News and events

  • An Interactive Forum on Electoral Reform in Canada

    Thursday, October 20, 2016 | By

    Thursday, October, 20, 2016
    7:00 pm
    Thistle Hall 325

    This event will be hosted by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship at McGill University, but will be live-streamed into Thistle Hall 325 and will allow both in-room and remote attendees to ask questions and vote on their preferred electoral system via a mobile platform.
    The forum itself will feature commentary by Canada’s Minster of Democratic Institutions, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, as well as four political scientists, each making the case for a particular electoral system: Peter Loewen (University of Toronto), Laura Stephenson (University of Western Ontario), Marc André Bodet (Université Laval) and Sven-Oliver Proksch (McGill University).

    Political scientists from Brock will also be on hand to answer questions/offer commentary to audience members whose online questions are not addressed via the Mobile Platform.

    For further information, please contact Zachary Spicer.

    Categories: Events

  • Advocacy Coalitions in Ontario Land Use Policy Development

    Thursday, October 20, 2016 | By

    Thursday, October 20, 2016
    2:00pm – 4:00pm
    GL 164

    In 2005, the Ontario government passed the Places to Grow Act and the Greenbelt Act, both major changes in land use policy designed to preserve greenspaces and combat urban sprawl in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Canada’s largest conurbation. This research presentation examines the actors, actor beliefs, and inter-actor alliances in the southern Ontario land use policy subsystem from the perspective of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). Specifically, it shows the results of an empirical examination of the ACF’s Belief Homophily Hypothesis, which holds that inter-actor alliances form on the basis of shared policy-relevant beliefs, creating advocacy coalitions. The analysis finds strong evidence of three advocacy coalitions in the policy subsystem – an agricultural coalition, an environmentalist coalition, and a developers’ coalition – as predicted by the hypothesis. However, it also finds equally strong evidence of a cross-coalition coordination network of peak organizations, something not predicted by the Belief Homophily Hypothesis, and in need of explanation within the ACF.

    Tim Heinmiller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science. Profesor Heinmiller came to Brock’s Department of Political Science in 2005, after completing a Ph.D. in Comparative Public Policy at McMaster University, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Western Ontario. His research focuses on Canadian and comparative public policy, investigating why governments choose some policies over others. Much of his research has focused on water policy development in Canada and elsewhere, but his more recent work has expanded into other environmental policy areas and even into health and criminal justice policy. A common strain in all of his research is the application and development public policy process theories, and he has published work using most of the mainstream theories of the policy process.

    For further information, please contact Zachary Spicer.

    Categories: Events

  • Downtown Revitalization in St. Catharines: Building the Vibrant Public Space

    Monday, September 26, 2016 | By

    Michael Ripmeester, Geography
    With guest panelists: Walter Sendzik, Mayor of St. Catharines; and David Siegel, Political Science
    Moderator: Charles Conteh, Director of the Niagara Community Observatory

    Brought to you by the Department of Geography, the Department of Political Science and the Niagara Community Observatory

    Monday, September 26, 2016
    10:00 am – 12:00 pm
    Carins 207

    Recent downtown redevelopment efforts in St. Catharines have focused on building a creative cluster that has involved the construction of facilities tied to art and cultural development. This cluster helps support the myriad of restaurants and coffee shops that populate the core. As part of a larger research project, Dr. Ripmeester, a professor in the Geography Department at Brock University, surveyed 300 downtown residents about their thoughts on the development. He outlined his findings in Policy Brief #25 for the Niagara Community Observatory. In this special joint Speaker Series event, we are very excited to announce that Dr. Ripmeester will present his research, followed by the insights of local government expert Dr. David Siegel and the Mayor of St. Catharines Walter Sendzik.

    For further information, please contact Zachary Spicer.

    Categories: Events

  • Politics and Film: In the Loop (2009, Oscar Nomination, Best Screenplay)

    Thursday, September 22, 2016 | By

    Thursday, September 22, 2016
    7 p.m.
    The Film House, 250 St. Paul St. West
    Admission: $9; Members: $7

    The Department of Political Science presents the inaugural film in its Politics and Film series. In the Loop, director Armando Ianucci’s (Veep, The Thick of It) darkly satiric film about the American and British rush to war in Iraq in 2003, is newly relevant thanks to this summer’s Chilcot Report’s condemnation of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s role in the invasion.

