Balsillie School of International Affairs

PhD Dissertation Defence: Defence in Depth - An Anatomy of Containment from Quarantine to Resilience
2018-08-30 13:00 - 17:00 (America/Toronto) | In Person, Balsillie School of International Affairs, 67 Erb Street West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 6C2, Canada
Jessica West’s PhD Dissertation Defence.
Advisor: Simon Dalby
Committee: David Welch, Veronica Kitchen, Sara Matthews
External: David R. Mutimer, York University
Notice of Doctoral Dissertation Examination

PhD Dissertation Defence: Tweeting Strategy - Military Social Media Use as Strategic Communication
2018-07-25 10:00 - 14:00
Rupinder (Tina) Mangat’s PhD Dissertation Defence.
Advisor: Alistair Edgar
Committee: Jeremy Hunsinger, Roger Sarty
Internal/External: Mark Humphries
External: Kim Nossal
Notice of Doctoral Dissertation Examination

Comparing the Operational Modalities of NDB and AIIB
2018-07-16 11:00 - 12:30
Why are the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), both created by emerging economies after the 2008 global financial crisis, taking different operational modalities? NDB is taking a borrowing country-led and localized operational model; while AIIB’s operational model is internationalized and shareholding country-led. This seminar presentation, from a historical institutionalism perspective, examines the different proposals and establishment processes of these two banks. In the creation of the NDB, India and China are competing for the leadership, making the principle of equality as the basic feature of the bank. All the founding members are borrowing countries. The NDB is a borrowing country-led MDB or south-south cooperation bank, with equal shareholding and use of a country system as two prominent institutional innovations. In the case of AIIB, with the political pressure of multilateralism especially from the European founding members and market pressure from the international credit rating agencies, China is pushing AIIB via an internationalized and high standards approach, making it similar to existing MDBs in terms of operational model. This research shows the different approaches of emerging economies in designing the new multilateral development banks and the implications of this divergence for ongoing global governance reform.
About the speaker
Jiejin Zhu is an Associate Professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University.

Transformative Leadership Program
2018-07-09 09:00 - 2018-07-10 17:00
Applications for this program are now closed.
Effective leadership requires a compelling vision for the future and an ability to inspire and motivate across a diverse audience. Research on leadership has confirmed that the capacity to positively and strongly influence others is highly related to a leader’s character and personal values. Great leaders who understand and embody their core values are able to transform the aspirations of those around them and align their efforts with a purpose that transcends individual gain.
The Transformative Leadership Program offered at the BSIA will help students and professionals explore how to align professional values with their deep personal values and develop reflective thinking skills for ethical leadership.
This prestigious program is offered in partnership with the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT, and was developed in conjunction with the MIT Sloan School, Yale School of Management, and Cornell’s Johnson School of Management.
Speaker bios:
The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi is an innovative thinker, philosopher, educator and a polymath monk. He is Director of the Ethics Initiative at the MIT Media Lab and President & CEO of The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Venerable Tenzin’s unusual background encompasses entering a Buddhist monastery at the age of ten and receiving graduate education at Harvard University with degrees ranging from Philosophy to Physics to International Relations. He is a Tribeca Disruptive Fellow and a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.
Venerable Tenzin serves on the boards of a number of academic, humanitarian, and religious organizations. He is the recipient of several recognitions and awards and received Harvard’s Distinguished Alumni Honors for his visionary contributions to humanity.
Javier Prieto is Chief Operating Officer at the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT. Previously he worked as the Center’s Associate Director of Strategic Operations for Mexico and Latin America for several years. Before joining the Center, Javier worked in investment and education sectors overseeing the strategic development of a multi-campus Business school in Mexico. Javier has a keen passion for human development through education, nature, and visual arts. Educated in Mexico, Australia, and the United States, he has produced documentaries focusing on lessons of multi-culturalism. Javier´s spirit is one of constantly bringing people together and promoting conversations for a better world.
There is no cost to attend this program. Applications should be sent to info@balsillieschool.ca by Friday, June 8th. Successful applicants will be notified the following week.

