Geopolitics: What in the World is Happening?
Jan 8 - Feb 19, 2026
In this lecture series we will look to various researchers, writers and thinkers in the field of geopolitics to help us make sense of our rapidly changing world.
Super powers, trade wars, hot wars, emerging technologies, global food security and living in our climate disrupted world will all be covered. O Canada! Are we positioned to be prosperous, healthy and strong? If you have been asking ‘what in the world is happening?’, then come and find out what these big thinkers have to say.
6 lectures, live streamed on Vimeo only
Thursday mornings 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Replays until March 19 on Vimeo
PURCHASE TICKETS (Available in November 2025)
Thursday, Jan 8, 2026
Geopolitics and Cold War 2.0
A discussion of the current Cold War, with Team Democracy, including Canada, set against Team Autocracy, led by China and Russia; a discussion of what a Cold War is; the differences between democracy and autocracy; four case studies are discussed, including the South China Sea, the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and the near hybrid conflict involving Taiwan.
By using the framework of a Cold War, what seem like distinct conflict zones can be made sense of. People watching this lecture will acquire a much better understanding of what is happening in the world. There will be time to ask questions at the end of the lecture. George is also happy to answer email questions following the lecture.
Lecturer - George Takach
I have a BA and MA in geopolitics, as well as a law degree, and I practiced technology law for 35+ years with clients and counterparties from around the world. I am now a Senior Fellow of the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary History at the University of Toronto, and I write on geopolitics and technology - my 2024 book Cold War 2.0: Artificial Intelligence in the New Battle Between China, Russia and America recently came out in the Chinese language in Taiwan. I have lectured extensively on the topics in the book, including to pension funds, the NATO Parliamentary Association, Canada's Royal Military College and the Canadian Forces College.
Thursday, Jan 15, 2026
Artificial Intelligence and Cold War 2.0
A discussion of artificial intelligence (AI), the most critical technology of the 21st century, and its role in geopolitics, particularly through the lens of Cold War 2.0 (this lecture follows seamlessly on from the first lecture in the series); a brief, non-technical overview of AI, and its role in contributing to economic and military power; and discussing various conflicts zones in the world where AI is making its presence felt in power geopolitical struggles; significant questions involving morality and ethics are also covered related to the use of AI in circumstances where human oversight of the lethal technology is called into question
Lecturer - George Takach (see bio above)
Thursday, Jan 22, 2026
Global Politics of Food
This talk will outline the key dynamics in the global politics of food, including the global hunger situation and key drivers of food insecurity that include conflict, trade practices, corporate concentration, and climate change. It will examine the impacts of recent geopolitical shifts in the global order and their implications for food security outcomes around the world. The talk will also consider the kinds of policy shifts required to transform food systems to make them more equitable and sustainable.
Lecturer - Jennifer Clapp
Jennifer Clapp is a Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability and Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo. She has published widely on the global governance of problems that arise at the intersection of the global economy, food security, and the natural environment. Her recent books include Titans of Industrial Agriculture (MIT Press, 2025), Food, 3rd edition (Polity, 2020), Speculative Harvests: Financialization, Food, and Agriculture (Fernwood Press, 2018), and Hunger in the Balance: The New Politics of International Food Aid (Cornell University Press, 2012). Professor Clapp is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).
Thursday, Jan 29, 2026
Geopolitics in a Climate-Disrupted World
The term Anthropocene has been introduced by scientists trying to understand the earth system, its atmosphere and climate, oceans and land uses and how they are all now rapidly changing as a result of industrial civilization's novel activities. The sheer scale of human activity is now a new element in how the earth functions, and a key part of this is because of the widespread use of fossil fuels.
Traditionally security was understood in terms of military protection and the use of firepower, or threat of it to deal with threats to particular societies. But now the human use of fire in the civilian sense, to power industry, vehicles and much else is threatening societies in new and dangerous ways. Traditional geopolitics, understood as the struggle to control parts of the earth and provide security by doing so, needs to be rethought, and quickly. Constraining firepower in both its senses is now an urgent necessity.
Lecturer - Simon Dalby
Simon Dalby is a Professor Emeritus at Wilfrid Laurier University, a Fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs and Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow at the University of Victoria Centre for Global Studies. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Victoria and holds a Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University. His published research deals with climate change, environmental security and geopolitics. He is author of Pyromania: Fire and Geopolitics in a Climate Disrupted World (Newcastle: Agenda, 2024), Rethinking Environmental Security (Edward Elgar 2022) and Anthropocene Geopolitics: Globalization, Security, Sustainability, (University of Ottawa Press, 2020).
Thursday, Feb 5, 2026
Canadian Trade Policy in an Age of Chaos
Canada has long been known as a trading nation. With ample natural resources and not enough people to consume everything that we produce, we rely on external markets to drive our economy forward. For much of our recent history, free trade with our closest partner, the United States, has therefore been critical to our national prosperity. In 2017, Donald Trump's Republican administration nearly ended the North American Free Trade Agreement, one of the most successful agreements in either country's history. The second Trump administration has been even more aggressive in rejecting free trade and has made a point of singling out Canada for criticism. This lecture will help you understand how trade policy works (and doesn’t work), and why it plays such a significant role in the Canadian economy and, by extension, in all of our lives.
Lecturer - Adam Chapnick
Adam Chapnick is a professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) and the deputy director of education at the Canadian Forces College. He holds a BA (Honours) from Trent University, an MA in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, and a PhD in History from the University of Toronto. He is the award-winning author or editor of ten books and over 50 academic essays and book chapters on historical and contemporary issues in Canadian foreign and public policy. He has appeared as a foreign policy expert on Global News, CTV News, CBC News, The Agenda with Steve Paikin, and CBC radio.
Thursday, Feb 12, 2026
Canada and the World in 2026
Canada is a G7 country, a founding member of the United Nations and NATO, and an active player in world affairs. We spend over $30 billion per year on our military, distribute over $11 billion per year in international assistance to countries in need, and maintain a staff of over 13,000 diplomats, trade policy experts, and developnment assistance professionals at Global Affairs Canada. These investments are supposed to promote and defend "the national interest." This lecture will help you understand what the national interest really means and why Canada behaves the way it does on the world stage by examining the past, present, and future of Canadian foreign policy.