Recent faculty publications

Professor Carter publishes new book Fossilized: Environmental Policy in Canada's Petro-Provinces

red book cover for Fossilized, upside down maple leaf with factory and smoke

Carter, Angela. 2020. Fossilized: Environmental Policy in Canada's Petro-Provinces. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

2021, Winner - Smiley Prize, Canadian Political Science Association

Thanks to increasingly extreme forms of oil extraction, Canada’s largest oil-producing provinces underwent exceptional economic growth from 2005 to 2015. Yet oil’s economic miracle obscured its ecological costs. Fossilized traces this development trajectory, assessing how the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador offered extensive support for oil development, and exploring the often downplayed environmental effects of extraction.

At the height of the boom, these oil-dependent provinces undermined their environmental policies or let them decay to boost production. Angela Carter investigates overarching institutional trends, such as the restructuring of departments that prioritized extraction over environmental protection, and identifies regulatory inadequacies related to environmental assessment, land-use planning, and emissions controls. Her detailed analysis situates these policy dynamics squarely within the historical and global context of late-stage petro-capitalism and growing neoliberalization of environmental policy.

Fossilized reveals a country out of step with the transition unfolding in response to the climate crisis. As the global community moves toward deep decarbonization, Canada’s petro-provinces have intensified oil production, intertwining their fate ever more closely with fossil fuel extraction – at great ecological and economic risk.

This book will be invaluable for scholars and students in environmental studies, political economy, political science, Canadian politics, and geography. More broadly, it will appeal to readers who are engaging with the intensifying debates around oil extraction in Canada.


Professor Drake publishes new book Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy

book cover for Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy

Drake, Anna. 2021. Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

Activism, Inclusion, and the Challenges of Deliberative Democracy challenges the inherent contradiction of a framework that includes activism but doesn’t require sustained exchange with activists, instead measuring the value of their efforts in terms of broader deliberative democratic outcomes. Through the examples of ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, and other contemporary activism, Anna Drake explores the systemic oppression that prevents activists from participating in deliberative systems as equals. Pointing to the failure of deliberative democracy to confront oppression, she develops an alternative theory of activism-as-deliberation that recognizes the normative importance of activism, making a key distinction between contributing to and deliberating with.

When systemic inequalities affect people’s perceptions of political legitimacy, activism cannot be meaningfully integrated. This nuanced study concludes that deliberative democrats must address activism on its own terms, external to and separate from deliberative systems that are shaped by injustices. Only then can activism’s distinct democratic contribution be taken seriously. [Text from UBC Press website.]


Professor Mufti publishes new book Pakistan's Political Parties: Surviving between Dictatorship and Democracy

book cover for Pakistan's Political Parties

Mufti, Mariam, Niloufer Siddiqui and Sahar Shafqat (eds.). 2020. Pakistan’s Political Parties: Surviving between Dictatorship and Democracy. Washington, D.C., Georgetown University Press.

Pakistan's 2018 general elections marked the second successful transfer of power from one elected civilian government to another—a remarkable achievement considering the country's history of dictatorial rule. Pakistan's Political Parties examines how the civilian side of the state's current regime has survived the transition to democracy, providing critical insight into the evolution of political parties in Pakistan and their role in developing democracies in general.

Pakistan's numerous political parties span the ideological spectrum, as well as represent diverse regional, ethnic, and religious constituencies. The essays in this volume explore the way in which these parties both contend and work with Pakistan's military-bureaucratic establishment to assert and expand their power. Researchers use interviews, surveys, data, and ethnography to illuminate the internal dynamics and motivations of these groups and the mechanisms through which they create policy and influence state and society.

Pakistan's Political Parties is a one-of-a-kind resource for diplomats, policymakers, journalists, and scholars searching for a comprehensive overview of Pakistan's party system and its unlikely survival against an interventionist military, with insights that extend far beyond the region.


Professor Habib publishes Second Edition of Israel, Diaspora, and the Routes of National Belonging

Book cover
Israel, Diaspora, and the Routes of National Belonging, 2nd Ed. University of Toronto Press, 2019.

Over the course of four years, Jasmin Habib was a participant observer on tours of Israel organized for diaspora Jews as well as at North American community events focusing on Israel and Israel-diaspora relations. In this book, she argues that much of the existing literature about North American Jews and their relationship to Israel ignores their reactions to official narratives and perpetuates an "official silence" surrounding the destructive aspects of nationalist sentiments.

The second edition of Israel, Diaspora, and the Routes of National Belonging includes a new introduction by the author that builds on her groundbreaking research and reflects on the changes to scholarship since the book’s publication in 2004. Additionally, by exploring the dramatic changes to the region’s politics, Habib ensures that the startlingly honest, theoretically rich, and detailed analysis of her original work continues to be of relevance over a decade later.


Professor Cooper publishes new article in Global Summitry

Global Summitry journal front page.
"Rising” States and Global Reach: Measuring “Globality” among BRICS/MIKTA Countries, Global Summitry, guz002, Published on line: 18 July 2019

Global reach is equated with national ambition. In the contemporary international system, one measure of global reach for states is their inclusion in global summits. This association is particularly compelling for putative “rising” states from the Global South, among the BRICS (China, India, and Brazil) and also a less well-known forum, MIKTA (Mexico, South Korea, Turkey, and Indonesia) groupings. Yet the standard means of examining the attributes of rising states via country specific and impressionistic studies appears to reveal that these rising powers are similar in many respects but there are significant differences as well. To help identify these differences we turn to a concept and data referred to as “globality.” We believe that this concept is helpful in more accurately analyzing the global reach of rising Global South countries. Though not that well known in the international relations literature, globality emphasizes agency by self-aware actors. Globality can be operationalized by tracing certain dimensions: institutional/diplomatic range; trade profile; and the trajectory of official development assistance. Broadly, the conclusion drawn from such a globality analysis substantiates a sharp distinction between the BRICS members and the MIKTA countries. The BRICS countries have some considerable capacity for global reach while it turns out that the MIKTA countries are regionally entrapped and thus less capable of global projection. Moreover, the specifics in terms of this pattern of differentiation are salient as well. The overall confirmation of an interconnection between subjective impressions of hierarchy and objective measurements of global projection, underscore the contrast between BRICS and MIKTA in summitry dynamics.


Professor Whiteside publishes article in Review of International Political Economy

RIPE journal front page.
Public-Private Partnerships: Market Development Through Management Reform, Review of International Political Economy. July 3, 2019.

The transformation of public infrastructure and services into vehicles of profit-making through privately financed and operated partnerships (PPPs) has successfully weathered high profile project failures, changes in government, scathing audits, public resistance, financial crises, fiscal austerity, and found a home around the world despite vastly different legal, cultural, and institutional contexts. Public procurement and traditional budgeting practices are now a distant memory in many jurisdictions – not by happenstance but through dogged efforts to transform public sectors from service provider into commodity purchaser. Understanding the political economy of global PPP markets requires knowing the connection to managerialism underpinning the story of public administration as contract management. This paper explores the emergence, sophistication, and normalization of PPP using primary and secondary sources including interviews with those involved in, or keenly aware of, the historical creation of pioneering PPP markets. It identifies three apposite categories of PPP management: models, methods, and mindsets. Models are homogenously portable yet malleable templates for partnering. Methods include accounting treatment and standards, and new budgeting and tendering practices. Mindsets are the ideas and ideals initially spread by enthusiasts like the Big Five consultancy firms and Macquarie Bank, later entrenched through specialized quasi-public agencies such as Partnerships UK and the World Bank’s PPIAF.


Professor Cooper publishes a co-authored article in Contemporary Politics

Assessing the variation of ‘leader-focused status’ in contemporary global governance, Contemporary Politics, DOI: 10.1080/13569775.2019.1626525: Online June 14, 2019

This article argues that with the ‘Rise of the Informals’ the traditional conception of status in international relations is outdated. Whereas through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries status was primarily created by the consequences of war, in the twenty-first century attributions of status are more explicitly institutional based. With the shift from small concerts to larger apex forums, therefore, opportunities to shape status standing are extended. This process of ‘democratization’ in terms of global governance leadership is especially important for a mixture of states without the structural capability of great powers. If a function generally of the type of agency, however, the importance of leaders is highlighted. The G20 underscores this theme, although the dynamic of ‘democratization’ must be examined through different stages of institutionalization. Even with these nuances, though, it is the differences as much as the similarities with traditional fixed hierarchies that comes to the fore.


