Remapping the “Global” in the Age of Precarity

Our host city, Prague, exemplifies the multiplicity and complexity of human experiences of precarity throughout history. In the fifteenth century, Prague saw one of the earliest Protestant Reformations, spurred by a conflict between Hussites and Catholics. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw Prague devastated by several outbreaks of the plague; a fire that destroyed much of the city; and the invasion of Bohemia by King Frederick of Prussia, which began with the siege and extensive destruction of Prague. The twentieth century then saw the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, with Hitler taking over Prague Castle and ordering the deportation and extermination of the city’s Jewish population. Czechoslovakia was then invaded by the Soviet Union in 1968, with the country, including its capital of Prague, remaining under occupation by the Red Army until 1991. 

This spectacular medieval city will, therefore, provide a thought-provoking backdrop for our interrogation of the precarious state of the world today. Climate change and environmental degradation have left the world’s ecosystems unstable and exposed vulnerable groups, such as indigenous communities, to disturbing losses of their livelihoods and cultural heritage. Armed conflicts rage in many parts of the world, and as a consequence, the world’s displaced population is now the largest it has been in recorded history. In many eyes, proxy wars and genocides actively fueled by the ‘great powers,’ strain the meaning and legitimacy of the existing global or international legal order.

Anti-immigrant politics are currently sweeping the world, with border closures, deportations, and detention of migrants—many of whom have fled war or economic devastation—leaving millions of lives in states of flux. Technological advancements, including in Artificial Intelligence and social media, have created new opportunities for global connectivity and scientific advancement, but they have equally caused various forms of uncertainty, threatening the enjoyment of the right to privacy, creating challenges for legal regulation, and changing the nature and availability of employment. Recent global health crises including Ebola and the COVID-19 pandemic have also unveiled various forms of precarity, exposing the extent of healthcare insecurities experienced by much of the world’s population and highlighting the fragility of existing frameworks for global health governance.