Finding Positivity in Crisis

What do global health emergencies, transformative climate change and the AI revolution have in common? They are all potentially cataclysmic, world-ending events that may be faced in our lifetime. They’re also the focus of leading global political risk expert Ian Bremmer’s upcoming talk at The Granada Theatre, on Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Despite the devastating — for some, depressing — nature of these topics, have no fear, Bremmer is here, and he has some good news: There is a way to respond positively and even thrive despite the worst-case scenario. 

As a political scientist, Bremmer helps business leaders, policy makers and the general public make sense of the world around them. In his upcoming talk, presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L), he’ll draw lessons from global challenges of the past century to demonstrate ways to respond during times of crisis. His most recent book, which has been called ‘optimistic,’ is entitled, “The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats — and our Response — Will Change the World.”     

“Arts & Lectures is thrilled to present Ian Bremmer at this critical moment in world history,” said Celesta M. Billeci, A&L Miller McCune Executive Director. “‘The Power of Crisis’ is the most optimistic book Ian Bremmer has written so far. If you look closely, you will see that the emphasis of the title is not on the crises themselves, but rather on the powers of resiliency, collaboration and imagination that they potentially unleash.”

Bremmer is president and founder of GZERO Media and Eurasia Group, a leading political risk research and consulting firm. A prolific writer, he is the author of 11 books, including the New York Times bestseller “Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism,” which examines the rise of populism across the world. He is the foreign affairs columnist and editor-at-large for Time magazine and is a frequent guest on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the BBC and Bloomberg, among other media outlets. Bremmer also teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University.

White supremacy, the hunger crisis and other major threats faced by world groups have yet to meet a full global response, Bremmer said in an interview with CBS Mornings after “The Power of Crisis” was released.

“Global hunger feels like climate change did 20 to 40 years ago, before it started hitting everyone,” Bremmer said. “We all knew the science on climate, but we weren’t going to do anything about it until it started hitting California and Italy and Australia and now we are responding. We truly are and that is part of the book.

“It’s about how when the crisis gets big enough,” he added, “your capacity to make a real difference — and even when the U.S. is still dysfunctional and even when the U.S.–China relationship isn’t so good — and you actually see that traction and it’s playing out right now.”

Admission costs $31–$51 for the general public and $16 for UCSB students (current student ID required). Find tickets and see more events at ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.