In world politics, Polycrises (often misspelled as Polycrisis) is a term used to denote four types of cries in a country: Political, Social, Economic and Security.
Typically, a country needs foreign assistance in combating at least one of these crises.
History of Polycrises
India in the 1990s
- Political instability with minority governments led by Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the center. This was solved by stable coalitions in the latter part of the decade.
- Social issues like Ram Janmabhoomi, Shah Bano Case. Which were first stabilized using force and later with temporary arrangements. The final decision Ram Janmabhoomi came from Judiciary in late 2020s.
- Economic Issues like Foreign Exchange Crisis in 1991. This was solved by pledging Indian gold reserves at the Bank of England.
- Security Crisis with 1993 Mumbai Riots and Blasts, 1999 Kargil War. These were dealt firmly on the ground with active involvement of strong political leaders.
Example of a Polycrises
A good example of this kind of crisis in 2025 is Pakistan where all the four crises exist.
- Political Crisis: Validity of the 2024 Parliamentary Election and Imran Khan’s jail sentence.
- Social Crisis: Moral decline with rising crimes and increased religious tensions in the Pakistani society.
- Economic Crisis: Pakistan’s debt crisis, its debt burden from Chinese, Western, Arabian and other sources.
- Security Crisis:
- TTP’s capture of areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Sindhudesh movement
- Balochistan Liberation Army’s actions in Balochistan
