Strategic resilience: outlining a new government approach to climate change adaptation

This SEI working paper proposes a "strategic resilience" framework for climate change adaptation, designed to integrate adaptation into the core of government operations to address transboundary risks and polycrises.

• The authors propose a "strategic resilience" paradigm, defined as the ability to recover from and withstand complex, multiple shocks while simultaneously pursuing strategic national objectives. This approach is intended to place climate adaptation at the center of government to provide the political influence necessary to manage transboundary risks.
• The paper argues for the creation of new institutions or governance structures capable of leading national coordination, directing policy and finance, and moving beyond traditional definitions of national interest.
• The "strategic resilience" approach is presented as a "third way" alternative to two other methods: a strictly territorial approach to adaptation and a "securitization approach" driven by defense logics, which the authors suggest could result in less effective investments and less collaborative policies.

APA

Benzie, M., Biesbroek, R., & Gupta, A. (2025). Strategic resilience: outlining a new government approach to climate change adaptation. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/publications/strategic-resilience/

Chicago

Benzie, Magnus, Robbert Biesbroek, and Aarti Gupta. Strategic resilience: outlining a new government approach to climate change adaptation. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2025. https://www.sei.org/publications/strategic-resilience/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Benzie |first1=Magnus |last2=Biesbroek |first2=Robbert |last3=Gupta |first3=Aarti |title=Strategic resilience: outlining a new government approach to climate change adaptation |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=4 November 2025 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/strategic-resilience/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{benzie2025strategic, author = {Benzie, Magnus and Biesbroek, Robbert and Gupta, Aarti}, title = {{Strategic resilience: outlining a new government approach to climate change adaptation}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/strategic-resilience/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }