All facets of present day society are subjected to an ever increasing rise in uncertainty. Seaports are no exception. As complex clusters of industrial activity and gateways for distribution networks, they are vulnerable to external and internal shocks disrupting supply chains. This evolution forces stakeholders to ponder on "sustainable development," and to foster adaptive capabilities and create opportunities. The development and further substantiation of the notion of 'resilience' underlined the need to study how clusters and networks (should) respond to major disturbances. In this paper, we scrutinize the concept of port resilience by revisiting the Panarchy and adaptive cycle theorem of Holling (2001). The objective is to determine if this framework can be applied to a port development context. The paper outlines the literature on Panarchy and adaptive cycles and links it to ports. It also provides an overview of the general theorem and explains the value for maritime research. The framework is linked to a set of cases on port infrastructure and development.
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