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Simon Dalby joins us to explore how climate disruption is reshaping geopolitics – and what it means to govern on a planet that’s burning.
We explore Simon’s intellectual journey, from early work on geopolitics and discourses of security, to his provocative interventions on anthropogenic fire and the combustible politics of the climate crisis, captured in his recent book Pyromania: Fire and Geopolitics in a Climate-Disrupted World.
With characteristic clarity and urgency, Simon unpacks the dangerous inertia of existing institutions and the need to stop “governing as if the Earth were not burning.” We discuss the challenge of reimagining sovereignty, security, and governance in the context of Earth system disruption – and why a politics of planetary responsibility must begin with confronting fossil modernity head-on.
Simon Dalby is Professor Emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is a former co-editor of the journal Geopolitics and author of multiple influential books on climate, war, and the changing foundations of global order.
Simon’s profile can be found here: https://balsillieschool.ca/people/simon-dalby/
We discussed:
- Pyromania: Fire and Geopolitics in a Climate Disrupted World (2024).
- Review of Children of a Modest Star: Planetary Thinking for an Age of Crises by J. Blake & N. Gilman (2024).
- Firepower, Climate and the Dilemma of Security, RUSI Commentary, May 2022.
- Rethinking Environmental Security (2022).