Migration, Trafficking and Insecurity in the Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa
2018-07-05 12:00 - 13:00
Migration and trafficking have been some of the main causes of insecurity in the Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa. Places like Agadez in Niger have become major transit zones with over 300,000 people transiting through the city annually en route Europe since 2015. Apart from human trafficking which forms the bulk of the migration to Europe, trafficking in drugs, arms and money have also contributed to insecurity in the regions. Apart from trafficking, insurgent groups have taken advantage of the porous borders/ungoverned spaces across the countries in the regions to engage in activities such as rustling and cross border banditry. These issues are further compounded by the war in Libya which provides a steady source of arms to the region. This session explores the dynamics of insecurity in the regions exploring the implications not only for the regions but for the continent as a whole.
About the speaker
Dr. Olayinka Ajala holds a doctorate degree in Politics from the University of York. Prior to that, he graduated from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex where he studied Globalisation and Development. Olayinka also holds a Bachelors degree in Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.
In 2014, Olayinka was a visiting fellow/lecturer at the Combating Terrorism Centre, United States Military Academy, West Point. He has consulted for local and international organisations including the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the Government of Belgium and was a lead panel analyst on ‘Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Africa’, a round table discussion at the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

International Conference on Urbanization, Food Systems and Sustainability
2018-07-03 08:50 - 2018-07-04 15:45
THIS EVENT IS BY INVITATION ONLY.
The Hungry Cities Partnership (HCP), the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Queen Elizabeth Scholars (QES-AS) Program are hosting a conference on Urbanization, Food Systems and Sustainability in the Global South on 3-4 July 2018 at the Balsillie School in Waterloo, Ontario, funded by SSHRC, the BSIA, WLU and the IDRC.
The primary objective of the first day of the conference is to address the challenges posed by rapid urbanization and the transformation of food systems in the cities of the Global South and relate both to the goals and targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda and the New Urban Agenda of Habitat III. The second day of the conference is devoted to the increasingly important informal food sector in cities of the Global South, and features a series of presentations of original research by QES-AS scholars and others.
Please register HERE before 25 June 2018.

PhD Dissertation Defence: The Role of Indicators in Promoting Gender Equality Through the Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals
2018-06-06 10:00 - 14:00
Sara Rose Taylor’s PhD Dissertation Defence.
Advisor: Rianne Mahon
Committee: Will Coleman, Ken Jackson
Internal/External: Sue Horton
External: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr
Notice of Doctoral Dissertation Examination

Contemporary Dispute Settlement Between States: An Assessment
2018-06-01 12:00 - 13:30
In the last 25 years there has been a substantial increase in the use by states of formal dispute settlement mechanisms, and an increase in the fora in which such disputes can be resolved. They include formal adjudication, arbitration and other models, and include tribunals dealing with the law of the sea; panels concerned with trade law issues; and hybrid models involving states such as investment tribunals. At the same time, other models for dispute settlement are starting to emerge. The phenomenon of this increase in international dispute settlement will be considered, together with the way institutions function and problems that arise. Why do states resort to formal methods of dispute settlement? What other options do they have? Is the current surge in dispute settlement mechanism simply a passing phase, or will it endure? These questions, too, will be explored in this session.
About the speaker
Professor Donald McRae joined the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law in 1987 where he served as Dean of the Common Law Section until 1994. Currently, he holds the Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law and teaches contracts, international law, international trade law, and law of the sea. Throughout his career, Professor McRae has made numerous appearances as counsel and arbitrator in trade, investment and maritime boundary disputes.
Professor McRae was elected to the International Law Commission in 2006. He was awarded the Canadian Council on International Law’s John E. Read Medal in 2003 and made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2002.

Sustainable Development: What’s Rights Got to Do with It?
2018-05-31 19:00 - 20:45
How can international human rights accords help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Which innovative instruments offer the most promise? What can be learned from recent implementation challenges and successes?
These questions and many more will be answered in this evening lecture and panel discussion. Beginning with a video address from Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International, it will be followed by an international experts’ dialogue including:

Maya Prabhu, Yale University (chair)
Sumudu Atapattu, University of Wisconsin
Will David, Executive Director, Indigenous Rights Centre
Steven B. Young School of Environment, Enterprise & Development (SEED), University of Waterloo
Ashfaq Khalfan, Law & Policy Director, Amnesty International

Register here for the “Legal Solutions for Sustainability: Roundtable on Innovative International Instruments for the Sustainable Development Goals” workshop.