Professor Lanoszka authors a new article in the European Journal of International Security

EJIS journal front page.
Disinformation in International Politics, European Journal of International Security, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/eis.2019.6.

Concerns over disinformation have intensified in recent years. Policymakers, pundits, and observers worry that countries like Russia are spreading false narratives and disseminating rumours in order to shape international opinion and, by extension, government policies to their liking. Despite the importance of this topic, mainstream theories in International Relations offer contradictory guidance on how to think about disinformation. I argue that disinformation is ineffective in terms of changing the policies of a target as regards to its foreign policy alignments and armaments – that is, the balance of power. To be strategically effective, disinformation must somehow overcome three powerful obstacles: first, the fundamental uncertainty that international anarchy generates over any information broadcasted by adversaries; second, the pre-existing prejudices of foreign policy elites and ordinary citizens; and third, the countermeasures that are available even amid political polarisation. I examine the most likely case of there seemingly being a conscious and effective strategy that emphasises disinformation: the Russian campaign that has targeted the Baltic states, especially since the 2014 annexation of Crimea. The available evidence strongly suggests that the strategic effects of disinformation are exaggerated.


Professor Cooper published new article on Adapting Public Diplomacy to the Populist Challenge

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy cover page.
Adapting Public Diplomacy to the Populist Challenge, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1871191X-14101011

Public diplomacy has been externally directed via a strategy of assertive reputation-building. In an era of insurgent populism, this model faces strong backlash, driven by the image of public diplomacy being disconnected from domestic publics. Under these conditions, an opportunistic set of ascendant political leaders — even those located at the international system’s core — have considerable incentive to diminish ‘their’ own diplomats as part of a wider campaign to stigmatize the traditional establishment. While more attention needs to be directed to the causes of this disconnection between diplomats and public, this article highlights a number of key ingredients in a menu of adaptation to the populist challenge. Above all, the focus of engagement in public diplomacy should be broadened to include domestic as well as foreign audiences. Disruption, it must be emphasized, does not mean the end of public diplomacy. Rather, public diplomacy must take a domestic turn.


Professor Cooper co-authors a new article in New Political Economy

Insider and Outsider Strategies of Influence: The BRICS’ Dualistic Approach Towards Informal Institutions, New Political Economy, DOI: 10.1080/13563467.2019.1584167.

The challenge of ‘emerging’ countries in the 21st century has been conducted in a much more peaceful manner than in past eras when power transitions were most commonly accompanied by war. The hallmark of this peaceful transition has been the elevation of the G20, a forum in which established and emerging powers jointly deal with global economic issues and which – despite or precisely because of its informal character – has become the prime forum for global economic governance. Significantly, however, this new openness and flexibility of the international system and its increasing informalism have not only provided an avenue for emerging powers to be integrated into the inner circle of global economic governance, but have also allowed them to set up alternative institutions. By forming their own exclusive BRICS group in parallel to their membership in the G20, emerging powers have pursued a dualistic strategy that allows them to be simultaneously institutional ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’. The article focuses on this seemingly ambiguous international behaviour and explains why the BRICS have opted for this dualistic approach. Far from being socialised into the established system, the oppositional psychology of the past has not disappeared completely.


Prof. Alexander Lanoszka publishes new co-authored monograph

Conventional Deterrence and Landpower in Northeastern Europe

Authored by Dr. Alexander Lanoszka, Dr. Michael A. Hunzeker

The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) face daunting challenges in the Baltic region. Russia is behaving aggressively. Its military is more capable than it has been at any point since the end of the Cold War. More importantly, Russia is finding creative ways to subvert the status quo and to sow discord without triggering Article 5 of NATO, which declares that an attack against one member is an attack against all.

These problems are formidable, but we have reason to be optimistic. Far from shattering NATO’s cohesion and undermining its resolve, Russian aggression has reinvigorated the alliance. Nor is Russia an unstoppable adversary. It has many weaknesses. Indeed, Russian fears over those vulnerabilities might be driving its aggressive foreign policy. Even if this is not the case and Russia is indeed a relentless predator, it is nevertheless a vulnerable one.

The United States and its NATO allies can take advantage of these vulnerabilities. After assessing Russian intentions, capabilities, and limitation, this monograph recommends a hedging strategy to improve early detection capabilities, enhance deterrence in unprovocative ways, and improve regional defenses against a hybrid threat. Achieving these goals should help the United States deter Russia and reassure regional allies more effectively while managing our own worst fears.


Another article from Professor Cooper, published in Place Branding and Public Diplomacy

cover of book called Place Branding and Public Diplomacy
“U.S. public diplomacy and sports stars: mobilizing African-American athletes as goodwill ambassadors from the cold war to an uncertain future”Place Branding and Public Diplomacy (2018). 

The United States has diverse options in the projection of public diplomacy ranging across the spectrum from risk-averse to risk-oriented strategies. A significant test highlights the use of the deep pool of the U.S. star athletes generally and African-American athletes more specifically. During the Cold War era, a conformist style was privileged in the U.S. State Department goodwill ‘ambassador’ program. Yet, paralleling the overall trajectory of celebrity diplomats, significant gaps can be located in this risk-averse culture. With this unevenness in mind, the article look back to see what lessons or parallels can be taken from earlier initiatives. At a moment marked by the populism of the Trump administration and the environment of intensified racial polarization, it is unlikely that any new connection between African-American athletes and a new public diplomacy strategy will fit into a recalibrated conformist model. Even if it is a sharper break from past experiences, however, the constant is that this category of individuals—especially the high-profile African-American sports stars—remains a huge asset if the U.S. State Department has the desire and ability to tap into this talent pool under different political conditions in the future.


The latest publication from Professor Cooper, co-authored by a former Post Doctoral Fellow in the department:

Review of International Studies journal cover
 “The changing practices of frontline diplomacy: New directions for inquiry"  Review of International Studies, First View. 2018.

This article develops the concept of ‘frontline diplomacy’ – what practitioners referring to work in embassies, consulates, and permanent representation as ‘the field’ –, defined here as all diplomats’ activities taking place away from headquarters. IR scholarship tends to focus on Ministries of Foreign Affairs located in capitals. On the contrary, building on the practice turn in IR, we first show that international politics emerge from frontline practices. Adding to criticism against the practice turn, we then explain that it has missed important transformations occurring in frontline diplomacy because it tends to privilege stability over change. We finally discuss two innovations in frontline practices: the action of Sherpas in G20 summits following the 2008 crisis and the use of Twitter by US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul (2012–14). For each we answer three questions: How do these activities transform traditional modes of operation? How are non-state actors involved in them? What do they tell about transformation of global politics? Because diplomatic practices at the frontlines epitomise international politics, these new directions for inquiry contribute substantively to IR scholarship. At the theoretical level, they enrich the continuing encounter between IR and diplomatic studies through practice theory and help to understand change in practice.


Professor Cooper co-authors new article in Chinese Political Science Review

CPSR cover page.
Chinese Leadership in the Evolution of “Hub” and “Parallel” Globally Oriented Institutions

The paper examines the trajectory of Chinese leadership in globally oriented organizations of a self-selective informal nature. In doing so, it shifts attention away from the role of China in established formal institutions, above all the United Nations. The focus instead is on the increasingly robust activity centered post the 2008 global financial crisis on the “hub” forum the G20 and an array of “parallel” non-western institutions including the BRICS and the Belt and Road Initiative. The key theme of this paper is that China has adopted a dualistic strategy that allows it act as both a key insider and outsider in the global system. From an international perspective, such an approach allows China to gain status as a rising power while not compromising its sense of solidarity with the rest of the non-west. Domestically, the approach builds on lessons gained from the earlier debate about entry into the World Trade Organization which marked a sharp divide between liberals and nationalists. A dualistic approach that allowed China to be a core member of the hub G20 and a driver of autonomous initiatives defused the possibility of such a contentious internal debate.