    The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the Department’s Paul Hamilton.

    For more information, please contact Blayne Haggart at [email protected].

    Categories: Events

  • Bojan Ratkovic: Republican Nationalism

    Thursday, September 15, 2016 | By

    September 15, 2016
    2:00-5:00 pm
    Plaza 600F

    This project deals with the ongoing importance of nations, cultures, and politics in the modern world, and with the complex and layered relationships between them. Despite the expanding phenomenon of globalization, which promises to open up borders and tear down the boundaries between peoples, nations remain the most important actors in international politics and nationalism continues to be a potent force throughout the world.

    This project explores the significance of nations and cultures for politics, with special emphasis on the importance of nationalism and nationalist theory in the twenty-first century. I argue that there are significant gaps in the literature on republican political theory and on nationalism, and I address these gaps by turning to the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau’s philosophy uniquely combines nationalism with republican citizenship and participatory democracy, and his perspective shares many commonalities with David Miller, a contemporary nationalist thinker who combines the principle of nationality with republican citizenship.

    I argue that the theories of Rousseau and Miller form the foundations of republican nationalism; a unique strand of nationalist theory that is distinct from other perspectives―and from liberal nationalism in particular―and should be treated as separate in the literature. I seek to develop republican nationalism as a theoretical framework that looks at the major questions in the literature from a novel perspective and provides new solutions to some of the discipline’s most persistent problems. By identifying republican nationalism as an approach that is firmly rooted in the wider traditions of republicanism and nationalism, and by demonstrating that this approach is distinct from liberal nationalism and other alternative perspectives, I hope to make valuable contributions to the literature and help move the debate within nationalist theory forward.

    I conclude by emphasizing the continuing relevance of nations, cultures, and politics in the modern world, and by stressing that nationalism is likely to remain a potent force in world affairs. For this reason, it is still as crucial as ever to treat nations and nationalism as serious subjects of academic study, and to keep the debates currently taking place within nationalist theory moving forward.

    Bojan Ratkovic is a recent graduate of the PhD program in Political Science at The University of Western Ontario, where he studied political theory. He received his MA and BA from the Department of Political Science at Brock University.

    For further information, please contact Zachary Spicer.

    Categories: Events

  • Christopher Alcantara — A Quiet Evolution: Exploring the Emergence of Indigenous-Local Intergovernmental Partnerships in Canada

    Tuesday, March 08, 2016 | By

    Tuesday, March 8, 2016
    2:30pm-4:00pm
    Paza 600F

    One of the most pressing and important issues in Canadian politics today is the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Crown. While most commentators and academics have tended to focus on the federal and provincial levels, Indigenous and local governments have been quietly establishing a variety of productive and mutually beneficial relationships. Many of these relationships have in turn generated formal and informal partnerships that address communication protocols and safe spaces for intergovernmental dialogue, co-management bodies to administer green spaces and recreation facilities, and other mechanisms for coordination and collaboration. In this presentation, Christoper Alcantara provides an overview of some of the findings from a forthcoming book co-authored with Dr. Jen Nelles and which is to be published by University of Toronto Press in Fall 2016.

    Christopher Alcantara is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Western University in London, Ontario. Much of Dr. Alcantara’s research examines the roots of collective action and intergovernmental cooperation in Canada, especially between Indigenous communities and the other three levels government (e.g. federal, provincial/territorial and municipal). He is the author of “Negotiating the Deal: Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements in Canada” (Published by University of Toronto Press, 2013) and co-author of “Beyond the Indian Act: Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights” (Published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2010). His research has also appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including the Canadian Journal of Political Science, Publius, Canadian Public Administration, Regional and Federal Studies, and Canadian Public Policy.

    For further information, please contact Zachary Spicer.

