Areas of specialization
Contemporary Political Theory
Democratic Theory, Deliberative Democracy
Rights, Justice, and Activism
Feminist Theory
Justice & Gender
Background
BA (Waterloo), MA (Victoria), PhD (Queen's)
Anna Drake (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science. She received her PhD at Queen's University in 2009. Her recent book Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy (UBC Press, 2021) critiques the standard inclusion framework of deliberative democracy and argues that deliberative democrats must address activism on its own terms, external to and separate from deliberative systems that are shaped by injustices.
Prior to joining Waterloo, Dr. Drake taught at the University of Victoria and at Queen’s University, where she was also a researcher at the Centre for Studies on Democracy and Diversity. Her current research examines structural injustice in deliberative theory and analyzes ways deliberative systems might better respond to problems such as systemic racism and sexism.
Select Publications
Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy. 2021. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
“Normative Justifications for Democratic Design: The Case of Canadian Electoral Reform.” 2019. Canada: The State of the Federation 2017: Canada at 150: Federalism and Democratic Renewal. McGill-Queen’s University Press. Pp. 161-179. (Co-authored with Margaret Moore.)
“Deliberating and Learning Contentious Issues: How Divided Societies Represent Conflict in History Textbooks.” 2013. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism 13 (3): 1-20. (Co-authored with Allison McCulloch.)
“Secularism, Religious Diversity, and Democratic Politics.” 2013. Secular States and Religious Diversity. Eds. Bruce Berman, Rajeev Bhargava, and André Laliberté. Vancouver: UBC Press, 293-309.
“Deliberative Consociationalism in Deeply Divided Societies.” 2011. Contemporary Political Theory 10 (3): 372-392. (Co-authored with Allison McCulloch.)
“Deliberative Democracy and Systemic Racism.” February 2023 (Online First): 1-21. Canadian Journal of Political Science
Legislating Under the Charter: Parliament, Executive Power, and Judicial Norms about Rights. (With Emmett Macfarlane and Janet Hiebert). Forthcoming 2023. University of Toronto Press.
Contact information
Email: amdrake@uwaterloo.ca
Office: Hagey Hall 317
Phone: x45369