Climate Change and Human Rights: Role of International Law?
2018-05-31 12:00 - 13:30
In its 2009 report on the link between climate change and Human Rights the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights noted:
Climate change-related impacts, as set out in the assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have a range of implications for the effective enjoyment of human rights. The effects on human rights can be of a direct nature, such as the threat extreme weather events may pose to the right to life, but will often have an indirect and gradual effect on human rights, such as increasing stress on health systems and vulnerabilities related to climate change-induced migration.*
The report pointed out that individuals and communities around the world are already experiencing effects of climate change and that existing vulnerabilities are exacerbated by climate change. However, often the impact of climate change on human rights is determined by non-climatic factors such as discrimination or historic marginalization. It highlighted the need protect persons displaced due to climate change-related events and particularly those who will be permanently displaced as a consequence of inundation of small island states.
In this presentation, Sumudu Atapattu proposes to highlight the challenges inherent in the application of international law to the adverse consequences of climate change under the following headings:

Damage caused by historic emissions and the challenges of applying human rights to a global environmental problem
Climate displacement
Vulnerable groups and states, especially small island states

About the speaker
Sumudu Atapattu is the Director of Research Centers and International Programs at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She teaches seminar classes on “International Environmental Law” and “Climate Change, Human Rights and the Environment” and is affiliated with UW-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Center for South Asia. She is the Executive Director of the campus-wide interdisciplinary Human Rights Program. She serves as the Lead Counsel for Human Rights at the Center for International Sustainable Development Law based in Montreal, Canada, is on the advisory board of the McGill Journal of Sustainable Development Law and is affiliated faculty at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Sweden. She has published widely in the fields of international environmental law, climate change, environmental rights, and sustainable development and her book titled Human Rights Approaches to Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities was published by Routledge in 2016. She was a co-editor of International Environmental Law and the Global South published by Cambridge University Press in 2015 and is currently working on a textbook titled Human Rights and Environment: Key Issues to be published by Routledge (with Andrea Schapper) and an edited volume titled The Cambridge Handbook on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Development (with Carmen Gonzalez and Sara Seck) to be published by the Cambridge University Press in 2019. She holds an LL.M. (Public International Law) and a Ph.D. (International Environmental Law) from the University of Cambridge, U.K., and is an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
*Human Rights Council (2009) Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Relationship between Climate Change and Human Rights, A/HRC/10/61, United Nations, available at:: <http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G09/103/44/PDF/G0910344.pdf?OpenElement> (hereinafter OHCHR report), para. 92.

Legal Solutions for Sustainability: Roundtable on Innovative International Instruments for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
2018-05-30 12:30 - 2018-05-31 17:00
Registration Required

