Recent MA Theses
Explore the exciting Master’s theses completed by our recent MA students.
Alex Hayes
“Long-run patterns in the participation and representation of women in western Canadian provincial elections: 1917-2019” Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Sayers
Ruth Thorkelson
“The Evolution of Candidate Vetting in the Liberal Party of Canada 1993–2015” Supervisor: Dr. David Stewart
2022
Laura Conrad
“It Takes a Village: Candidate Recruitment In Alberta's Municipalities” Supervisor: Dr. Jack Lucas
Bryanne De Castro Rocha
“Why Do Mercosur's Trade Agreements Have Few Environmental Provisions? A Mixed Methosds Study of Brazil's Ruralist Lobby” Supervisor Dr. Roberta Rice
Raj Lakhan
“International Arms Control Regimes: The Case for Hypersonic Weapons” Supervisor Dr. Gavin Cameron
Reed Merrill
“Explaining Population Based Variation in Municipal Incumbent Success in Canada: Acclamation and the Incumbency Cue” Supervisor: Dr. Jack Lucas
Cara Peacock
“Indigenous Feminist Philosophy in Idle No More: Theorizing the Space-Time of Canada’s Settler Colonial Politics and Alternative Decolonial Imaginaries”
Supervisor: Dr. Gina Starblanket; Co-Supervisor: Dr. Daniel Voth
Zachary Pfeifer
“Ideas of Europe: The European Political Community in the Thought of Buffon and Montesquieu” Supervisor: Dr. Joshua Goldstein
Ariane Wilson
“Re-Membering Our Nations: Indigenous Custom Adoption and Determining Belonging Beyond the Indian Act” Supervisor: Dr. Daniel Voth
2021
Alem Cherinet
“Violence, Causality, and the Emergence of Mexico's General Law on the Forced Disappearance”.
Supervisor: Dr. Pablo Policzer
Camilo Gil Gonzalez
“Protecting After the Fact: Reactiveness, Fragmentation and Disconnection in Canadian Hazard Governance”.
Supervisor: Dr. Jack Lucas
Connor Molineaux
“Contagion in the West: The Survival and Success of the CCF-NDP in Western Canada”.
Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Sayers
Paulo Veneracion
“Wounded Hegemon: The 2003 Iraq War and George W. Bush's Grand Strategy of Primacy”.
Supervisor: Dr. Terry Terriff
2020
Holly Ching
"Losing the Cosmos: Arendt and Voegelin on the Origins of Modernity". Supervisor: Dr. Barry Cooper
Kelsey Gordon
"She is at home: Re-situating Women as Embodied Agency in Aristotle's and Hegel's Political Philosophy of Fulfilment". Supervisor: Dr. Joshua Goldstein
Taruneek Kapoor
"Feminists Confront Neoliberalism: Lessons from DAWN and Articulación Feminista Marcosur". Supervisor: Dr. Regina Cochrane
Talia Wells
"After the Ice Age: The effects and implications of federal media policy changes on Northern science communication and the Northern science-policy interface during the Harper era". Supervisor: Dr. Rob Huebert
2019
Meagan Cloutier
"Women in the Office: MP Staff in Canada”. Supervisor: Dr. Melanee Thomas
Ryan Crosschild
"Smudging in the System: Rejecting the Politics of Traditionalism and Settler-Homonationalism". Supervisor: Dr. Daniel Voth
Lucas Czarnecki
"Recognizing Campaign Effects on Social Media: A Computerized Text Analysis of the 2015 Canadian General Election on Facebook". Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Sayers, Co-Supervisor: Dr. Kim-Lee Tuxhorn
Brett Goodwin
"To Trade, or not to Trade: Explaining Lobbying Behaviour in the Canadian Dairy Sector". Supervisor: Dr. Kim-Lee Tuxhorn
Sydney Krill
