Dr Nafeez Ahmed

A new book that reviews the global crises of the 21st century and predicts the future challenges of a post-carbon world will be launched at a special event at the House of Lords on Wednesday (8 December).

A User's Guide to The Crisis of Civilization And How to Save It, by Sussex academic Dr Nafeez Ahmed, takes a holistic view of crises such as famine, terrorism, oil shortages and financial meltdown.

In his book, Nafeez, an associate tutor in International Relations, argues that individual global problems such as terrorism or fuel shortages need to be considered as part of the same ailing political, economic and ideological system.

Nafeez investigates all of these crises not as isolated events, but as interdependent trends and processes that belong to the structure of our civilisation.

He says: "We are therefore not dealing with a 'clash of civilisations': rather, we are dealing with a fundamental crisis of civilisation itself."

The event at the House of Lords is sponsored by the Commonwealth Journalists Association and hosted by Labour life peer Lord Nazir Ahmed.

Two speakers will join Nafeez to talk about the book and the issues it addresses: climate campaigner David Wasdell and Jeremy Leggett, founder and currently executive chairman of independent solar electric company Solarcentury.

Nafeez is an international security analyst specialising in the historical sociology and political ecology of mass violence. He is Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Research & Development in London.

Nafeez's research has informed, among others, the work and policies of the 9/11 Commission; the UK's Ministry of Defence; and the Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies (2010). 

He testified in US Congress in 2005, advised the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2009, and advised the UK Parliamentary Inquiry into the 'Prevent' programme.

He has also consulted for projects funded by the UK Department of Communities & Local Government and the US Department of State.