Professor of Government Peter Cannavò presented a keynote address at a recent digital conference on “Un/Predictable Environments: Politics, Ecology, Agency.” The international conference was co-hosted by The University of British Columbia-Vancouver and Queen’s University Belfast, in collaboration with India’s University of Allahabad.

In his address, titled “Embracing Mutual Vulnerability in a Time of Planetary Crisis and Uncertainty,” Cannavò discussed opportunities created for “those with authoritarian ambitions” during a time when “climate change and global pandemics are forcing contemporary society to deal with radical uncertainty about the immediate and long-term future.”

He suggested that we can “draw on our shared vulnerability in the face of crisis and uncertainty to advance a civic republican framework of mutual aid, non-domination, and democratic engagement” and that “such a society can be more equitable, humane, and resilient in dealing with turbulent times ahead.”

Cannavò also participated in a panel discussion on “The Environment” during his 35^th Harvard reunion. The panel was part of session on “Using Out Time and Talent to Bring About Positive Change.”