Political Science Commons^™

State Borders In Africa, Lindsay Scorgie-Porter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Negotiating Citizenships And Borders Of Political Belonging, Paul Nesbitt-Larking

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

Inventing Human Dignity, Sharon Sliwinski

Data and Test Instruments

Are human beings endowed with an inviolable dignity? Or is dignity something that is lost and won? One of the most significant assertions made in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is the statement that every individual possesses an inalienable dignity simply by virtue of belonging to the “human family.”This chapter aims to make a modest contribution to the emerging scholarship on the history and meaning of dignity as it pertains to universal human rights. My goal is to trace how this particular quality came to be affixed to the human person.The chief proposition is that the invention …

How Can We Stop More Attacks?, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

Canada Can Do More To Fight Ebola, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

This is the largest Ebola outbreak in 40 years. Canada's overall contribution so far of $35 million needs to be increased.

The African Peace And Security Architecture: Introduction To The Special Issue, Thomas Kwasi Tieku, Cyril Obi, Lindsay Scorgie-Porter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Britain's Wee Nuclear Problem, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

What Is A Meeting? Municipal Councils And The Ontario Ombudsman : Draft, Andrew Sancton

Political Science Publications

Recent decisions by the Ontario ombudsman suggest that informal meetings of small groups of municipal councillors in which municipal business is discussed are in violation of Ontario’s Municipal Act. In this province the Municipal Act provides that, except in certain specified circumstances, municipal council and committee meetings must be open to the public. If a municipality has not appointed its own “closed meeting investigator,” the provincial ombudsman is charged with investigating complaints from the public about municipal meetings that have allegedly been improperly closed. Much hinges on the definition of a meeting. If “meeting” is defined too formally, then a …

Freezing Out The Nukes, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

Forgotten Amid The Cheering, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

The Poor Man’S Nuclear Bomb, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

Neighbourhood Revitalization In Canada: Towards Place-Based Policy Solutions, Neil Bradford

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Public Opinion, Paul Nesbitt-Larking

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

Religion And Deep Multiculturalism: Toward A Cosmopolitical Ethics Of Engagement, Paul Nesbitt-Larking, Catarina Kinnvall

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

The Canadian Government’S Recent Shift Of Diplomacy Away From Traditional Values Toward Economic Benefit For Canada May Do Us No Favours In The Long Run, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Denying Communion To Catholic Elected Officials, William D. Blake, Amanda Friesen

Political Science Publications

In his 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry, a Catholic, was threatened with being denied Holy Communion because of his pro-choice voting record. This article investigates the extent to which communion denial impacted Catholic elected officials and analyzes public attitudes regarding communion denial for Kerry. The results of our analysis suggest that, despite heavy media coverage, few bishops endorsed the communion denial and few pro-choice Catholic officials were threatened. While the data also indicate there are meaningful political implications for public attitudes on communion denial, the tactic does not command support from many Catholics.

Down In The Dumps, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

Deep-Set Differences, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

Religion, Politics, And The Social Capital Of Children, Amanda Friesen

Political Science Publications

Using a national data set, this study demonstrates that religious traditionalism and political conservatism are positively related to family size and the interactions between these measures result in increased political participation. Combining the social capital of children and religiosity, these findings suggest that choosing to have more children may be based on beliefs about traditional gender roles and the importance of family in society, which in turn result in political engagement around these issues.

The Place-Based Approach: Public Policy In Context, Neil Bradford

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

No Easy Answers, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

The Physiology Of Political Participation, Michael W. Gruszczynski, Amanda Friesen, Carly M. Jacobs, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Hibbing

Political Science Publications

Political involvement varies markedly across people. Traditional explanations for this variation tend to rely on demographic variables and self-reported, overtly political concepts. In this article, we expand the range of possible explanatory variables by hypothesizing that a correlation exists between political involvement and physiological predispositions. We measure physiology by computing the degree to which electrodermal activity changes on average when a participant sequentially views a full range of differentially valenced stimuli. Our findings indicate that individuals with higher electrodermal responsiveness are also more likely to participate actively in politics. This relationship holds even after the effects of traditional demographic variables …

Prominent Peripheries: The Role Of Borderlands In Central Africa’S Regionalized Conflict., Lindsay Scorgie

Faculty Publications

The Great Lakes region of Central Africa has been beset by conflict for close to two decades now. Aside from the unprecedented humanitarian consequences, the most striking feature of the violence has been its profoundly regional character. This paper seeks to explore how one might better understand the spread and cross-border nature of conflict in this region. It argues that the dominant contemporary model for explanation of regional conflict, with its overwhelmingly state-centric orientation, is inadequate in providing a comprehensive understanding of the structure of this type of violence. Rather, the so-called peripheries of states – borderlands – need to …

Becoming 'Holistically Indegenous': Young Muslims And Political Participation In Canada, Kathy Bullock, Paul Nesbitt-Larking

Data and Test Instruments

While media and the government often focus on the supposed "radicalization" of Muslim youth in Canada, our research explores the more complicated and nuanced political identities among 20 young Canadian Muslims. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews with these youth in the Greater Toronto Area and in London, Ontario, we explore these young citizens' concepts of political participation; conceptions of the self as a political actor; formal, informal, and civic political involvement; and the relationship between their religious and Canadian identities. Our research is grounded in a positive and pluralistic politics of care, respect, and engagement. We treated Muslim youth as similar …

Securitizing Citizenship: (B)Ordering Practices And Strategies Of Resistance, Catarina Kinnvall, Paul Nesbitt-Larking

Data and Test Instruments

This article builds upon Yasemin Soysal's early work on post-national citizenship as constituting sites of resistance in contemporary European politics. Post-national citizenship provides every person with the right and duty of participation in the authority structures and public life of a polity, regardless of their historical ties to that community. This celebration of human rights as a world-level organising principle is, however, constantly challenged by liberal discourses and practices aimed to securitise identities and citizenships through the bordering of space, place and identities. Proceeding from a critical take on securitisation, we propose that in addition to a focus on the …

Policy Imperatives For An Arctic Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

The Morning After A General Election: The Vice-Regal Perspective, Peter Neary

History Publications

Everywhere in Canada, election night now produces a television extravaganza, with the commentariat out in full force. The next day newspapers chime in with their reporting, as the country wakes up to further analysis of what has happened and what the future might bring. From the vice-regal perspective, however, the path to be followed after every election is always clear and always the same: the conventions of responsible government must be respected and politics eschewed. The vice-regal representative is the protector of the Constitution and not a political actor: the job is to follow convention, stay away from party strife, …

Local Matters: Public Policy In Complex Times, Neil Bradford

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

Place-Based Policy: The Big Picture (Taking Stock, Moving Forward), Neil Bradford

Data and Test Instruments

No abstract provided.

The Political Left Rolls With The Good; The Political Right Confronts The Bad: Physiology And Cognition In Politics, Michael D. Dodd, Amanda Balzer, Carly M. Jacobs, Michael W. Gruszczynski, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Hibbing

Political Science Publications

We report evidence that individual-level variation in people's physiological and attentional responses to aversive and appetitive stimuli are correlated with broad political orientations. Specifically, we find that greater orientation to aversive stimuli tends to be associated with right-of-centre and greater orientation to appetitive (pleasing) stimuli with left-of-centre political inclinations. These findings are consistent with recent evidence that political views are connected to physiological predispositions but are unique in incorporating findings on variation in directed attention that make it possible to understand additional aspects of the link between the physiological and the political.