Professor Macfarlane publishes new article in the Canadian Journal of Political Science

CJPS
"You Can't Always Get What You Want": Regime Politics, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the Harper Government

Applying the regime politics approach to the study of judicial behaviour, which regards the Supreme Court as largely operating to preserve the policy agenda of the existing lawmaking majority, this paper evaluates the Court's behaviour during the Conservative government's tenure. There is evidence to support the basic core of the regime politics thesis. The Court rarely invalidates laws passed by the sitting government. Nonetheless, the Court's behaviour during the Conservative government's tenure was distinctive. Incorporating a measure of issue salience—the relative importance of the policies affected—into the analysis demonstrates the Court's impact on the Conservatives' policy agenda stands in sharp contrast to previous governments. It is the only government of the Charter period to have policies in its election platforms blocked by judicial review and the only government in Canadian history to effectively lose all of the constitutional reference cases it posed to the Court.


Professor Esselment publishes article from the book: Permanent Campaigning in Ottawa

Book cover Permanent Campaiging in Ottawa
Policy Options: Canada's Embrace of the Permanent Campaign

Canadian party politics has become deeply entangled with the phenomenon of “permanent campaigning,” as explored in a new volume I co-edited with Alex Marland and Thierry Giasson. A permanent campaign means electioneering between elections, when no official campaign is underway. The concept neatly captures the essence of employing ─ while in the process of governing ─ strategies and tactics that are usually used in the campaign setting. Political parties practice permanent campaigning for two reasons: to advance their current agenda, and to position themselves well for the next electoral battle.


Professors Esselment and Macfarlane publish chapters in new book: The Blueprint: Conservative Parties and Their Impact on Canadian Politics

the blueprint
In this collection, J.P. Lewis and Joanna Everitt bring together a group of up-and coming-political scientists as well as senior scholars to explore the recent history of the Conservative Party of Canada, covering the pre-merger period (1993–2003) and both the minority and majority governments under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The contributors provide nuanced accounts about the experience of conservatives in Canada which reflect the contemporary evolution of Canadian politics in both policy and practice. They challenge the assumption that Harper’s government was built upon traditional "toryism" and reveal the extent to which the agenda of the CPC was shaped by its roots to the Reform and Canadian Alliance Parties. Organized thematically, the volume delves into such topics as interest advocacy, ethno-cultural minorities, gender, the media, foreign policy, and more. The Blueprint showcases the renewed vigour in political studies in Canada while revealing the contradictory story of the modern Conservative Party.


Professor Cooper authors new article in Global Policy

global policy journal.

This article argues that the BRICS’ New Development Bank (NDB) deserves more attention not because it is equivalent to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) but because of its differences. Unlike the AIIB the NDB does not possess impressive material capacity or overt connections to a wider state-led geo-political strategy. What distinguishes the NDB is its creative design with four significant elements of novelty. Unlike other multilateral financial institutions, including the AIIB, the NDB is committed to a principle of equality across its core membership. Product innovation is advanced by its promotion of sustainable development with an exclusive focus on niche clean renewable energy projects. The expressed aim of the NDB with regard to resources is to use green bonds denominated in BRICS’ national currencies. And the focus on delivery centers on the need for speed. Although each of these elements face severe tests, the ability of the NDB to navigate around serious internal tensions through improvisation and trade-offs points to an original emerging pattern of collective policy making and global governance.


Professor Cooper co-authors new article in Cambridge Review of International Affairs

Cambridge Review of International Affairs cover.

This paper examines the evolving pattern of democracy promotion by three emerging donors: India, Brazil and South Africa. It first asks how the emerging donors promote democracy through their development assistance. The paper argues that despite the risk of compromising security and trade interests, the emerging donors have adapted to a 2 × 2 (two by two) model of democracy promotion by which they circumvent risk by promoting procedural democracy through bilateral means and non-procedural democracy through multilateral frameworks. Second, the paper asks why these three countries exhibit the same pattern of democracy promotion in spite of not having coordination among them. In response, the paper provides a structure–agent explanation. The paper contends that the structural constraints imposed on emerging donors are conducive to the operation of the 2 × 2 model in promoting democracy. While the model safeguards the emerging donors from criticism of being undue interveners in other countries' domestic affairs, it also privileges them with international recognition for being responsible partners in democracy promotion.


Professor Cooper co-authors new article in The Pacific Review

Contending regionalisms: hubs and challengers in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific

The Pacific Review

As regions become more institutionalized, they are characterized by two competing trends. First, key regional institutions can become hub institutions that act as transmitters of a comprehensive set of norms. Second, as regional institutions increase in number, regions themselves are liable to become more fragmented. How these trends have played out is explored in two key regions, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific. It is concluded that regions are not static entities but are ever-changing structural arrangements. Hub institutions can be challenged and the consequences can be significant as regions gain in importance on the international stage.


Professor Welch publishes 10th edition of Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation: An Introduction to Theory and History

 An Introduction to Theory and History book cover.

An overview of international relations that highlights conflict and cooperation among and within states Understanding Global Conflict and Cooperation: An Introduction to Theory and History provides a concise, insightful introduction to world politics in an era of complex interdependence. Authors Joseph Nye and David Welch examine conflict and cooperation among global actors via lessons from theory and history, providing readers with a durable framework with which to analyze the current state of international relations. New to the Tenth Edition, a chapter dedicated to global flashpoints — the places in the world where it is easiest to imagine serious conflicts — helps students make connections between events of interest and the text’s major themes.


Professor Whiteside publishes new book: About Canada: Public-Private Partnerships

 Public-Private Partnerships book cover.
About Canada: Public-Private Partnerships

In a public-private partnership, or P3, a private, for-profit corporation assumes control over the design, construction, financing and operation of public infrastructure and services. P3s have been used in Canada since the early 1990s, but they are now so common that they have become the standard way in which multimillion-dollar projects and services are delivered across the country. There are now more than two hundred P3 projects in this country, with contract lengths from twenty to ninety-nine years.

The problem? P3s fundamentally transform public infrastructure, public services, labour relations, public sectors and the everyday lives of Canadians. While contracting out services is supposed to save money, P3s often cost more in the long run and are host to poor working conditions and confidentiality and accountability issues. And in the end, it is us, the public, who foots the bill for these increasing costs, essentially subsidizing corporate investments for services that our governments used to provide.


Professor Momani publishes new co-edited book: Egypt Beyond Tahrir Square

Egypt Beyond Tahir Square book cover
Egypt Beyond Tahir Square: Critical Perspectives on Politics, Law and Security

When canvassing the many books written about the Egyptian revolution, we noticed a striking similarity: complete disagreement on so many aspects of the revolution, from who were the lead protagonists to what was (not) achieved after these past tumultuous years. Add to that, the reality that Egyptian scholars and analysts alike could have such varied perspectives on the future trajectory of their beloved homeland, prompted us to gather an interdisciplinary group of academics and analysts with direct links to Egypt to discuss, share, and articulate the philosophical, political, and legal perspectives on the volatile years after Egypt’s January 25th  revolution. To filter out the noise of external analysis coming from Western and Eastern capitals that have strong geostrategic and political interests in the future of Egypt, we sought to gather authors who perceive themselves to be Egyptian and ask, did Egypt really experience a revolution in 2011?


Professor Cooper co-edits a Special Issue of the CIC International Journal on Positioning the third wave of middle power diplomacy: Institutional elevation, practice limitations


Professor Henstra publishes new article in Review of Policy Research

Review of Policy Research cover page
Climate Adaptation in Canada: Governing a Complex Policy Regime

Climate adaptation is a complex policy area, in which knowledge, authority, and resources are fragmented among numerous public agencies, multiple levels of government, and a wide range of nongovernmental actors. Mobilizing and coordinating disparate public and private efforts is a key challenge in this policy domain, and this has focused research attention on the governance of adaptation, including the dynamics of interaction among interests and the institutions that facilitate collective action. This paper contributes to the study of adaptation governance by adopting the policy regimes perspective, an analytical framework designed to make sense of the loose governing arrangements surrounding complex, fragmented problems. The perspective's constructs are applied to a longitudinal case study of adaptation governance in Canada, which identifies, analyzes, and evaluates the policy ideas, institutions, and interests that comprise Canada's adaptation policy regime.


