Homer-Dixon, ThomasWalker, BrianBiggs, ReinetteCrepin, Anne-SophieFolke, CarlLambin, Eric FPeterson, GarryRockstrom, JohanScheffer, MartenSteffen, WillTroell, Max2016-02-241708-3087http://hdl.handle.net/1885/98880Recent global crises reveal an emerging pattern of causation that could increasingly characterize the birth and progress of future global crises. A conceptual framework identifies this pattern’s deep causes, intermediate processes, and ultimate outcomes. The framework shows how multiple stresses can interact within a single social-ecological system to cause a shift in that system’s behavior, how simultaneous shifts of this kind in several largely discrete social-ecological systems can interact to cause a far larger intersystemic crisis, and how such a larger crisis can then rapidly propagate across multiple system boundaries to the global scale. Case studies of the 2008-2009 financial-energy and food-energy crises illustrate the framework. Suggestions are offered for future research to explore further the framework’s propositions.Author/s retain copyright201510.5751/ES-07681-2003062016-02-24