Research by field
UCalgary Political Science research interests, graduate course work and doctoral field of study examinations are organized around the fields of Canadian, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Political Theory.
Explore our research fields
Canadian politics
Canadian Politics focuses on political institutions and behaviour at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels, public policy, relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canadian state. Areas of research include Canadian political leadership, Indigenous politics, gender and politics, Canadian political parties, operation of Canadian federal executive and legislature, provincial and municipal elections, Canadian federalism and multilevel governance, and Canadian foreign and defence policy.
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Ian Brodie
Government, Politics, Governing
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Barry Cooper
Canadian Politics and Public Policy
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Rob Huebert
Canadian Foreign and Defence Policies, Circumpolar Relations, Ocean Politics, Naval Studies, Foreign Policy Studies
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Jack Lucas
Municipal Elections, Urban Democratic Institutions, Canadian Political Development, Urban Governance
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Erica Rayment
Women and Politics, Canadian Parliamentary Institutions, Legislative Debate and Policymaking, Political Representation
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Anthony Sayers
Canadian Politics, Political Parties, Alberta Politics, Electoral Systems, Federalism
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Melanee Thomas
Elections, Gender and Politics, Political Behaviour, Public Opinion, Political Parties
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Daniel Voth
Indigenous Politics, Métis Politics, Decolonization, Self-Determination, Canadian Politics
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Lisa Young
Election law, Election Finance, Political Parties, Gender and Politics, Science Policy, Post-secondary education policy
Comparative politics
The Comparative Politics studies politics across a range of places and contexts, at the national, subnational, and international levels. Comparativists engage in research, inquiring into such topics as state strength, regime dynamics and transitions, causes of revolutions, political parties and representation, and policymaking. Our research includes comparative public policy, politics in Latin America, the Middle East, human rights, political violence, political parties, and federalism.
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Regina Cochrane
International Development, Comparative Politics of Social Justice, Global Justice
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Susan Franceschet
Comparative Public Policy, Women and Politics, Gender Policy in Latin America, Gender and Executive Office
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Maureen Hiebert
Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Political Violence, Comparative Law and Politics
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Pablo Policzer
Comparative Politics in Latin America, Human Rights, Violence and Security
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Roberta Rice
Indigenous Movements, Latin American Politics, Protest and Democracy, Identity Politics, Civil Society and Collective Action
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Anthony Sayers
Political Parties, Electoral Systems, Federalism, Australian Politics
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Richard Sigurdson
Politics of nationalism, populism, immigration, belonging
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Melanee Thomas
Gender and Politics, Elections, Political Behaviour and Public Opinion, Political Parties
Indigenous Politics
Researchers in this field engage a broad range of questions, debates, and themes in Indigenous politics. Our interests cross the areas of Indigenous political theory, Indigenous-Canada relations, International Indigenous politics, comparative Indigenous politics, Indigenous political economy, political interaction between Indigenous peoples, and Indigenous peoples and the politics of gender. Taken together, our field provides a comprehensive examination of the issues and struggles of Indigenous peoples from around the globe.
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Adela Kincaid
Community-based research, Experiential Learning, Animal-human relations
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Jennifer Leason
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Pablo Policzer
Engages in comparative politics research working with many different Indigenous peoples in Chile, Bolivia, and Peru
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Roberta Rice
Works on global Indigenous issues with an emphasis on Indigenous activism and extractive industry
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Daniel Voth
Organizes an annual meeting of Indigenous researchers in Banff called the Indigenous Relationality Workshop
International relations
International Relations studies the causes and effects of interactions among nation-states, the influence of regimes, domestic political institutions, and non-state actors on governance. It covers international and civil conflict, strategic studies, international organizations, political economy, and foreign policy. Our research includes arctic security, genocide, war and peace, international norms and laws, terrorism, Canadian and American foreign policies, and international economic policy.
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Jean-Christophe Boucher
Foreign Policy and Analysis, Canadian Foreign and Defence Policy, Conflict Analysis, Computational Social Science
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Gavin Cameron
Intelligence, Strategic Studies, Terrorism, Non-Proliferation of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons
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Antonio Franceschet
International Political Theory, International Organization, International Law, Ethics
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Maureen Hiebert
International Law, the Laws of Armed Conflict, International Criminal Law, Human Security, Atrocity Prevention
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Rob Huebert
International Relations, Strategic Studies, Canadian Foreign and Defence Policies, Circumpolar Relations, Ocean Politics, Naval Studies, Foreign Policy Studies
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Terry Terriff
Change in US Military, Changing Character of Warfare, US Security Policy, and NATO/Transatlantic Security Issues
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Kim-Lee Tuxhorn
Political Economy, International Bargaining, Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Political Behaviour
Political theory
Our Political Theory subfield studies both the history of Western political thought, Indigenous thought, and contemporary ethical issues. Although we cover the whole range of the history of political thought, we have a particular focus on the classical Greek development of the central questions of Western political philosophy as well as its modern transformation in the Continental tradition in the 18th through to the 20th centuries.
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Regina Cochrane
Contemporary Political Theory, Feminist/Green Political Theory, Adorno Versus Counter-Enlightenment Perspectives, Social and Global Justice
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Barry Cooper
Western Political Philosophy, Prehistoric Political Symbols, Canadian Politics and Public Policy
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Antonio Franceschet
International Political Theory, International Organization, International Law, Ethics
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Joshua Goldstein
History of Western Political Thought, 18th and 19th Century European Political Thought, Hegel’s Political Philosophy, Sexual Ethics, New Natural Law Theory
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Richard Sigurdson
Politics of nationalism, populism, immigration, belonging
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Daniel Voth
Indigenous Politics, Métis Politics, Decolonization, Self-Determination, Canadian Politics