The Concept of an International Institutional Bypass
2018-05-30 12:00 - 13:30
The rapid proliferation of international institutions has been a defining feature of the postwar international architecture. Since the end of the Second World War, the international system has seen the creation of thousands of international treaties and organizations that have established rules governing a multitude of issues that range from international security to human rights, and from international trade to the environment. At the same time, many of the institutions created in the postwar era actively overlap in their subject matter, such that multiple institutions may play a governance role with respect to the same individual issue. Faced with these related phenomena of institutional proliferation and overlap, scholars have developed a number of concepts such as regime shifting, forum shopping, fragmentation, differentiation, institutional choice/adaptation, and regime complexity. That being said, we still believe that there is space for one more concept within this broader literature on institutional proliferation and overlap: the international institutional bypass (IIB). Just like surgeons grafting new pathways around blocked arteries in coronary bypasses, global governors are increasingly responding to clogged international institutions by creating new ones, rather than reforming existing structures.
This concept offers at least one distinct advantage over those already found in the literature on international institutional proliferation and duplication, namely that it focuses on attempts to fix deficiencies in the existing system. In so doing, the IIB concept focuses on a functional yet relational dynamic of institutional innovation, revealing a particular institution’s relationship with the dominant institution that performs the same function. This focus on the functional and relational dimensions of reforms could help us better understand the dynamics of global institutional change and the evolution of the international system by allowing the identification of commonalities across domains. Going further, it may even provide practical insights for guiding the design of future global governance architecture and international development policy.
About the speaker
Mariana Mota Prado obtained her law degree (LLB) from the University of Sao Paulo (2000), and her master’s (LLM) and Doctorate from Yale Law School (2002 and 2008). She is currently an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto and Associate Dean (Graduate Studies). Prior to joining the University of Toronto in 2006, she worked for the Private Participation in Infrastructure Database Project at the World Bank (2004), and was a fellow of the Olin Center for Law, Economics and Public Policy at Yale Law School (2005). During the 2012-2013 academic year, she was a visiting researcher at MIT’s Political Science Department. A Brazilian national, she has taught courses at Centre for Transnational Legal Studies in London, Direito Rio – Getulio Vargas Foundation Law School in Brazil, ITAM Law School in Mexico, Los Andes Law School in Colombia, and University of Puerto Rico School of Law. Her scholarship focuses on law and development, regulated industries, and comparative law. She has a number of research projects related to institutional reforms in Brazil.

The Coevolution of the Trade and the Environmental Regime Complexes
2018-05-29 12:00 - 13:30
This presentation investigates interactions between the trade and the environmental regime complexes since 1945. Both regimes complexes are highly fragmented in multiple overlapping institutions: the trade regime complex includes more than 700 preferential trade agreements (Dür et al. 2014) and the environmental regime complex covers more than 3000 regional treaties (Mitchell 2003). Yet, the literature on the trade and environmental interplay has so far focused on a few central agreements. Building on two recent datasets, this paper explores how the two regimes complexes interact with each other by tracking incremental changes at the provision level. It compares the rise of environmental provisions in trade agreements with the emergence of trade provisions in environmental agreements. The paper also shows how specific principles, norms and rules travel from one regime complex to another and are transformed in the process. The presentation concludes that the trade and the environmental regime complexes co-evolve as two distinct but open systems.
Suggested reading: Morin, Jean Frédéric, Joost Pauwelyn, and James Hollway. “The trade regime as a complex adaptive system: exploration and exploitation of environmental norms in trade agreements.” Journal of International Economic Law 20.2 (2017): 365-390.
About the speaker
Jean-Frédéric Morin is associate professor at the Political Science Department of Laval University (Québec City, Canada). Before being invited by Laval University to hold the Canada Research Chair in International Political Economy, Jean-Frédéric Morin was professor of international relations at the Free University of Brussels from 2008 to 2014 and post-doctoral researcher at McGill University from 2006 to 2008. In the last decade, Jean-Frédéric Morin has presented his work in more than 15 countries, has taught in more than 10 universities, has supervised 8 PhD candidates, has worked with 3 post-doctoral researchers, and has published with more than 20 co-authors. His publications have appeared in some of the leading journals of the field, including International Studies Quarterly, Review of International Studies, European Journal of International Relations,International Studies Review, International Interactions, Global Governance, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, and Review of International Political Economy.
Jean-Frédéric Morin is also senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), senior fellow of the Earth System Governance Project, and member of the McGill University’s Centre for Intellectual Property Policy (CIPP).
His current projects explore the interplay of trade and environmental regimes, the emergence of legal innovations, the provision of technical assistance in the field of IP, the design of environmental agreements, and the evolution of investment agreements.

