Recent MA Theses

Recent MA Theses

Explore the exciting Master’s theses completed by our recent MA students.

2023


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

Read more about Holly Ching

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

Read more about Kelsey Gordon

Taruneek Kapoor

"Feminists Confront Neoliberalism: Lessons from DAWN and Articulación Feminista Marcosur".  Supervisor: Dr. Regina Cochrane

Read more about Taruneek Kapoor

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

Read more about Talia Wells

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