Interventions for rapid global change

A Canadian research centre addressing urgent and entangled global problems. We anticipate future crises and identify high-leverage interventions to change humanity's course for the better.

Interventions for Rapid Global Change

A Canadian research centre addressing urgent and entangled global problems. We anticipate future crises and identify high-leverage interventions to change humanity's course for the better.

PROGRAMS

Summary

Prospecting for superhot rock energy

Rebecca Pearce et al.
Summary of a technology gap analysis for siting and characterizing superhot rock energy resources.
Version of Record

Catastrophic Dehumanization: A formal model

Thomas Homer-Dixon
A formal model drawing on insights from conflict, critical-transition, and catastrophe theories to explain the causal mechanisms that produce sudden dehumanization in situations of extreme conflict.
Report

Impact 2024: How Donald Trump’s Reelection Could Amplify Global Inter-systemic Risk

Thomas Homer-Dixon, Michael Lawrence, Megan Shipman, Luke Kemp
This report, updated with an October 29, 2024 addendum, assesses how a second Trump administration could supercharge global political, economic, geopolitical, environmental, and pandemic risks and how those risks could then combine to escalate the world's already severe polycrisis.
Guide

Introduction to Polycrisis Analysis

Michael Lawrence, Megan Shipman, and Thomas Homer-Dixon
This guide presents the Cascade Institute’s framework for polycrisis analysis. It introduces an integrated set of concepts that clarifies interactions between global systemic crises and the potential outcomes of those interactions. It is intended to help governments, firms, and communities see through the fog currently surrounding global risks more effectively, so they can better anticipate and respond to emerging threats.
Report

Positive Pathways through Polycrisis

Michael Lawrence and Megan Shipman
This report explores how polycrisis analysis can help us navigate through polycrisis and pursue "positive pathways" to better futures.
Summary

Prospecting for superhot rock energy

Rebecca Pearce et al.
Summary of a technology gap analysis for siting and characterizing superhot rock energy resources.
Read More
Version of Record

Catastrophic Dehumanization: A formal model

Thomas Homer-Dixon
A formal model drawing on insights from conflict, critical-transition, and catastrophe theories to explain the causal mechanisms that produce sudden dehumanization in situations of extreme conflict.
Read More

Trump redux: Why the returning president is likely to become one of history’s most consequential figures

Thomas Homer-Dixon
Cascade Institute Executive Director Thomas Homer-Dixon warns that as “reconfigurer-in-chief," Donald Trump will be, in philosopher Georg Hegel’s terms, a world-historical figure.

Time to dig deep into a strategy for geothermal power

Peter Massie and Emily Smejkal
Strategic investments in innovation and a supportive policy context could build on a proven made-in-Canada model to position the country at the forefront of geothermal power.

Can we prevent Trump 2.0 from spiralling into catastrophe?

Megan Shipman and Michael Lawrence
Cascade Institute researchers warn that Mr. Trump could activate vicious cycles in global systems and propel calamities that long outlive his second term.

Understanding the Ideological Drivers of Russia’s War in Ukraine

Cascade Institute Speaker Series presenter Dr. Jonathan Leader Maynard
Dr. Jonathan Leader Maynard examines the critical role of ideology in Russia's war against Ukraine, offering insights into how ideological factors have shaped both the conflict itself and broader patterns of 21st-century international relations.

The American polity is cracked, and might collapse. Canada must prepare

Globe and Mail article by Thomas Homer-Dixon — By 2025, American democracy could collapse, causing extreme domestic political instability, including widespread civil violence. By 2030, if not sooner, the country could be governed by a right-wing dictatorship.

What Happens When a Cascade of Crises Collide?

New York Times article by Thomas Homer-Dixon and Johan Rockström — Today’s mess is best understood as a global polycrisis—a term which implies that humanity is dealing with a complex knot of seemingly distinct but actually deeply entangled crises.

Trump redux: Why the returning president is likely to become one of history’s most consequential figures

Thomas Homer-Dixon
Cascade Institute Executive Director Thomas Homer-Dixon warns that as “reconfigurer-in-chief," Donald Trump will be, in philosopher Georg Hegel’s terms, a world-historical figure.
Read More

Can we prevent Trump 2.0 from spiralling into catastrophe?

Megan Shipman and Michael Lawrence
Cascade Institute researchers warn that Mr. Trump could activate vicious cycles in global systems and propel calamities that long outlive his second term.
Read More

Understanding the Ideological Drivers of Russia’s War in Ukraine

Cascade Institute Speaker Series presenter Dr. Jonathan Leader Maynard
Dr. Jonathan Leader Maynard examines the critical role of ideology in Russia's war against Ukraine, offering insights into how ideological factors have shaped both the conflict itself and broader patterns of 21st-century international relations.
Read More

Time to dig deep into a strategy for geothermal power

Peter Massie and Emily Smejkal
Strategic investments in innovation and a supportive policy context could build on a proven made-in-Canada model to position the country at the forefront of geothermal power.
Read More