D74 - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; RevolutionsReturn

In the globalised world of the past decade, the characteristic movement of the real economy in Europe has been in the lower amplitudes of the economic cycle and has been complicated by the low effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policy tools and instability on the financial markets, which, in relation to the real economy, display features of autonomy and virtuality. The exchange rates of the euro, rouble and Czech crown display exceptional volatility, while the yields from financial instruments are at a historic minimum. These phenomena are the result of the stagnation of the European economy, a high level of indebtedness and an inability to effectively solve escalating political problems, such as military conflicts, terrorism, mass migration, economic sanctions, etc.

Our rapidly changing world has been challenging insurers to keep the pace. Given the qualitative changes in risk trends, the insurance industry has encountered a problem of insurability limits and shifting boundaries of the private insurance sector. The possibilities of covering enormous uncertainties, particular risks and new or modified risks are discussed in this paper. The basic problem of how the nature of risks has evolved over time and obstacles to insuring against certain risks are explained in this paper, and some innovative ways to overcome the mentioned obstacles are listed. One of the most recently discussed issues is the impact of catastrophic losses and man-made disasters since their frequency and extent have been continuously growing recently. In order to handle the rapid changes in our world and to maintain its stable position, the insurance industry has found some ways to heighten the limits of insurability, i.e., adjustments of terms and conditions, careful risk selection and pricing, reinsurance, innovations, public private partnerships, or multi-source financing of incurred losses have been used recently. However, given the more stringent regulatory requirements which are going to be implemented by 2013, capital requirements may increase and thus the capacity of the insurance industry might be reduced and the industry might have to find other solutions for heightening its capacity.

The paper contains a descriptive analysis of selected interdisciplinary research methods developed for the study of complex socio-ecological systems (climate change problems in particular). Institutional analysis and participatory methods of social consensus are in the centre of the focus.