We’re failing to solve the world’s ‘wicked problems.’ Here’s a better approach

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Stephan Manning , University of Sussex and Juliane Reinecke , King's College London ; Independent Social Research Foundation

(THE CONVERSATION) We live in a world burdened by large-scale problems that refuse to go away: the refugee crisis; terrorism; rising sea levels; frequent floods , droughts and wildfires ; not to mention persistent inequality and violation of basic human rights across the world.

What do these problems have in common? They resist any simple solution. In policy research they are called “ wicked.” This is because cause-effect relations are complex and solutions unclear ; many of these problems are urgent, yet there is no central authority