"The Settler State is a White Woman: Re-Conceptualizing Audra Simpson's Masculine State Through a Gendered Genealogy of Settler Colonial Statecraft in Canada". Supervisor: Dr. Daniel Voth
Erica Kunimoto
"Participatory Love: Exploring Non-Oppressive Relationality Through Plato, Hegel and Irigaray". Supervisor: Dr. Joshua Goldstein
Jeanne Liendo Paez
"The Political Economy of the Hydrocarbon Sector: Bolivia and Venezuela in Comparative Perspective". Supervisor: Dr. Pablo Policzer
2018
Bethany Matchullis
"Negotiating Voice: An Assessment of the Democratic Relationship Between the San and the Government of the Republic of Namibia". Supervisor: Dr. Roberta Rice
John Santos
“Direct and Indirect Effects of Authoritarianism on Policy Preferences in Canada”. Supervisor: Dr. Melanee Thomas
Jessica Weber
“Policy Entrepreneurship: Understanding Fiscal Policy Change for the Alberta Oil Sands”. Supervisor: Dr. Ted Morton; Co-Supervisor: Dr. Jack Lucas
Andrew Klain
“Navigating Turbulent Waters: The Politics of Municipal Water Governance in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto & Hamilton”. Supervisor: Dr. Jack Lucas
Dylan Thiessen
“Our Home on Native Land: Navigating Tensions Between Reconciliation and the Liberal Democratic State”. Supervisor: Dr. Daniel Voth
2017
Chris Carlile
“Data and Targeting in Canadian Politics: Are Provincial Parties Taking Advantage of the Latest Political Technology?”. Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Sayers
Audrey Cheung
“A Historical Comparative Analysis of Influential Factors on Wind Sector Development in Alberta and Ontario”. Supervisor: Dr. Sarah Jordaan, Co-Supervisor: Dr. Ted Morton
Nidhi Panwar
“Homegrown Islamic Terrorism: A Case Study of India”. Supervisor: Dr. Gavin Cameron
Alex Carleton
“Contours of the Religious Voting Cleavage in 21st Century New Brunswick”. Supervisor: Dr. David Stewart
2016
Anna Johnson
“A Comparative Analysis of Political Finance Regulation in the Maritime Provinces”. Supervisor: Dr. David Stewart
Jason Smythe
“Habitus, Field Theory and the ‘Bridge’: Using A Bourdieusian Approach to Examine and Explain Cold War Continuities in Britain’s Post-Cold War Foreign Policy”. Supervisor: Dr. Terry Terriff
Paul Boakye
“Chieftaincy Conflicts in Ghana: A case study of the Ga Mashie Chieftaincy Conflict Under the Fourth Republic”. Supervisor: Dr. Donald Ray
Brianna Morris
“The Law and Politics of Provincial Impaired Driving Legislation”. Supervisor: Dr. Rainer Knopff; Co-Supervisor: Dr. Ted Morton
Rob Curriewood
“Playing in the Margins: Collaboration between Local Party Organizations in the Canadian Party System”. Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Sayers
2015
Alexei Kondrackyj
“Negotiating Design: The Case of the International Criminal Court”. Supervisor: Dr. Antonio Franceschet
Cameron Dykstra
“Winning the War of Words: U.S. Foreign Policy Subcultures and the Grand Strategy of Primacy”. Supervisor: Dr. Gavin Cameron
Chelsea Ogilvie
“Winning Conditions for Charter Reconsiderations: Assisted Suicide in the Supreme Court of Canada”. Supervisor: Dr. Rainer Knopff; Co-Supervisor: Dr. Ted Morton
Ali Radhi
“Dynamic Identities and Ethnosectarian Conflict: The Case of Iraq Under Occupation”. Supervisor: Dr. Tareq Ismael
2014
Ryan Pike
“Unraveling the Impact of Media Use on Political Knowledge”.
Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Young; Co-Supervisor: Dr. Melanee Thomas
Maria Ford
“A Violent Symbiosis: Gangs, the State, and the Rise in Crime in São Paulo After 2012”. Supervisor: Dr. Pablo Policzer
Joshua Haase
“The Ontology of Marriage”. Supervisor: Dr. Joshua Goldstein
Mitch Parkinson
“Nationalist Violence and Terrorism: The Cases of Northern Ireland and Wales Compared”. Supervisor: Dr. Gavin Cameron
Adam Rousselle
“Mutual Predators: An Examination of Russia’s Oil, Natural Gas, and Nuclear Sectors in the Post-Soviet Era”. Supervisor: Dr. James Keeley
Sean Fleming
“The Locus of Responsibility in International Relations: A Theory of State Responsibility”. Supervisor: Dr. Antonio Franceschet
Elsa Piersig
“No Confidence in Non-Confidence Votes: Would the New Zealand Confidence Protocol or Constructive Non-Confidence Restore the Canadian Confidence Convention?”. Supervisor: Dr. Rainer Knopff
2013
Brett Loewen
“Partners in Change: An Analysis of the 2011 B.C. Liberal Leadership Contest”. Supervisor: Dr. David Stewart
Mark Machacek
“New Institutionalisms and the Resurgence of Traditional Authority in the Sub-harann Africa: The Buganda Case Study”. Supervisor: Dr. Donald Ray
Meredith Lilly
“Bureaucracy and Thoughtfulness: Totalitarian Evil in the Political Theory of Hannah Arendt”. Supervisor: Dr. Barry Cooper
Kieran Jimenez
“Evolutionary Ethics? Substantiators, Skeptics and Moral Realism”. Supervisor: Dr. Tom Flanagan
Tobey Berriault
“Unusual Suspects: Religion, Chieftaincy, and Post-Conflict Reintegration in Sierre Leone”. Supervisor: Dr. Pablo Policzer
Olivia Rocskar
“The Roots of Democratic Participation: The Historical Legacies of the Polish Partitions”. Supervisor: Dr. Pablo Policzer
2012
Geoff Adair
“Emergent Arctic, Divergent Approaches: The Impact of Federal Organizations on Canada’s Pursuit of Sovereignty Over Its Arctic Waters”. Supervisor: Dr. Rob Huebert
Kim Weger
"The Role of NGOs in Development Initiatives: An Analysis of Effective Participation and Representation in Ghana”. Supervisor: Dr. Donald Ray
Andrew Newman
“Shifting the Status quo of Freedom: Civil Libertarians and the Supreme Court of Canada”. Supervisor: Dr. Rainer Knopff
Meredith McDonald
“Pink Slips for Politicians: Assessing Recall in Canada”. Supervisor: Dr.Tom Flanagan
Kelly Pasolli
“Clarifying the Complexity: Rethinking Studies of Variation in Child Care Policy”. Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Young; Co-Supervisor: Dr. Susan Franceschet
Tyson Kennedy
“Methinks the Amicus Doth Protest Too Much: Adjudicating Canada’s Polygamy Policy”. Supervisor: Dr. Rainer Knopff
Sean Hebert
“Insert Clever Title Here: Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and the Evolving Role and Influence of Political Satirists in Twenty-First Century America”. Supervisor: Dr. David Taras
2011
Candice Powley
“Pondering the Democracy Promotion Puzzle: A Theoretical Assessment of Why States Promote Democracy”. Supervisor: Dr. Antonio Franceschet
Mark Harding
"Value Added? The Supreme Court’s Use of ‘Charter Values’”. Supervisor: Dr. Rainer Knopff
Tammy Lambert
“Deepening Divides: Emergent Consequences of Rwanda’s Reconciliation Initiatives”. Supervisor: Dr. Pablo Policzer
Tim Anderson
“The Enduring Nature of Pre-Modern Thought”.
Supervisor: Dr. Tom Flanagan
Mateusz Trybowski
“Why Parties Vote Together in Montreal City Council: Rethinking Assumptions About Legislative Party Cohesion in Parliamentary Systems”. Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Young
2010
Kelly Cust
“The Not-So-Unique Country: The Irrelevance of Canada’s Human Security Agenda and the Primacy of its National Interests”. Supervisor: Dr. Gavin Cameron
Jane Arduini
“Resisting the Continental Pull: A Comparative Study of Canadian Trade Diversification Attempts, 1972-2005”. Supervisor: Dr. James Keeley
David Schow
“The Environment, The Constitution, and the Supreme Court of Canada”. Supervisor: Dr. Barry Cooper
Rob Blake
“Towards a Conception of Rape as a Violation of Constitutive Autonomy in Greek, Christian, New Natural Law Theory”. Supervisor: Dr. Joshua Goldstein
Dima Lazarova
“‘Energy Security’ and the International Relations Canon: A Case Study on China”. Supervisor: Dr. Gavin Cameron
Mark Castelino
“The Notion of Philosophical Anthropology in the Political Thought of Eric Voegelin”. Supervisor: Dr. Barry Cooper
2009
Chris Langille
“American Exceptionalism, Power and the Age of Terror: Neoconservatism in Theory and Practice”. Supervisor: Dr. Tareq Ismael
Kiley Thompson
“A Comparison Analysis of the Factors Influencing Policy Divergence in Liquor Retail Policies of Progressive Conservative Governments in Alberta and Ontario in the 1990s”. Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Sayers
Will Greaves
“Lost in the Desert: Human Security and the Dilemmas of Canadian Policy in Afghanistan”. Supervisor: Dr. James Keeley
David Snow
“From Commission to Conception: Commercial Surrogacy and Morality Policy in Canada”. Supervisor: Dr. Rainer Knopff
Shawna Ritchie
“Political Myth and Democracy: An Examination of the Nature of Political Myth in Democratic Societies”. Supervisor: Dr. Barry Cooper
Gemma Collins
“The Uneasy Case of Intellectual Property”.
