Crisis are moments of transition: they mark the passage from one dynamic to another, they are turning points in multidimensional transformation processes. The accelerated changes and positive feedbacks in the interplay between natural resources, strategic dominance, geography, and the many state and non-state actors pursuing individual and collective interests in the North questions the stability of contemporary knowledge pools and practices. ‘ESCALATION’ is part of a larger research project titled ‘North’ which was initiated by Territorial Agency in 2007. It fathoms the changes in the relations between geography, inhabitation and knowledge production in the 21st century.