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Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon

Award-Winning Author | Public Intellectual

Thomas Homer-Dixon
Complex Systems
Dr. Homer Dixon
Environment and the Economy
At the Spotlight
Speakers' Spotlight Showcase 2009
Dr.
Dr. Homer Dixon
Thomas Homer-Dixon
Complex Systems
Dr. Homer Dixon
Environment and the Economy
At the Spotlight
Speakers' Spotlight Showcase 2009

Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon is one of Canada’s foremost public intellectuals and a bestselling author. He is considered among the world’s leading experts on the intricate links between nature, technology, and society, with his current research focusing on threats to global security in the 21st century. Tackling subjects such as economic instability and climate change as well as how people, organizations, and societies can better solve complex problems, Homer-Dixon shows audiences how to adapt and prosper in a world of ever-increasing complexity.

Homer-Dixon is currently the founder and executive director of the Cascade Institute at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia. Previously, he directed the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Toronto for nearly two decades. In 2008, Homer-Dixon joined the faculty at the University of Waterloo where he founded the Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation. He retired from his faculty position as a University Research Chair in 2021.

A bestselling author, Homer-Dixon has written multiple award-winning books, including The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization; The Ingenuity Gap: Can We Solve the Problems of the Future?; and Environment, Scarcity, and Violence. His latest book, Commanding Hope: The Power We Have to Renew a World in Peril, was published in 2020. Homer-Dixon also writes regularly for the Globe and Mail and has been published in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Scientific American, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Financial Times. He’s been called “one of the best-informed and most brilliant writers on global affairs today,” by The Guardian.

A sought-after speaker, Homer-Dixon has spoken at leading universities, to government agencies, and to major industry associations throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe. He has also provided briefings to the Privy Council Office, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Defence in Canada; the Foreign Office in the United Kingdom; and to the White House, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council, and the State Department in the United States.

Homer-Dixon received a Bachelor or Arts in political science from Carleton University and a PhD from MIT in international relations, defense policy, and conflict theory.

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

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Client reviews

  • On The Upside of Down:

    Anyone who doubts the seriousness of the human predicament should read Thomas Homer-Dixon’s brilliant THE UPSIDE OF DOWN. Anyone who understands the seriousness should also read it for Homer-Dixon’s insightful ideas about how to make society more resilient in the face of near inevitable environmental and social catastrophes.

  • Our future very likely depends on listening to him.

  • On Dr. Homer-Dixon’s Speaking:

    Your address was superb. Your presentation on complexity science was a perfect complement to the week’s Big Thinking events. You spoke of the interconnectedness of systems, an important message if we want to arm ourselves with the right tools to tackle the most pressing issues we face today.

  • The Future Global Security yesterday session was absolutely excellent!! Participants have contacted me to say that you took the most complicated topics and made them understandable. You helped people to feel the urgency about the global (current and future) context for which public service leaders must be prepared for. That’s why we bring you back every time!!!!!

  • A very inspiring talk. I felt he set the tone for the conference, and was a great choice for speaker.

  • I know personally and from the dozens of conference evaluations that you really hit the right notes in your talk and gave the conference tremendous momentum.

  • On The Ingenuity Gap:

    The most persuasive forecast of the 21st century I have seen.

  • No other new concept so fully condenses all of the challenges we face as human civilization. Homer-Dixon has found a way to unite all of our concerns about economics, war, population growth, complexity, etc. under a single heading.

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