Conditioning the Battlefield - Legal Practices During Armed Conflict
2018-05-28 12:00 - 13:30
International humanitarian law (IHL) regulates how armed conflicts are fought in order to protect victims and reduce unnecessary suffering. Sometimes this branch of law is called the law of armed conflict, the law of war, or, to use the Latin phrase, the jus in bello. It is to be distinguished from the jus ad bellum, which asks the question of when resort to force is legal or illegal between states. While there is some debate over this, for present purposes IHL addresses the “how” of armed conflict but not the “when.” To give an example, IHL is relevant to how the Canadian Forces conducted air strikes against Daesh in Iraq and Syria from 2014 to 2016 in terms of distinguishing between combatants and non-combatants, but the question of what the forces were doing there in the first instance is largely immaterial to the application of this branch of the law. Using historical (in particular drawing on the First Word War given the centenary of that conflict) and contemporary examples, this talk will examine how IHL “conditions” armed conflict on and off the battlefield. In the same way that conflict is a military, economic and socio-cultural construct, it is also a legal construct; legal processes are at play not only before but after the first shots are fired. While breaches of IHL result in massive humanitarian suffering, there can be little doubt that law and lawyers are significant actors in armed conflict.
Suggested reading: http://www.miwsr.com/2015-035.aspx
About the speaker
Christopher Waters is Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor. He joined the Faculty in 2007 and served as Associate Dean from 2009-2012. His previous academic post was at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. He has been a visiting scholar at several universities, including Aix-Marseille Université, and the Asser Institute in The Hague.
Dr. Waters’ research interests are in the areas of public international law, international humanitarian law, law and politics in Eastern Europe and active transportation and the law. He has extensive human rights and election monitoring field experience in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Dr. Waters is co-editor of the Canadian Bar Review with Professor David Tanovich and is on the editorial board of the Journal on the Use of Force and International Law. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Ontario Law Commission and is the Canadian representative on the International Law Association’s committee on the recognition of states and governments.

War or Peace in Cyberspace: What It Means for You
2018-05-24 19:00 - 20:30

Talking about Security and Defence – What is that all about?
2018-05-23 11:30 - 13:00
Matthew Overton examines the characteristics and challenges in discussing security and defence in Canada as well as some of the current and future topics that should be part of that discussion for all Canadians.
About the speaker
Matthew Overton is Executive Director of the CDA Institute. He served for 39 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, retiring in 2017 having attained the rank of Brigadier-General. In addition to the traditional employments expected of an Infantry Officer, culminating in the command of the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, he commanded the Canadian Forces Recruiting Group and held a number staff appointments within Military Personnel Command, including the post of Assistant Chief of Military Personnel. Besides operational deployments in Cyprus and the Balkans, he completed defence diplomacy posts as the Military Advisor at the Canadian High Commission in London, Defence Attaché in Kabul and then Defence Advisor at the London High Commission once again as the capstone to his career.
In addition to holding a BA in Physics and Oceanography from Royal Roads Military College, and an MA of War Studies from Royal Military College of Canada, he is a graduate of the National Strategic Studies Programme at the Canadian Forces College and is Certified Human Resources Leader.

After the Exodus: Food Insecurity Among Zimbabwean Migrants in Urban South Africa
2018-05-16 11:30 - 13:00
The general relationship between international migration and food security is not well researched, especially in Africa. The migration and development agenda is largely silent on the connection between international mobility and food security. On the other hand, much of the discussion on food security focuses primarily on rural areas, while downplaying the importance of mobility to the survival of urban dwellers. In the post-2000 period, Zimbabwe experienced an economic and political crisis which triggered unprecedented mass migration from the country. Most migrants settled in South Africa. This presentation examines the food security of Zimbabwean migrants in urban South Africa. Study findings show that although food insecurity was one of the many proximate factors that pushed Zimbabweans out of their country, the vast majority of them remain food insecure in South Africa. This paper discusses the reasons behind the migrants’ vulnerability and offers insights into why, despite these high levels of food insecurity in a foreign land, the migrants are unlikely to return home.
About the speaker
Godfrey Tawodzera is affiliated with the African Centre for Cities (ACC) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He is currently on a QES Advanced Scholar programme at BSIA where he is working with Professor Jonathan Crush and Dr. Cameron McCordic. He has previously worked at the University of Zimbabwe, the Catholic University of Mozambique and University of Limpopo. Godfrey researches on migration, food security and livelihoods. He has over 40 publications consisting of journals articles, book chapters, and technical papers.