Professor Henstra co-authors new policy report for the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance

Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance cover page.Climate Change, Floods, and Municipal Risk Sharing in Canada

Canadian municipalities are vulnerable to climate change risks, particularly in the form of extreme weather. Risk management demands public policies that share both the responsibility for risk reduction and the burden of costs with other levels of government and with non-governmental actors. What tools are available to municipalities seeking to share the growing risks associated with a changing climate? To what extent and how have these tools been employed in Canadian cities? With a focus on urban flooding, this paper systematically identifies and explains ways in which governments can share climate-related risks. It then evaluates whether and how these tools have been used in two major Canadian cities – Calgary, Alberta, and Toronto, Ontario – which have recently faced severe flooding, and are likely to experience more in the coming years. From this analysis, conclusions are drawn about the state of local climate risk management and how it might be improved.


Professor Habib publishes new co-edited book: America Observed: On an International Anthropology of the United States

America Observed book cover.

There is surprisingly little fieldwork done on the United States by anthropologists from abroad. America Observed fills that gap by bringing into greater focus empirical as well as theoretical implications of this phenomenon. Edited by anthropologists Virginia Dominguez and Jasmin Habib, the essays collected here offer a critique of such an absence, exploring its likely reasons while also illustrating the advantages of studying fieldwork-based anthropological projects conducted by colleagues from outside the U.S. This volume begins by asking: "Can the US Be “Othered” Usefully?: On an International Anthropology of the United States", an introduction co-authored by the editor's Jasmin Habib and Virginia Domingue. It is followed by a number of fieldwork-based essays, including "Is It Un-American to Be Critical of Israel? Criticism and Fear in the US Context" by Jasmin Habib; "Biosecurity in the US: 'The Scientific' and 'the American' in Critical Perspective” by Limor Darash; "American Theater State: Reflections on Political Culture" by Ulf Hannerz, and "Observing American Gay Organizations and Voluntary Associations: An Outsider’s Exposition" by Moshe Shokeid. The book ends with critical reflections on the broader issue written by Geoffrey White and Keiko Ikeda and an Afterword by Jane Desmond entitled: "The Sounds of Silence: Commissions, Omissions, and Particularity in the Global Anthropology of the United States.


Professor Esselment publishes new co-edited book: Permanent Campaigning in Canada

Book cover Permanent Campaiging in Ottawa
Election campaigning never stops. That is the new reality of politics and government in Canada, where everyone from the Prime Minister’s Office to backbench MPs practise political marketing and communication as though the official campaign is still underway. 

Permanent Campaigning in Canada examines the growth and democratic implications of political parties’ relentless search for votes and popularity, and what a constant state of electioneering means for governance. With the emergence of fixed-date elections and digital media, each day is a battle to win mini-contests: the news cycle, public opinion polls, quarterly fundraising results, by-elections, and more. The contributors’ case studies – on political databases, the strategy behind online political communication, the politicization of government advertising, and the role of the PMO and political staff – reveal how political actors are using all available tools at their disposal to secure electoral advantage, including the use of public resources for partisan gain. 

This is the first study of a phenomenon that has become embedded in Canadian politics and government. It reveals the extent to which political parties and political staff have embraced non-stop electioneering, and the consequences for our democratic processes and institutions.

Edited by Alex Marland, Thierry Giasson, and Anna Lennox Esselment


Professor Macfarlane publishes new article in the Supreme Court Law Review: Constitutional Constraints on Electoral Reform in Canada: Why Parliament is (Mostly) Free to Implement a New Voting System

Supreme Court Law Review article cover
Constitutional Constraints on Electoral Reform in Canada: Why Parliament is (Mostly) Free to Implement a New Voting System

This article examines whether Parliament faces any constitutional constraints on its authority to implement electoral reform. It addresses two primary questions: First, does a change to the electoral system require a constitutional amendment, and if so, would such an amendment require provincial consent under the general amending procedure in Part V of the Constitution Act, 1982? Second, would certain electoral systems violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

            These questions are important not only for the prospects of federal electoral reform, but also for their implications for the nature of constitutional change in Canada. On the one hand, if Parliament does not have the ability to alter the electoral system without provincial consent, it would only further cement the degree to which the country suffers from a constitutional paralysis, wherein both legal and political factors stifle the prospects for any major constitutional reform. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has recently elaborated on the importance of changes to Canada’s “constitutional architecture” and the federal principle embedded in the general amending procedure that major changes affecting provincial interests ought to require provincial consent.  Similarly, democratic rights under the Charter may be implicated by certain changes, not only in the event particular electoral systems might affect the right to vote but also in relation to the right “to be qualified” for membership in the House of Commons or a provincial legislature under section 3.

The article explains that while electoral reform might be regarded as a change of a constitutional nature, Parliament is well within its authority under section 44 of the amending formula to effect changes excepting ones that directly implicate provincial interests. Similarly, while certain changes might implicate democratic rights under the Charter, none of the electoral systems likely to be considered would violate rights in an unreasonable manner. 


Professors Esselment and Henstra publish chapters in new book: The Politics of Ontario

The Politics of Ontario book cover.

The Politics of Ontario is the first book on Ontario politics, government, and public policy to be published since the last edition of Graham White’s The Government and Politics of Ontario in 1997. This new collection considers a very different Ontario, taking into account economic and social shifts, and evaluating the state of Ontario politics and governance. Although The Politics of Ontario follows in the same tradition as White’s earlier work, it departs in several ways. Instead of emphasizing the continuity and gradual evolution in Ontario politics, it places more emphasis on change, disruption, and the uncertainty of the political and policy environment.

Prof. Henstra's chapter is titled: “Local Government and Politics of Ontario”

Prof. Esselment's chapter is titled: “An Inside Look at the Ontario Liberals in Power”.

Department emeritus Prof. Peter Woolstencroft also has a chapter, titled: “Culture in Ontario: Old and New”.


Professor Macfarlane publishes edited book: Constitutional Amendment in Canada

Constitutional Amendment in Canada book cover.

In Canada, the 1982 Constitution Act contains the amending formula, which outlines a set of procedures required to make changes to the constitution. Recent debates over Senate reform, the status of the Supreme Court of Canada, and the rules governing royal succession have highlighted how important the amending formula is in maintaining the vitality and relevance of the governing system.

Constitutional Amendment in Canada is the first volume to focus solely on the implications of the amending formula in Canada. Emmett Macfarlane has brought together a group of expert authors to address such topics as the difficulties of constitutional reform, the intersection of various levels of government and the judiciary, and the ability of the public to veto proposed changes. Filling a serious gap in the literature, Constitutional Amendment in Canada is an authoritative study of the historical and contemporary implications of the amending formula.


Professor Esselment co-authors new article in the Canadian Journal of Political Science

Canadian Journal of Political Science front page.
Partisans without Parties: Party Systems as Partisan Inhibitors?

In this work we offer results drawn from a dataset of a post-provincial election survey in eight Canadian provinces to assess the impact of party system congruency on partisanship. We postulate that partisanship will be more likely and stronger in provinces that share a similar political party system to the federal level. We extend this preliminary analysis to test the underlying mechanism by examining the impact holding partisan ties at the provincial level has on the likelihood and strength of federal identification, according to party system similarity. Our results show very limited support for the party system congruency factor, raising further questions of its applicability in the Canadian context.


Professor Henstra co-publishes new article in Public Administration Quarterly

Millenials and Public Service book cover.
Millennials And Public Service: An Exploratory Analysis of Graduate Student Career Motivations and Expectations

Canada’s public service workforce is aging, and all levels of government will experience a large number of retirements in the coming years. In an increasingly competitive labour market, governments face challenges in attracting and retaining new recruits, particularly among the “Millennial generation,” who are entering the workforce, and whose outlook on work appears to differ significantly from previous generations. What motivates Millennials to pursue a public service career? What are their expectations concerning the benefits of a career in the public sector? This study explores these questions through a qualitative analysis of written statements of Canadian Master’s students seeking a career in the public service. The findings demonstrate that Millennials are motivated both by perceived intrinsic benefits, such as the opportunity to make a difference in society, as well as extrinsic rewards, such as opportunities for career advancement. In addition, many identify a public service career as a “calling”—a sense of obligation to contribute to the public interest— and the analysis reveals various events and experiences that inspire this “call to serve.” Implications for public sector recruitment and retention of Millennials are presented.


