonja Deppisch & Sanin Hasibovic, 2013. "Social-ecological resilience thinking as a bridging concept in transdisciplinary research on climate-change adaptation," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 67(1), pages 117-127, May.
    2. Zell, Chris & Hubbart, Jason A., 2013. "Interdisciplinary linkages of biophysical processes and resilience theory: Pursuing predictability," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 1-10.
    3. Righi, Angela Weber & Saurin, Tarcisio Abreu & Wachs, Priscila, 2015. "A systematic literature review of resilience engineering: Research areas and a research agenda proposal," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 142-152.
    4. Francis, Royce & Bekera, Behailu, 2014. "A metric and frameworks for resilience analysis of engineered and infrastructure systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 90-103.
    5. Molyneaux, Lynette & Wagner, Liam & Froome, Craig & Foster, John, 2012. "Resilience and electricity systems: A comparative analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 188-201.
    6. Perz, Stephen G. & Muñoz-Carpena, Rafael & Kiker, Gregory & Holt, Robert D., 2013. "Evaluating ecological resilience with global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 263(C), pages 174-186.
    7. Geoff A. Wilson, 2014. "Community resilience: path dependency, lock-in effects and transitional ruptures," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 1-26, January.
    8. Christophe Béné & Andrew Newsham & Mark Davies & Martina Ulrichs & Rachel Godfrey‐Wood, 2014. "Review Article: Resilience, Poverty And Development," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(5), pages 598-623, July.
    9. Arora-Jonsson, Seema, 2016. "Does resilience have a culture? Ecocultures and the politics of knowledge production," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 98-107.
    10. Bergström, Johan & van Winsen, Roel & Henriqson, Eder, 2015. "On the rationale of resilience in the domain of safety: A literature review," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 131-141.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Giffoni, Eduarda & Jude, Simon & Smith, Heather M. & Pollard, Simon J.T., 2022. "Real-life resilience: Exploring the organisational environment of international water utilities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Georges Irankunda & Wei Zhang & Muhirwa Fernand & Jianrong Zhang, 2024. "Assessing the Resilience of Critical Infrastructure Facilities toward a Holistic and Theoretical Approach: A Multi-Scenario Evidence and Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Riffat Mahmood & Li Zhang & Guoqing Li & Munshi Khaledur Rahman, 2022. "Geo-based model of intrinsic resilience to climate change: an approach to nature-based solution," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(10), pages 11969-11990, October.
    4. Nikko Torres Ner & Seth Asare Okyere & Matthew Abunyewah & Louis Kusi Frimpong & Michihiro Kita, 2023. "The Resilience of a Resettled Flood-Prone Community: An Application of the RABIT Framework in Pasig City, Metro Manila," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-23, April.
    5. Mary Fastiggi & Sara Meerow & Thaddeus R Miller, 2021. "Governing urban resilience: Organisational structures and coordination strategies in 20 North American city governments," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(6), pages 1262-1285, May.
    6. Liang Wang & Jingye Li & Ligang Lv, 2023. "Urban Resilience and Its Links to City Size: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-25, December.
    7. Mathias Schaefer & Nguyen Xuan Thinh & Stefan Greiving, 2020. "How Can Climate Resilience Be Measured and Visualized? Assessing a Vague Concept Using GIS-Based Fuzzy Logic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-30, January.
    8. Jesse M. Keenan, 2020. "COVID, resilience, and the built environment," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 216-221, June.
    9. Edyta Pijet-Migoń & Piotr Migoń, 2024. "New Geo- and Mining Heritage-Based Tourist Destinations in the Sudetes (SW Poland)—Towards More Effective Resilience of Local Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-28, June.
    10. Soubry, Bernard & Sherren, Kate, 2022. ""You keep using that word...": Disjointed definitions of resilience in food systems adaptation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    11. Malherbe, Willem & Biggs, Reinette & Sitas, Nadia, 2024. "Comparing apples and pears: Linking capitals and capacities to assess the resilience of commercial farming operations," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    12. Vinzenz Peters & Jingtian Wang & Mark Sanders, 2023. "Resilience to extreme weather events and local financial structure of prefecture-level cities in China," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(9), pages 1-21, September.
