4 Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the team responsible for the excellent Armed Conflict Location and Events Data (https://acleddata.com/) for their support in accessing the data. Many thanks to the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung for supporting this work; to Sara Burke, Michael Bröning, and Isabel Ortiz for comments on an earlier draft; and to Nishan De Mel for talking to us about Sri Lanka. All errors of fact or interpretation remain those of the authors and not of their organizations or employers. Summary There was an unprecedented global wave of more than 12,500 protests about food, energy and the rising cost of living in 2022. 2022 saw an unprecedented wave of protest about the affordability of and access to the basics needed for everyday life. People took to the streets in over 12,500 protest events between 1 November 2021 and 31 October 2022, aggrieved about the rising cost of living as well as shortages of fuel, gas and electricity. Protests erupted across world regions, in all political regime types, and in rich, middle and low income countries alike. A total of 148 countries experienced such protests in 4,630 unique locations(ACLED 2022). In several countries, protests about food and energy price rises and shortages escalated into larger national political crises, featuring significant violence, casualties and demands for political change. Protest-related deaths were recorded in 12 different countries, with Kazakhstan ’ s fuel riots escalating into a full security crisis resulting in more than 200 fatalities. Perceived fiscal mismanagement and concerns about the conditions of IMF loans featured prominently in several protest episodes. Notably, ten of the 30 countries with more than 100 protest events during the period studied have ongoing IMF programmes, and others in that group were seeking IMF support. The wave of protests signals a globalised economic failure to deliver the basic goods people need at prices they can afford. Prices of food, but in particular of energy(fuel, oil, gas, and electricity for transport, industrial and domestic purposes) saw steep rises as a result of pent-up demand and supply chain issues following the closures enforced during the COVID19 pandemic. Food and fuel prices also faced inflationary pressures and fears of dearth after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February 2022. Most protests were triggered not by generalised price rises or shortages, but by specific governmental failures to act to protect citizens against their effects. Major episodes of protests commonly followed cuts to energy subsidies, leading to steep price increases. In certain instances, an announcement of subsidy cuts was sufficient to mobilise citizens against the government. A wide range of people and groups were involved in these protests. Organised labour groups and opposition political parties were active, but other groups and movements not specifically aligned with trade unions or political parties were also prominent. Fishers, farmers, truck and taxi drivers and construction workers, as well as teachers and health workers, featured prominently in protests across world regions. However, several major episodes lacked visible organisation or leadership and took the form of apparently spontaneous mass uprisings.