The BRICS - a very short introduction.  Latest book from Professor Andrew Cooper

The BRICS - A very short introduction

In the wake of the post-Cold War era, the aftermath of 9/11, the 2008 global financial crisis, and the emergence of the G20 at the leaders level, few commentators expected a reshaping of the global system towards multipolarity, and away from the United States. And yet, the BRICS - encompassing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - has emerged as a challenge to the international status quo. But what is its capacity as a transformative force? And can it provide a significant counter-narrative to the Western dominated global order? 

In this Very Short Introduction Andrew Cooper explores the emergence of the BRICS as a concept. Drawing on historical precedent, Cooper provides a contemporary analysis of the BRICS' practice and influence as as a forum and a lobby group in advancing a distinctive but amorphous agenda amongst global politics.


Professor Cooper contributes chapter on "Celebrity Diplomats: Differentiation, Recognition, and Contestation", to Wiley Blackwell's A Companion to Celebrity

A Companion to Celebrity
Companion to Celebrity presents a multi-disciplinary collection of original essays that explore myriad issues relating to the origins, evolution, and current trends in the field of celebrity studies.

Offers a detailed, systematic, and clear presentation of all aspects of celebrity studies, with a structure that carefully build its enquiry

Draws on the latest scholarly developments in celebrity analyses

Presents new and provocative ways of exploring celebrity’s meanings and textures

Considers the revolutionary ways in which new social media have impacted on the production and consumption of celebrity 


Unsteady Architecture: Ambiguity, the Senate Reference, and the Future of Constitutional Amendment in Canada

mcgill law journal
New article from Professor Emmett Macfarlane in McGill Law Journal Unsteady Architecture: Ambiguity, the Senate Reference, and the Future of Constitutional Amendment in Canada

This article critically examines the Supreme Court of Canada’s opinion in the Senate Reform Reference from the perspective of its coherence in interpreting the various amending procedures in Part V of the Constitution Act, 1982. It analyzes the ways that the underlying logic of the Court’s reasoning, particularly with respect to the method of selecting senators and senatorial term limits, creates ambiguity andrisks unintended consequences for future attempts at constitutional amendment. The Court’s explicit refusal to distinguish  between the federal government’s unilateral ability to enact a retirement age and its logic that term limits, regardless of length, require the consent.


New book from Professor Hongying Wang: Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon: China in the International Financial System

Enter the Dragon: China in the International Financial System brings together experts from both inside and outside of the People’s Republic of China to explore issues regarding the internationalization of the renminbi (RMB). This volume tackles questions surrounding the process being used to attempt to achieve internationalization of the RMB, the broader issues related to the country’s financial integration with the rest of the world, and issues concerning China’s role in global financial governance.


Professor Heather Whiteside publishes book: Purchase for Profit

Purchase for profit
Purchase for Profit: Public-Private Partnerships and Canada's Public Health-Care System

Since the start of the twenty-first century, Canadian provinces have increasingly begun turning to the private sector to finance and construct large-scale infrastructure projects. From a critical public policy perspective, the danger of these public-private partnerships (P3s) is that they are more than just new ways to deliver public infrastructure. They are neoliberal projects that privatize and corporatize the basis of public services.


Professor Boychuk co-edits new book After '08

After 08 book cover

After '08: Social Policy and the Global Financial Crisis

The global financial crisis of 2007-8 shook the economic foundations of nations, collapsed large financial institutions, and wiped out the livelihoods of millions of people. The crisis also marked a turning point for social policy, as world leaders were forced to take an ideological position: Should they pursue a neoliberal response to the crisis through austerity measures, increased privatization, and greater deregulation? Or, should they implement alternative policies to challenge the dominant neoliberal paradigm?

After '08 examines how key global institutions, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and International Labour Organization, as well as nation states around the world responded to the crisis. Comparing the experience of countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and North America, contributors gauge the extent to which the neoliberal landscape has shifted since the onset of the financial crisis and explore the directions social policy has taken. Did solutions to the crisis follow a similar trajectory across countries and regions? Or, did the diversity in national experiences produce a diversity of policy responses? And, if the latter, where did alternatives to neoliberalism emerge?


Professor Momani's new book: Arab Dawn: Arab Youth and the Demographic Dividend they will Bring

Arab Dawn book cover

If you flick on the television, it wont be long before you find an image of an angry balaclava-clad radical Arab teen brandishing an explosive device, or an aerial shot of the destruction caused by clashes between the Middle East's warring factions.  All while death counts climb on the side of the screen.  Dr. Bessma Momani argues that we de-humanize Middle Easterners when we lose sight of the actual human beings affected by conflict.  Instead of looking at humans' we congregate around numbers, ideologies, and governments.

In her book Arab Dawn: Arab Youth and the Demographic Divide they will Bring, Momani challenges the negative assumptions surrounding the region, and focuses on the positive changes among the Arab youth.  According to Momani, this generation is more cosmopolitan, educated, entreprenurial, creative, and tolerant than their parents.  The Arab Spring was an initial cry for help against dysfunctional politics. Future change will require individual effort on the part of youth and new policies targeted towards them.  Momani describes the hidden potential  of the Middle East's youth.


Professor Macfarlane co-publishes new article in International Journal of Canadian Studies

IJCS cover5

Public Policy, Rights, and Abortion Access in Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada’s 1988 decision to invalidate federal criminal law restrictions on abortion is often portrayed as paving the way for unregulated “abortion on demand” in Canada. This depiction belies the patchwork of regulatory barriers to access in place at the provincial level and obscures a host of litigation for improved funding and access across the country. This article explores the policy and legal landscape surrounding abortion access since 1988. Our findings suggest that provincial policies and lower court judgments have shown considerably different interpretations of what the Court’s landmark ruling requires. In part, this is a result of a problematic distinction that the Court’s reasoning makes between “negative rights,” which are protections against state interference, and “positive rights,” which would require the state to take action or provide funding to ensure access. We examine the implications of this distinction from both a rights and policy perspective, ultimately arguing that courts are not the only, or best, body through which to realize positive rights. Instead, we argue that legislatures need to take seriously their obligations under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 


Professor Macfarlane publishes new article in Journal of Canadian Studies

Journal of Canadian Studies cover

The Dilemma of Positive Rights: Access to Health Care and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

An important debate implicating rights and Canadian social policy concerns whether the Charter of Rights and Freedoms should largely be limited to protecting negative rights, which prevent interference from government, or whether it should include positive rights, which require governments to provide entitlements to social services like health care, housing, or some minimum standard of welfare. After examining the Supreme Court of Canada’s approach to social rights under the Charter, this essay critically assesses the arguments in favour of expanding constitutional protection for positive rights. Although the essay finds that much of the judicial caution regarding positive rights is appropriate, the court’s reasoning in several controversial health policy cases is insufficiently attentive to the positive rights implications of its ostensibly negative rights approach. This essay thus sheds new light on the debate by demonstrating how cases on abortion, supervised drug injection facilities, and assisted suicide present a difficult dilemma from both a policy and rights perspective: courts may rightly avoid creating new social and economic rights, but the rationale they advance in applying negative rights in these cases provides an equally compelling basis for a positive right to access. It is a conundrum that both courts and the elected branches of government need to do more to address.


Professor Cooper on MIKTA and the Global Projection of Middle Powers: Toward a Summit of Their Own?​

Global Summitry journal cover

MIKTA and the Global Projection of Middle Powers: Toward a Summit of Their Own?, Global Summitry

Middle powers have long been excluded from global summits. The elevation of the G20 to the leaders’ level in the context of the 2008 financial crisis marks a significant turning point for Middle Power activity in global governance. Although most of the attention in the G20 was targeted on the relationship between the old G7 establishment and the large “emerging” market states, middle powers have been major beneficiaries of this self-selective G20 forum. Yet, despite their lead roles within the G20 as hosts and policy entrepreneurs, middle powers remain distinctive currently by not having a summit process of their own. This article examines the prospect of MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Turkey, and Australia) acting as a platform for such a summit. Formed as a dialogue process, MIKTA remains at an early stage of its development with a cautious club culture. Nonetheless, as demonstrated by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and India–Brazil–South Africa, the rationale to create a distinct summit process can overcome serious constraints. As a means not only to amplify their roles with respect to the new Informalism of the twenty-first century, but also to ensure that their presence in the hub of global governance is maintained, there is logic to creating a MIKTA summit.