    13. Ying Zhou & Yanwei Wang & Shuhong Fang & Yixi Tian & Yujia Zhu & Lihong Han, 2024. "The Synergistic Effect of Urban and Rural Ecological Resilience: Dynamic Trends and Drivers in Yunnan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-24, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David J. Yu & Michael L. Schoon & Jason K. Hawes & Seungyoon Lee & Jeryang Park & P. Suresh C. Rao & Laura K. Siebeneck & Satish V. Ukkusuri, 2020. "Toward General Principles for Resilience Engineering," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(8), pages 1509-1537, August.
    2. Adrian J. Hickford & Simon P. Blainey & Alejandro Ortega Hortelano & Raghav Pant, 2018. "Resilience engineering: theory and practice in interdependent infrastructure systems," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 278-291, September.
    3. Yang, Bofan & Zhang, Lin & Zhang, Bo & Xiang, Yang & An, Lei & Wang, Wenfeng, 2022. "Complex equipment system resilience: Composition, measurement and element analysis," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    4. Liu, Wei & Song, Zhaoyang, 2020. "Review of studies on the resilience of urban critical infrastructure networks," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    5. Das, Laya & Munikoti, Sai & Natarajan, Balasubramaniam & Srinivasan, Babji, 2020. "Measuring smart grid resilience: Methods, challenges and opportunities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    6. Caputo, A.C. & Donati, L. & Salini, P., 2023. "Estimating resilience of manufacturing plants to physical disruptions: Model and application," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    7. Terje Aven, 2019. "The Call for a Shift from Risk to Resilience: What Does it Mean?," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(6), pages 1196-1203, June.
    8. Tran, Huy T. & Balchanos, Michael & Domerçant, Jean Charles & Mavris, Dimitri N., 2017. "A framework for the quantitative assessment of performance-based system resilience," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 73-84.
    9. Luc Doyen & Christophe Béné, 2018. "A generic metric of resilience from resistance to transformation," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2018-03, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    10. Lucian Ispas & Costel Mironeasa & Alessandro Silvestri, 2023. "Risk-Based Approach in the Implementation of Integrated Management Systems: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-22, June.
    11. Lars Bomhauer-Beins & Corinna de Guttry & Beate M. W. Ratter, 2019. "When Culture Materializes: Societal Dynamics in Resilience of Social-Ecological Systems in the Case of Conch Management on Abaco, The Bahamas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-17, February.
    12. Forsyth, Tim, 2018. "Is resilience to climate change socially inclusive? Investigating theories of change processes in Myanmar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 13-26.
    13. Uday, Payuna & Chandrahasa, Rakshit & Marais, Karen, 2019. "System Importance Measures: Definitions and Application to System-of-Systems Analysis," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    14. Zheng Zhu & Jingfeng Yuan & Qiuhu Shao & Lei Zhang & Guangqi Wang & Xuewei Li, 2020. "Developing Key Safety Management Factors for Construction Projects in China: A Resilience Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-20, August.
    15. Aven, Terje, 2016. "Risk assessment and risk management: Review of recent advances on their foundation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 253(1), pages 1-13.
    16. Ouyang, Min, 2017. "A mathematical framework to optimize resilience of interdependent critical infrastructure systems under spatially localized attacks," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 262(3), pages 1072-1084.
    17. Poulin, Craig & Kane, Michael B., 2021. "Infrastructure resilience curves: Performance measures and summary metrics," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    18. Petersen, L. & Lange, D. & Theocharidou, M., 2020. "Who cares what it means? Practical reasons for using the word resilience with critical infrastructure operators," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    19. Patriarca, Riccardo & De Paolis, Alessandro & Costantino, Francesco & Di Gravio, Giulio, 2021. "Simulation model for simple yet robust resilience assessment metrics for engineered systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    20. Haavik, Torgeir Kolstø, 2021. "Debates and politics in safety science," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:153:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-018-2358-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.