Gwynne Dyer

Topics

Presentations

Crawling from the Wreckage
Acerbic and iconoclastic, Dyer has never been afraid to call ’em like he sees ’em — and we are all the better for his trademark candour and the breadth of his knowledge and expertise. For anyone seeking to understand the larger forces that shape our society and our world, Crawling from the Wreckage is a must hear keynote!

Fighting Decline
Gwynne Dyer's provocative argument in Fighting Decline is that, since 2001, American foreign and defence policies have been run by people whose entire approach is shaped by an idea of the United States now being the world's sole superpower. India and China are now both on the brink of rivalling American economic clout and political influence. It remains to be seen just how the United States will respond to this competition, but history, as Dyer shows, provides us with vivid lessons of how empires act when in decline.
This keynote brings insight, intelligence, and Dyer's trademark humour to bear on this, one of the biggest issues facing the world.

The Climate Wars
Some generation, thousands of years later, was going to have to face this problem and try to deal with it. It happens to be us.

Back to the Great Game
If we do not change course, these really are the Good Old Days

Communications, Society and Education
The "modern mind" is not just a phrase. The way our minds work has changed dramatically over several thousand years. So have the ways in which societies structure themselves. The communications revolution will bring about just as much change in the next few generations.

Current Events and World Politics

Summary Profile

Gwynne Dyer has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years, but he was originally trained as an historian. Born in Newfoundland, he received degrees from Canadian, American and British universities, finishing with a Ph.D. in Military and Middle Eastern History from the University of London. He served in three navies and held academic appointments at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Oxford University before launching his twice-weekly column on international affairs, which is published by over 175 papers in some 45 countries.

His first television series, the 7-part documentary War, was aired in 45 countries in the mid-80s. One episode, The Profession of Arms, was nominated for an Academy Award.  His more recent television work includes the 1994 series The Human Race, and Protection Force, a three-part series on peacekeepers in Bosnia, both of which won Gemini awards.  His award-winning radio documentaries include The Gorbachev Revolution, a seven-part series based on Dyer's experiences in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in 1987-90, and Millenium, a six-hour series on the emerging global culture.

Dyer's major study "War", first published in the 1980s, was completely revised and re-published in 2004. During this decade he has also written a trio of more contemporary books dealing with the politics and strategy of the post-9/11 world: Ignorant Armies (2003), Future: Tense (2004), and The Mess They Made (2006).  The latter was also published as 'After Iraq' in the US and the UK and as 'Nach Iraq und Afghanistan' in Germany. 

His most recent projects are a book and a radio series called Climate Wars, dealing with the geopolitics of climate change. They have already been published and aired in some places, and will appear in most other major markets in the course of 2009.

Client Testimonials:

"He's rather exceptionally confident and extremely proficient ... the way he manages the questions was astonishing."

Centre for Military and Strategic Studies

"[He] gave a thought provoking speech on Canada and globalization..."

Kitsilano Secondary