Professor Esselment on The nature of political advising to prime ministers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK

Commnwealth and comparative politics journal

The nature of political advising to prime ministers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK

Political advisors to heads of government occupy such a privileged sphere of influence that their role is a source of consternation among democratic idealists. Interviews with advisors to prime ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK inform a small body of comparative literature about political advising in the Commonwealth. The authors find that first ministers consider input from many advisors and therefore the counsel of any one advisor is of limited impact. Further research is needed to understand the extent to which these agents project the power of the executive office and make decisions on the principal's behalf.


Professor Huo publishes new book - How Nations Innovate

How Nations innovate book cover

How Nations Innovate: The Political Economy of Technological Innovation in Affluent Capitalist Economies

How Nations Innovate compares how affluent capitalist economies differ in their patterns of technological innovation. Building on the 'varieties of capitalism' literature, this book goes beyond the traditional focus on 'radical versus incremental innovation' in existing scholarship, and takes the comparison of capitalism to an entirely new set of questions around technological innovation. For example, which type of capitalism engages in job-threatening innovation? Whose innovation widens income inequality? Whose innovation raises productivity? Which type of capitalism has more effective financial markets for innovation? Whose innovators emphasize 'control' rather than 'flexibility' during innovation?

By addressing these questions, the author demonstrates that the way nations innovate often has deep, and sometimes counter-intuitive, implications for how they compare in many areas of socio-economic performance. For example, although venture capital is most active in Anglo-Saxon economies, it seems that venture-capital performance in stimulating innovation is also poorest in precisely these countries. On the issue of employment, the author argues that, whilst technological innovation in Anglo-Saxon economies creates jobs, innovation in European economies destroys jobs. Nations also differ in the nature of income inequality driven by innovation. While innovation pushes top earners further ahead of median earners in Anglo-Saxon economies, it drags bottom earners further behind the median in European economies. Finally, varieties of capitalism also differ in their ability to cope with the volatilities of innovation. While Anglo-Saxon economies face a trade-off between low volatility and high innovation output, these two goals seem jointly achievable in European economies.


Professor Henstra publishes article in Climate Policy

Climate  policy journal

The Tools of Climate Adaptation Policy: Analysing Instruments and Instrument Selection

Governments have a key role to play in the process of climate adaptation, through the development and implementation of public policy. Governments have access to a diverse array of instruments that can be employed to adapt their operations and influence the behaviour of individuals, organizations, and other governments. However, the choice of policy instrument is political, because it affects the distribution of benefits and costs, and entrenches institutional procedures and resources that are difficult to redeploy. This article identifies four key governing resources that governments employ in the service of adaptation and analyses these resources using criteria drawn from the policy studies literature. For each category, specific policy instruments are described, and examples are provided to illustrate how they have been used in particular jurisdictions. The article also discusses instrument selection, focusing on trade-offs among the instrument attributes, processes for setting the stage for instrument choice, jurisdictional constraints on instrument selection, and ways to avoid negative vertical and horizontal policy interplay.


Professor Andrew Cooper contributes to an Americas Quarterly feature discussion about the future of the Organization of American States

Americas Quarterly cover

https://www.americasquarterly.org/issue/the-decline-of-u-s-power/

Is the era of U.S. hemispheric hegemony over? The Winter 2015 issue of Americas Quarterly explores how inter-state dynamics have changed in the region, and how this has affected Latin American foreign policy. How are governments and multilateral organizations responding to the real or perceived decline in U.S. influence in the region?  Will the greater independence of governments to pursue their own diplomatic paths produce more regional harmony?


Professor Daniel Henstra publishes new article in Global Environmental Change

Global Environmental Change journal cover

"Studying Local Climate Adaptation: A Heuristic Research Framework for Comparative Policy Analysis," Global Environmental Change, 31 (2015): 110-120. [with Brennan Vogel]

Climate change poses a significant risk for communities, and local governments around the world have begun responding by developing climate adaptation policies. Scholarship on local adaptation policy has proliferated in recent years, but insufficient attention has been paid to operationalization of the unit of analysis, and methods employed are typically inadequate to draw inferences about variation across cases. This article seeks to contribute to the conceptual and methodological foundations of a research agenda for comparative analysis of local adaptation policies and policy-making. Synthesizing insights from policy studies literature and existing adaptation research, the article identifies and operationalizes two aspects of public policy—policy content and policy process—which are salient objects of comparative analysis that typically vary from one community to another. The article also addresses research design, outlining a comparative case study methodology that incorporates various qualitative analytical techniques as the vehicle to examine these policy elements in empirical settings.


Professor Andrew Cooper publishes a new book Diplomatic Afterlives (Polity/Wiley) on the role of former leaders in world politics

Diplomatic Afterlives book cover

Diplomatic Afterlives

No longer content to fade away into comfortable retirement, a growing number of former political leaders have pursued diplomatic afterlives. From Nelson Mandela to Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton, to Tony Blair and Mikhail Gorbachev, this set of highly-empowered individuals increasingly try to make a difference on the global stage by capitalizing on their free-lance celebrity status while at the same time building on their embedded club attributes and connections.

In this fascinating book, Andrew F. Cooper provides the first in-depth study of the motivations, methods, and contributions made by these former leaders as they take on new responsibilities beyond service to their national states. While this growing trend may be open to accusations of mixing public goods with private material gain, or personal quests to rehabilitate political image, it must he argues be taken seriously as a compelling indication of the political climate, in which powerful individuals can operate outside of established state structures. As Cooper ably shows, there are benefits to be reaped from this new normative entrepreneurism, but its range and impact nonetheless raise legitimate concerns about the privileging of unaccountable authority.

Mixing big picture context and illustrative snapshots, Diplomatic Afterlives offers an illuminating analysis of the influence and the pitfalls of this highly visible but under-scrutinized phenomenon in world politics.


Professor Eric Helleiner published a new book on the Politics of China’s International Monetary Relations

The Great Wall of Money book cover

The Great Wall of Money

As an economic superpower, China has become an increasingly important player in the international monetary system. Its foreign exchange reserves are the largest in the world and its exchange rate policy has become a major subject of international economic diplomacy. The internationalization of the renminbi (RMB) raises critical questions in international policy circles: What kinds of power is China acquiring in international monetary relations? What are the priorities of the Chinese government? What explains its preferences?

In The Great Wall of Money, a distinguished group of contributors addresses these questions from distinct perspectives, revealing the extent to which China's choices, and global monetary affairs, will be shaped by internal political factors and affect world politics. The RMB is a likely competitor for the dollar in the next couple of decades; its emergence as an important international currency would have substantial effects on the balance of power between the United States and China. By illuminating the politics of China’s international monetary relations, this book provides a timely account of the global economy, the role of the renminbi in international relations, and the trajectory of China’s continuing ascendency in the coming decades.


Professor Eric Helleiner publishes new book on Global Financial Governance

The Status Quo Crisis

The Status Quo Crisis

The 2008 financial crisis was the worst since the Great Depression and many voices argued that it would transform global financial governance. Analysts anticipated a "Bretton Woods moment", referring to the 1944 conference that established the postwar international financial order. Widespread expectations of change were then reinforced by the creation of the G20 leaders' forum, extensive debates about the dollar's global role, the launching of international financial regulatory reforms, and the establishment of the Financial Stability Board. 

But half a decade later, how much has really changed? In The Status Quo Crisis, Helleiner surveys the landscape and argues that continuity has marked global financial governance more than dramatic transformation. The G20 leaders forum contributed much less to the management of the crisis than advertised. The US dollar remains unchallenged as the world's dominant international currency. The market-friendly nature of pre-crisis international financial regulation has been not overturned in a significant manner. And the Financial Stability Board has strengthened the governance of international financial standards in only very modest ways. 
What we are left with are some small-bore incremental changes that, collectively, have not fundamentally restructured the governance of the global financial system. Helleiner argues that this strangely conservative result was generated partly by the structural power and active policy choices of the country at the center of the crisis: the United States. Status quo outcomes also reflected the unexpected weakness of Europe and conservatism of policymakers in large emerging market countries. Only if this distinct configuration of power and politics among and within influential states shifted in the coming years might the 2008 crisis leave a more transformative legacy over the longer term.

