North America, South America, Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa are areas of focus for members of the department. Subjects of special interest are federalism, nationalism, the integration and disintegration of political communities, judiciaries and constitutional law, civil society and development, global Indigenous politics, and the impact of multilateral political and economic organizations on domestic political institutions.

Faculty Spotlight

Pascal Lupien, Associate Professor

Social movements and participatory democracy in latin america

My research interests revolve around participatory democracy, social movements, political communication and technology, and the factors that enhance or diminish the capacity of marginalized communities to participate in politics. Here In North America, we don’t really have mechanisms for engaging in participatory democracy, unlike in Latin America where people are able to engage in making decisions and those decisions are binding. What can Canada, a country that has systems from the 19th century functioning essentially unchanged today, learn from the democratic innovation in countries that have experimented with participatory democracy? That is what I’m interested in, along with social movements, particularly Indigenous social movements. More recently — and this is the subject of my most recent book — I’ve explored how Indigenous social movements use digital technologies to engage in the political sphere and the extent to which these types of technologies help or hinder their efforts.

Comparative Politics Faculty
Paul Hamilton’s main research interests are nationalism, identity, and environmentalism in North America and Western Europe.

Several additional faculty members whose primary areas of research are in Canadian or international politics also sometimes do comparative research. They include:
Charles Conteh (economic development and governance in developing countries)
Hevina S. Dashwood (politics in Africa)
Tim Heinmiller (environmental governance in developed countries)
Matthew Hennigar (comparative law and judicial systems)
Pierre Lizee (politics in Southeast Asia)
Livianna Tossutti (public opinion in Canada, the US, and other advanced democratic systems)

The specialization in international politics encompasses the diversity of conceptual insights and theoretical perspectives that reflect the complexity of global relations today. Subjects of special interest include traditional and new sources of threats to security, global political-economic relations, global digital economy, international theory, problems of global economic and political governance among multiple actors, international Indigenous relations, and issues pertaining to international ethics.

Faculty Spotlight

Blayne Haggart, Associate Professor

Studying the intersection of technology and politics

My current research focuses on how the collection of data and the emergence of large online companies like Google and Amazon are transforming politics and the economy. In particular, I am interested in how these companies can be made more democratically accountable to the people who use and depend on them. As a result of my work, I have testified before Parliament on regulating platforms and have lectured throughout Europe on topics such as the governance of smart cities. I’ve also published several books on these issues. The digital economy is only going to become more important, which makes this an exciting area to study.

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International Relations Faculty:
Hevina S. Dashwood
Pierre Lizée
Liam Midzain-Gobin

This specialization provides a distinctive blend of the political, legal, and administrative dimensions of public policy at the federal, provincial, and local levels. Special areas of focus are business-government relations, public policy theory, and policymaking.

Faculty Spotlight

Tim Heinmiller, Professor

Studying Canadian public policy using ACF 

My main research area is public policy and more specifically, Canadian public policy. I am interested in investigating how and why Canadian governments make policy decisions, particularly big changes. Right now, I am working on cannabis policy. For almost 100 years, it was prohibited and criminalized. Then, in 2018, it was legalized. That’s a 180 turn in government policy. Understanding how our government made a big decision like this is really about understanding how Canadian democracy works. To do so, I use the advocacy coalition framework (ACF), one of several theories of policymaking. It’s a framework I’ve taken the lead on and as a result of my work, I have connected with an international group of scholars who also work on advocacy coalitions and ACF.  

Public Policy & Administration Faculty
Charles Conteh – Professor Conteh’s research and teaching interests are in the areas of Canadian and Comparative Public Policy, Public Management, Political Economy and Multilevel Governance. His current research focuses on innovation policy development and governance in complex and dynamic political systems, particularly examining policy formulation and implementation in the context of Canadian federalism. He currently investigates how local and regional economies are reinventing themselves in the face of seismic global economic, technological and ecological changes.

Joanne Heritz – Professor Heritz’s current research and teaching interests are in Public Policy, Public Administration, and Canadian Studies. Research interests include urban Indigenous Peoples in Canada, the representation of marginalized minorities in policy processes, and urban governance. Current research projects address the housing crisis in Canada. A community-driven partnership with the Indigenous community in Niagara assists in asserting their voices in local housing policy. Another project looks at how soaring housing costs have impacted on sustaining food security in Niagara. 

Danielle McNabb – Professor McNabb’s research and teaching interests focus on Canadian public law and criminal justice policy and administration. A central part of her work in public law examines how and why political actors rely on the courts to resolve issues of politics and public policy. One of her larger projects supported by SSHRC explores forms of “legal mobilization”—or in other words, the mechanisms by which citizens, governments, and organizations strategically use the law and courts to produce social and political change. With respect to criminal justice, much of her work has focused on police and police oversight. Her past and current work examines how civilian oversight agencies such as the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) of Ontario respond to allegations of police criminality. Professor McNabb’s research also explores legal and political responses to sexual violence—she has published articles on topics such as “rape shield” legislation, police-involved sexual assault, and the #MeToo movement.