    Categories: Events

  • Media and the Coverage of Race in Canadian Politics

    Wednesday, February 24, 2016 | By

    Wednesday, February 24, 2016
    2:30-4:30 pm
    Plaza 600F
    Erin Tolley
    Department of Political Science
    University of Toronto

    Canada prides itself on its multiculturalism and acceptance of diversity, but Erin Tolley argues that race still matters in Canadian politics. In this presentation, she will present findings from her new book, Framed, which reveals the racialized assumptions and narratives underpinning electoral news coverage. Her analysis shows that visible minority politicians receive more negative and less prominent media coverage, and their portrayal pigeon-holes them as less politically serious than their white counterparts. In-depth interviews with journalists, former candidates, and elected officials pinpoint the connections between race, media and politics in Canada and provide insights into the institutional biases that influence visible minorities’ experiences in politics. The prognosis is grim and one that calls into question Canada’s commitment to a robust and inclusive democracy.

    Erin Tolley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Her research interests include: Canadian politics; public policy; media and politics; race and politics; gender and politics; and immigration, multiculturalism and citizenship. She is the co-editor of Diverse Nations, Diverse Responses: Approaches to Social Cohesion in Immigrant Societies (MQUP 2012), Immigration, Integration and Inclusion in Ontario Cities (MQUP 2012), Immigrant Settlement Policy in Canadian Municipalities(MQUP 2011), Integration and Inclusion of Newcomers and Minorities Across Canada (MQUP 2011), and Electing a Diverse Canada: The Representation of Immigrants, Minorities and Women (UBC Press 2008). Her article, “Do Women ‘Do Better’ in Municipal Politics? Representation Across Three Levels of Government” appeared in the Canadian Journal of Political Science and was short-listed for the John McMenemy Prize in 2012.

    For further information, please contact Zachary Spicer.

    Categories: Events

  • Michaele Ferguson: The Feminine Monster: A Critique of Gaga Feminism and the Consumption of Anticapitalism

    Thursday, February 11, 2016 | By

    Thursday, February 11, 3-5 pm
    Plaza 600F

    Categories: Events

  • Two Lectures on the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan: Julia Munro, Opposition Critic, Ontario Associate Minister of Finance

    Tuesday, February 09, 2016 | By

    Tuesday, February 9, 2016
    12:00-1:00 pm
    Academic South 215 

    As many Canadians worry about their retirement, governments are struggling to find the right mechanism to facilitate and incentivize savings. Some are concerned that existing pension plans are insufficient and underfunded. The government of Ontario shares these concerns and campaigned in the 2014 provincial election to create a retirement plan for Ontario. Named the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), the provincial government’s proposal is being hotly debated. Two of the key players in the ORPP debate will independently make their case for and against an Ontario-specific retirement plan. These lectures are part of POLI 2Q98 – An Introduction to Canadian Public Administration. All are welcome to attend.

    Julia Munro, MPP for York Simcoe and Opposition Critic, Associate Minister of Finance, has served in the Ontario Legislature since 1995, after a 28 year career as a high school teacher. She sits as a member of the Ontario PC caucus and is the official opposition critic for the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan and the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. Munro will provide an alternative perspective on the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan, highlighting the opposition’s concerns with the plan.

    For further information, please contact Zachary Spicer.

    Categories: Events

  • Two Lectures on the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan: Mitzi Hunter, Ontario Associate Minister of Finance

    Thursday, January 28, 2016 | By

    Thursday, January 28, 2016
    12:00-1:00 pm
    Academic South 215 

    As many Canadians worry about their retirement, governments are struggling to find the right mechanism to facilitate and incentivize savings. Some are concerned that existing pension plans are insufficient and underfunded. The government of Ontario shares these concerns and campaigned in the 2014 provincial election to create a retirement plan for Ontario. Named the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), the provincial government’s proposal is being hotly debated. Two of the key players in the ORPP debate will independently make their case for and against an Ontario-specific retirement plan. These lectures are part of POLI 2Q98 – An Introduction to Canadian Public Administration. All are welcome to attend.

    Mitzie Hunter, MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood and Associate Minister of Finance, was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 2013. She previously worked as CEO of the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance. She was appointed as the Associate Minister of Finance in 2014 and is responsible for implementing the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan. Minister Hunter will make the case that the province needs the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan.

    For further information, please contact Zachary Spicer.

    Categories: Events

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