Supervisor: Dr. Tom Flanagan
Evan Wilson
“Electoral Reform and the Correct Vote: The Case of New Zealand”. Supervisor: Dr. Brenda O’Neill
2008
Alex Garcia Magos
“Presidential Power and Democracy in Mexico”.
Supervisor: Dr. Pablo Policzer
Jason Munroe
“A Comparison of Social and Economic Political Attitudes of Canadian and American Evangelical Protestants”. Supervisor: Dr. Brenda O’Neill
Kevin Wasko
“Burgeoning Quandary: The Urban/Suburban/Rural Cleaveage in Canada”. Supervisor: Dr. Brenda O’Neill
Andrew Webb
“The Next Afghan Civil War”. Supervisor: Dr. Rob Huebert
Juliana Ramirez
“Rethinking the Link Between Civil Society and Civil War: The Case of Colombia”. Supervisor: Dr. Pablo Policzer
Paul Willetts
“The Rules of the Game: A Comparative Case Study of Carbon-Based Energy Policy in Canada”. Supervisor: Dr. Gretchen MacMillan
Sam Austin
“Regulating Political Finance in Canadian Cities”.
Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Young
Erin Hutchinson
“Entrenching Gender Norms: HIV/AIDS Peer Education in Durban”. Supervisor: Dr. Donald Ray
Tyler Wightman
“Parliament and Canadian Foreign Policy”.
Supervisor: Dr. Donald Barry
Steven Hobbs
“Direct Voter Contact: Its Effectiveness in the 2004 and 2006 Conservative Party of Canada’s Election Campaigns”. Supervisor: Dr. Tom Flanagan
2007
Dylan Hanley
"Evaluating Israel’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy”.
Supervisor: Drs. Dowty and S. Keren
Michael Colborne
“An Election to Find an Era? A Study of Print and Television Coverage of the 2004 Alberta Provincial Election”. Supervisor: Dr. Keith Archer
Paul Fairie
“God Only Knows: The Canadian Catholic Voter in a Comparative Context”. Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Young
Trevor Shelley
“Ascent from the Biological Baseline to Philosophical Openness: An Essay on the Order of Inquiry into Human Nature and Politics”. Supervisor: Dr. Barry Cooper
Chris Berry
“Policy Change in Aviation Security, Canada and the United States, 1985-2005”. Supervisor: Drs. Anthony Parel, Lisa Young and Gavin Cameron
Mark Bizek
“The Anterior of Power Relations: Opening a Discourse into the Being of Intersubjective Power Relationships”. Supervisor: Dr. Katrine Froese
Heather Kathol
“Becoming a World City: A Policy Approach for Calgary”.
Supervisor: Dr. Stan Drabek
David Williams
“The Changing Nature of Intergovernmental Relations in Canada”. Supervisor: Dr. Anthony Sayers
2006
Carol-Anne Eves
“Continuity and Japan’s Inaugural Human Security-Centered Foreign Policy”. Supervisor: Drs. Kimie Hara and James Keeley
Julie Kielstra
“Government Action and Political Leadership: Roles & Responsibilities in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS: Examining the Impact the Impact of President Thabo Mbeki’s Leadership on the Effectiveness of National AIDS Strategies in South Africa”. Supervisor: Dr. Donald Ray
Anita Singh
“Why Can’t We All Get Along? Synthesizing Human and Traditional Security: A South Asian Case Study”. Supervisor: Dr. Rob Huebert
Melanee Thomas
"The Political Disengagement of Canada’s Young Women”. Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Young
Laura Young
“Dominant by Demand: An Historical Investigation of the Role for the Party Leader in Canada’s Federal Political Parties”. Supervisor: Dr. Lisa Young