Cutting against much of the received wisdom on offer today, The Status Quo Crisis will be essential reading for those interested in the politics of global finance and for anyone curious how expectations of change can be thwarted after even in the most dire of crises.


Professor Anna Esselment publishes article on political advising in Commonwealth & Comparative Politics

Commnwealth and comparative politics journal

The nature of political advising to prime ministers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK

With Jennifer Lees-Marshment and Alex Marland, Professor Esselment examines the influence of political advisors to the prime ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK.  Political advisors to heads of government occupy such a privileged sphere of influence that their role is a source of consternation among democratic idealists. Interviews with advisors to prime ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK inform a small body of comparative literature about political advising in the Commonwealth. The authors find that first ministers consider input from many advisors and therefore the counsel of any one advisor is of limited impact. Further research is needed to understand the extent to which these agents project the power of the executive office and make decisions on the principal's behalf.


Professor Andrew Cooper contributes to special issue of International Journal

International Journal cover

Looking back to and forward from Kim Richard Nossal's The Politics of Canadian Foreign Policy

Professor Andrew Cooper's review article is a revisiting of Kim Richard Nossal’s 1997 textbook on Canadian foreign policy — with its reputation as a valuable source in the analysis of the evolution of Canadian international relations enhanced by the privileging of the political component — that makes for compelling reading in 2014. This review article argues that even if many of the substantive themes in Nossal’s survey with respect to Canada’s foreign policy as exhibited by the government of Stephen Harper miss the mark, the core ingredients of the domestic context showcased by Nossal’s work are even more relevant nearly 20 years on.


Professor Andrew Cooper and Bessma Momani published in Global Governance

Cover of Global Governance

Re-balancing the G-20 from Efficiency to Legitmacy: The 3G Coalition and the Practice of Global Governance

This article contributes to the literature on global governance, legitimacy, and small states through a detailed analysis of the Global Governance Group (3G). It examines in particular the operational impact and wider conceptual implications of the 3G's collective diplomatic efforts on the Group of 20 (G-20). By engaging in a reconfigured form of informal multilateralism, the article finds that the 3G has been and is capable of shaping the global agenda with respect to the G-20 in a way that is both more inclusive and connected with existing institutions, especially the United Nations. Through this initiative, this group has effectively recalibrated the existing narrative about small states, the G-20, and global governance—shifting it from the paradigm of efficiency to one of legitimacy. 


Professor Eric Helleiner publishes new book on history of Bretton Woods

Cover of Forgotten Foundations

Forgotten Foundations of Bretton Woods: International Development and the Making of the Postwar Order

The new book provides a powerful corrective to conventional accounts of the negotiations at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944.  These negotiations resulted in the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank — the key international financial institutions of the postwar global economic order. Critics ofBretton Woods have argued that its architects devoted little attention to international development issues or the concerns of poorer countries. On the basis of extensive historical research and access to new archival sources, Helleiner challenges these assumptions, providing a major reinterpretation that will interest all those concerned with the politics and history of the global economy, North-South relations, and international development.

The Bretton Woods architects — who included many officials and analysts from poorer regions of the world — discussed innovative proposals that anticipated more contemporary debates about how to reconcile the existing liberal global economic order with the development aspirations of emerging powers such as India, China, and Brazil. Alongside the much-studied Anglo-American relationship was an overlooked but pioneering North-South dialogue. Helleiner’s unconventional history brings to light not only these forgotten foundations of the Bretton Woods system but also their subsequent neglect after World War II.


Professor Drake's latest article appears in Secular States and Religious Diversity

Secular States journal cover

Secularism, Religious Diversity, and Democratic Politics

Contemporary nation-states have seen the rise of religious pluralism within their borders, brought about by global migration and the challenge of radical religious movements. Secular States and Religious Diversity explores the meaning of secularism and religious freedom in these new contexts. The contributors chart the impact of globalization, the varying forms of secularism in Western states, and the different kinds of relations between states and religious institutions in the historical traditions and contemporary politics of Islamic, Indic, and Chinese societies. They also examine the limitations and dilemmas of governmental responses to religious diversity, and grapple with the question of how secular states deal (and should deal) with such pluralism. This volume brings in perspectives from the non-Western world and engages with viewpoints that might increase states’ capacities to accommodate religious diversity positively.


Professor Cooper & Political Science grad student Asif Farooq publish article for Global Policy

Global Policy

BRICS and the Privileging of Informality in Global Governance

The staging of the Fifth BRICS summit on 26–27 March 2013 consolidated the impression of nuanced club dynamics. Despite considerable differences in strategic perspectives, the BRICS members have been successful in amplifying converging interests while avoiding friction from disagreement by downplaying issues on which there is geopolitical divergence and policy competition. Their ‘agency’ of cooperation within BRICS is founded on an informal and loose operational style, which has facilitated organizational maintenance. The approach of accenting institutional flexibility is demonstrated by content analysis of BRICS declarations, interviews and media releases, which reveal how the membership of this forum have given greater attention to areas in which they share common interests, and made progress working towards them, while refraining from addressing issues in which there are serious underlying tensions.


Professor Emmett Macfarlane publishes new article for the Review of Constitutional Studies

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Conceptual Precision and Parliamentary Systems of Rights: Disambiguating “Dialogue” (PDF)

The concept of "dialogue" has become an increasingly popular way to understand how judicial review operates in parliamentary systems of government with bills of rights. Dialogue is said to provide a middle ground between judicial supremacy and traditional parliamentary sovereignty by giving both courts and the elected branches of government a say in the resolution of policies that come into conflict with protected rights. This understanding of dialogue originates in Canada, and is often applied to the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. Scholars invoking the concept have explored how particular structural elements in the bills of rights adopted in these countries serve as mechanisms for dialogue, but they often employ the term in man different, sometimes contradictory, ways. This article develops four typologies of dialogue, and assesses the concept's utility for empirical assessment of how parliamentary systems of rights protection operate. It finds that a lack of conceptual precision by scholars employing the term impairs its utility for both empirical and comparative analysis of parliamentary rights review. 


Professor Daniel Henstra publishes new edited book

Multilevel Governance and Emergency Management in Canadian Municipalities cover page

Multilevel Governance and Emergency Management in Canadian Municipalities

Drawing on extensive documentary evidence and many interviews with government officials and stakeholders, Multilevel Governance and Emergency Management in Canadian Municipalities provides a comprehensive assessment of the structure and dynamics of emergency management in Canada. Contributors analyze the role of the federal government, compare policies and governance in three different provinces, and examine approaches to emergency planning in thirteen municipalities of varying sizes. In addition to describing political and legal frameworks, essays investigate how emergency management policies are shaped by the relationships between municipal, provincial, and federal officials, as well as with social interests that are concerned about planning for emergencies. Contributors also assess the quality of emergency management.


Professor Bessma Momani co publishes new journal article in World Economics

World Economics Journal logo

Strengthening the Early Warning Exercise

Following the 2007–2008 global financial crisis, the G20 leaders tasked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the newly created Financial Stability Board (FSB) to jointly undertake Early Warning Exercises (EWEs) in order to identify vulnerabilities within the global financial system and encourage appropriate policy responses. This paper argues that a series of challenges have prevented the EWE from realizing its full potential. In particular, the advantages accruing from the joint nature of the exercise have not been fully realized. The paper then puts forward recommendations intended to improve the process and encourage implementation of EWE findings among national policymakers.


Professor Bessma Momani publishes new piece in Global Policy Journal

Global Policy

The Arab Spring Can Bring a Demographic Dividend: That is Good for Business and Investors

For decades the Arab Middle East was seen as resisting economic liberalization. Once it opened its doors to economic liberalization and foreign investments, the region failed to achieve inclusive economic growth. The Arab Spring, in part, was borne out of people’s frustrations with non-inclusive economic growth. It is argued that the ‘relative deprivation’ felt by many of the Arab masses was a contributing factor to why the Arab people chose to rise against their governments. While the region is in a period of difficult transition, there is reason to be hopeful and optimistic that the Arab Spring will lead to progress. The Arab Middle East is going to experience a demographic dividend: economic growth due to its educated, youthful population.  The challenge for policymakers will be to ensure that this is productive economic growth and to not repeat the errs of past mal-investments into non-productive sectors.


