Reframing risk communication in the era of converging, cascading, and compounding crises

The fundamental topology of risk has shifted from isolated episodes to converging, cascading, and compounding crises. Yet, despite this transformation, prevailing risk communication frameworks remain rooted in mid-20th-century linear paradigms. We argue that reliance on these static transmission models creates a structural liability in modern governance. Such approaches provide an illusion of institutional control while failing to account for the nonlinearity and interdependence of complex adaptive systems. To bridge this operational gap, we propose a complexity-aware five-stage model: detection, alignment, framing, interaction, and behavioral feedback. By reconceptualizing communication as a central control parameter for system resilience instead of a post-assessment dissemination function, this framework transforms communication from an unmeasured administrative task into a quantifiable driver of adaptive capacity.