More than 2,300 municipalities worldwide have declared a climate emergency. In a conceptual chapter, Prof. Dr. Lena Partzsch highlights the Janus-faced character of declaring an emergency in the context of the climate crisis. On the one hand, a crisis is a disruptive moment, which allows for agency and policy learning (power with). On the other hand, it is dangerous to regard knowledge as conclusive (‘right’ or ‘false’). This paves the way for more power over citizens and towards authoritarianism.

Partzsch, L. (2024). Not one inconvenient truth, but many: emergency narratives and climate change. In Gallarotti, Giulio (ed.), Political power and crisis: Essays on political power dynamics in turbulent times, New York: Routledge, 77-92.