Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.63.2.7
Rethinking Socio-Ecological Resilience: Lessons from the COVID-19 and the Degrowth Donut Model
Branko Ančić
orcid.org/0000-0003-1438-2647
; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
Jelena Puđak
; Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb, Croatia
Mladen Domazet
orcid.org/0000-0002-9870-9485
; Institute of Philosophy, Zagreb, Croatia
Tomislav Cik
orcid.org/0009-0005-0360-981X
; Society for Sustainable Development Design, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
This article develops a socio-ecological understanding of societal resilience by situating
COVID-19 pandemic responses within broader configurations of cultural orientations,
social foundations, and socio-metabolic pressures. Building on resilience debates from ecology
and the social sciences, the paper argues that resilience cannot be reduced to “bounce-back”
capacity or institutional preparedness alone, because societies may be resilient in undesirable
states and because short-term crisis performance can coexist with long-term ecological vulnerability.
To operationalise this perspective, the study applies a degrowth-based socio-ecological
doughnut (“degrowth donut”) framework that maps countries’ positions relative to a safe and
just operating space. Using a theory-driven comparative design, the analysis examines five
European countries—Austria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, and Spain—through a selected subset
of 18 indicators drawn from biophysical ceilings, socio-metabolic throughput, and cultural–institutional and social foundation dimensions. Results indicate that variation in pandemic performance
aligns most clearly with differences in cultural and social foundation indicators (e.g.,
perceived democratic deficit, life satisfaction, health perception, and social equality), while
countries showing stronger short-term pandemic performance often exhibit greater biophysical
overshoot (notably CO₂ emissions and material use). The findings highlight a structural
paradox at the centre of contemporary resilience debates: immediate adaptive capacity may be
enabled by socio-metabolic regimes that undermine long-term socio-ecological stability. The
paper concludes that the degrowth donut offers a heuristic, constraint-based tool for comparative
resilience assessment that foregrounds trade-offs and supports a shift from crisis management
toward deliberate socio-ecological transformation.
Keywords
social resilience; socio-ecological systems; COVID-19; degrowth; doughnut model; safe and just operating space; socio-metabolism; cultural orientations
Hrčak ID:
342174
URI
Publication date:
30.10.2025.
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