Professors Andrew Cooper, Hongying Wang & Bessma Momani all contribute to Special Issue of Third World Quarterly

Third world quarterly

Andrew Cooper has co-edited a Special Issue of Third World Quarterly (34, 6 2013) on the theme of "Foreign Policy Strategies of Emerging Powers in a Multipolar World"

In this issue:

  • Andrew Cooper co-authored “Foreign Policy Strategies of Emerging Powers in a Multipolar World: an introductory review,” 943-962.
  • Andrew Cooper contributed a single-authored article, “Squeezed or revitalised? Middle powers, the G20 and the evolution of global governance,” 963-984.

Other articles in this Special Issue were contributed by:

  • Hongying Wang, who co-authored an article on "Middle Range Powers in Global Governance," 985-999
  • Bessma Momani, who co-authored an article (with Crystal Ennis, PhD in Global Governance, Balsillie School of International Affairs), "Shaping the Middle East in the Midst of the Arab Uprisings: Turkish and Saudi foreign policy strategies," 1127-1144.

Bessma Momani co-publishes new article for Wiley Online Library & The Review of Policy Research

RPR

The World Bank as Knowledge Bank: Analyzing the Limits of a Legitimate Global Knowledge Actor

The World Bank has always sold ideas, not just loans. Starting in 1996, then president James Wolfensohn rebranded the Bank by articulating a formal vision of a “Knowledge Bank”—a provider of state-of-the-art expertise on development. After a number of internal changes and assessments, the Bank is acknowledging that it needs to be more humble, pluralistic, and practical. Why do some regard the Bank as a legitimate knowledge actor, whereas others contest that authority? We offer an analytical framework that can explain stakeholders' uneven recognition of the Bank's knowledge role.

When stakeholders define knowledge as products, the Bank generally obtains recognition for the quality and quantity of the information it generates. This is the output dimension of legitimacy. On the other hand, when knowledge only counts as such to users who have been part of the process of creating it, the Bank finds itself with limited recognition.


Distinguished Professor Emeriti Kapur publishes article in Indian Council of World Affairs

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China’s Changing Approach to Strategy and Negotiations: Past and Present

China’s negotiating experiences with the non-Chinese world – Britain in the 1800s, Korea in the early 50s, Indo-China in mid 50s, USA in the mid 40s and the 70s, and India, from 1949 to the present day- shows the primacy of key strategic principles which are embedded in China’s view of the world and its position in it, and its view of her rivals’ position in a geopolitical context. China’s approach shows a continuous attention to the external environment but its diplomatic style varies. It adopted the position of the Middle Kingdom when it could govern unaided. It was attentive about external threats when it came in contact with Russian, British and Tibetan power in the 19th century and it asserted its rules of discourse with the barbarians in a vague and inconclusive manner in which China’s style was dictated by a position of weakness and imperial destiny. China’s view was that diplomatic discourse could be separated from trade links. The Korean War was a transformative phase for China because Soviet, Chinese and American diplomatic/military interactions and China’s ability to stalemate American power gave it confidence, and China’s diplomatic style in the negotiations showed signs of rudeness and arrogance. But lessons were learnt and China pursued a charming diplomacy in the Indo-China crisis in the 1950s and in the Bandung conference, where its assessment of international politics led it to take an independent diplomatic stance. One observes a slow, albeit calculated, change in style and orientation while comparing China’s pre-1949 view of diplomacy to the Mao-Zhou approach and the Deng and post-Deng approach. However, the non-Chinese world has provided the catalyst of change in China’s diplomatic orientation. Beijing changes in response to external pressures and the cascading effect of these on internal politics is important. This is a durable pattern in contemporary China’s diplomacy because it can no longer pursue its strategic interests unaided.


Professor Momani releases new book - Targeted Transnationals: The State, The Media, and Arab Canadians

Targeted Transnationals

Following 9/11, the securitization of state practices and policies has chipped away at the citizenship and personal rights of all Canadians, particularly those of Arab descent. This book argues that, in a securitized global context and through racialized immigration and security policies, Arab Canadians have become “targeted transnationals.” Media representations have further legitimized their homogenization and racialization. The contributors to this book examine state practices towards, and media representations of, Arab Canadians. They also present voices that counter the dominant discourse and trace forms of community resistance to the racialization of Arab Canadians.

With an eye to the implications for human rights, multiculturalism, and integration, the contributors to this book draw on qualitative interviews, policy, and media analysis to examine state practices towards, and media representations of, Arab Canadians. Part 1 looks at state practices and policies and illustrates how the Canadian government has repeatedly targeted Arab Canadians. Part 2 examines how changing policy frameworks have intersected with representations of, and public discourses on, Arab Canadians. Part 3 analyzes the voices and resistance strategies of Arab-Canadians as they struggle against negative representations. Targeted Transnationals concludes with reflections on the challenges to integration and the relevance of multiculturalism in the context of globalization and transnationalism.


Professor Cooper co-authors new book: Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy

Modern Diplomacy Handbook

The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy is an authoritative reference tool for those studying and practicing modern diplomacy. It provides an up-to-date compendium of the latest developments in the field. Written by practitioners and scholars, the Handbook describes the elements of constancy and continuity and the changes that are affecting diplomacy. The Handbook goes further and gives insight to where the profession is headed in the future. Co-edited by three distinguished academics and former practitioners, the Handbook provides comprehensive analysis and description of the state of diplomacy in the 21st Century and is an essential resource for diplomats, practitioners and academics.


Professor Cooper publishes in Global Society

Global Society

Civil Society Relationships with the G20: An Extension of the G8 Template or Distinctive Pattern of Engagement?

The central question that this work asks is whether the relationship between the Group of Twenty (G20) summit process and civil society is path dependent on the template built up with respect to the Group of Eight (G8). Or, alternatively, does the G20–civil society relationship move towards a distinct autonomous pattern? Through the perspective of the G8 template it is the differences as much as the basic similarities that stand out with respect to the G20. Civil society recognised the significance of the G20 as a site both of delivery and resistance far quicker than they did with the G8—although the process of engagement did not take place as quickly as might have been expected given the scale of the impact of the global financial crisis. In terms of scope, there has not developed the sense of connection with the G20 agenda as occurred previously with the G8. In terms of form, there remains a more nuanced approach to the relationship between civil society and G20 than the two ends of the “Genoa” and “Gleneagles” spectrum established with the G8.


Professor Wang publishes in National Bureau of Asian Research

"Asia Policy 15" cover.

China’s Participation in Global Governance from a Comparative Perspective

Compared with the other emerging powers in the so-called Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) group, China has underparticipated in global governance in terms of contributing personnel, finance, and ideas to major multilateral institutions and programs. This article seeks to answer the question of why China has not become more involved in global governance from the perspectives of both supply and demand. The low supply of China’s contributions results from the limited interest of the Chinese government and limited capacity of both the government and Chinese society. The low demand for China’s involvement in global governance is due to the continued ambivalence of the international community toward China. The U.S. and other countries should, and to a limited degree can, encourage China to take on a bigger role in providing global public goods.


Professor Macfarlane publishes new book Governing from the Bench

"Governing from the Bench" cover.

As Canada’s final court of appeal, the Supreme Court is a crucial component of the country’s legal system. Yet, for much of its almost 140-year history, the highest court in the land dwelled in relative obscurity. More than thirty years since the advent of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which transformed the court’s function and thrust its work into the national spotlight, many of us are still in the dark about the Supreme Court’s role -- in part because there has been relatively little empirical investigation into how the institution works.

In Governing from the Bench, Emmett Macfarlane draws on interviews with current and former justices, law clerks, and other staff members of the court to shed light on the institution’s internal environment and decision-making processes. He explores the complex role of the Supreme Court as an institution; exposes the rules, conventions, and norms that shape and constrain its justices’ behaviour; and situates the court in its broader governmental and societal context, as it relates to the elected branches of government, the media, and the public. At once enlightening and engaging, Governing from the Bench is a much-needed and comprehensive exploration of an institution that touches the lives of all Canadians.