Michael Thompson
Guest Emeritus Research Scholar
Equity and Justice Research Group
Population and Just Societies Program
Biography
Originally a professional soldier, Michael Thompson studied anthropology (first degree and PhD at University College London, B.Litt at Oxford) whi9le also following a career as a Himalayan Mountaineer. (Annapurna South Face 1970, Everest Southwest Face 1975). His early research on how something second-hand becomes an antique (Rubbish Theory, 1979, Oxford University Press) led to work on the "energy tribes" (in various western think tanks), on risk, on Himalayan deforestation and sustainable development, on household product development (in Unilever), on global climate change, on technology and development, and on what might be called "the even newer Institutionalism" (e.g., Cultural Theory, co-authored with Richard Ellis and Aaron Wildvasky, 1990, West View).Dr. Thompson is a Fellow at the James Marin Institute for Science and Civilization, University of Oxford and a Senior Researcher at the Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Research, University of Bergen, Norway. At IIASA he is affiliated with the Risk and Resilience (RISK) Program.
Last update: 02 MAY 2016
Publications
Beck, M.B., Walker, R.V., & Thompson, M. (2013). Smarter urban metabolism: Earth systems re-engineering. Engineering Sustainability : Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) 166 (5) 229-241. 10.1680/ensu.12.00038.
Mars, G. & Thompson, M. (2013). Individualism versus hierarchy: Kondratieff and his crime waves - the behavoiural underpinnings of booms and slumps. In: Locating Deviance: Crime, Change and Organizations. Eds. Mars, G, Farnum: Ashagate. ISBN 978-1-4094-2789-6
Yazdanpanah, M., Thompson, M., Hayati, D., & Zamani, G.H. (2013). A new enemy at the gate: Tackling Iran's water super-crisis by way of a transition from government to governance. Progress in Development Studies 13 (3) 177-194. 10.1177/1464993413486544.
Thompson, M. (2013). Clumsy solutions to environmental change: Lessons from cultural theory. In: A Changing Environment for Human Security: Transformative Approaches to Research, Policy and Action. Eds. Sygna, L, O'Brien, K, & Wolf, J, Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-84971-301-6
Thompson, M. (2012). Limits to growth? A new perspective on certainties and validities. [[GAIA]], 21(2):106-107 (June 2012)