Patently Unequal: Intellectual Property, Industrial Organization, and Economic Malaise
2018-05-07 12:00 - 13:30
Rescheduled from April 16, 2018
Changes in firm strategy and structure largely explain the sources and consequences of the global economic slowdown and part of the current populist political wave. Firms’ profit strategies now center on robust intellectual property (patent, copyright, trademark, brand) portfolios and other sources of monopoly power and maximize return on assets by shrinking their labor and physical capital footprint to the minimum. This produces an upside-down profit pyramid with human capital-intensive firms at the top, physical capital-intensive firms the middle and labor-intensive firms at the bottom. Headcount, meanwhile, resembles a traditional ‘wedding’ cake, producing massive inequality of income and profits. Income inequality slows consumption growth, and profit inequality reduces productive investment, slowing GDP growth. All of these are susceptible to remediation through proper public policy.
About the speaker
Herman Mark Schwartz is the Fulbright Research Chair in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Dr. Schwartz is interested in the how the structure of property rights, especially intellectual property rights, affects economic growth and the distribution of income nationally and globally.

Workshop: Canada as Safe Haven? The Migration of War Resisters from the United States
2018-05-05 09:00 - 15:30

Canada as Safe Haven? The Migration of War Resisters from the United States
2018-05-04 19:00 - 21:00

Business Actors, Political Resistance, and Strategies for a Clean Energy Transition
2018-05-02 11:30 - 13:00
Existing energy policies remain well short of achieving a rapid transformation to a low carbon system of energy supply. One of the principal reasons has been political resistance from incumbent fossil fuel industries. In this paper Christian examines the role of business actors in the US energy sector and asks what should policymakers do? Drawing on new empirical data, primarily semi-structured interviewers with business actors across the US energy sector, he argues that there are specific strategies policymakers can employ to help overcome the resistance from incumbent fossil fuel industries. Specifically these are to: entrench and build existing interests via targeted sector specific policies; exploit inter-industry and intra-industry divisions; and shift existing interests with policies that induce changes in industry investment and structure.
About the speaker
Dr. Christian Downie is an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow (2018-2021) in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at The Australian National University. He was previously a Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of New South Wales. Christian has worked as a foreign policy advisor to the Australian Government’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and a climate policy advisor to the Department of Climate Change. He has spent time teaching or researching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the London School of Economics, and in policy think tanks in Canberra and Washington D.C. Christian is the author of more than 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters including publications in Global Environmental Politics, Energy Policy, Global Governance, International Affairs, and Third World Quarterly. His first book, The Politics of Climate Change Negotiations, was published in 2014.

2018 BSIA Graduate Fellowship Symposium
2018-04-26 09:00 - 16:00
BY INVITATION ONLY
At this annual event, BSIA students present their policy briefs to faculty for feedback in preparation for briefings to Global Affairs Canada (GAC) in June. These policy briefs will contribute to the foresight and research activities of GAC in the areas of artificial intelligence, human rights, development, migration, trade, global finance, and the environment.
The BSIA is pleased to welcome Paul Meyer, former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Office of the UN and the Conference on Disarmament, as the keynote speaker.
Draft Agenda

Intellectual Property Rights, Money, and Infrastructural Power in the Modern American Empire
2018-04-25 19:00 - 20:30
What is the relationship among intellectual property rights, dollar centrality in the international monetary system, and the operation of infrastructural power in the US global empire? This paper characterizes the international system as an empire centered on the United States. It shows how structure – the international monetary system – and agency – the creation of disruptive technologies and the export of US intellectual property rights law – combine to produce routinized cooperation with the US empire. Most generally, routinized cooperation is the essence of what Michael Mann calls infrastructural power. Most specifically the symbiosis between dollar centrality and the expansion of intellectual property rights sustains US differential growth versus most potential peer rivals.
About the speaker
Herman Mark Schwartz is the Fulbright Research Chair in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Dr. Schwartz is interested in the how the structure of property rights, especially intellectual property rights, affects economic growth and the distribution of income nationally and globally.

Fourth BSIA Global Political Economy Dissertation Workshop
2018-04-25 18:00 - 2018-04-27 18:00
By Invitation Only
The Balsillie School hosts this Global Political Economy dissertation workshop.
Students at the second year level and above who work on issues related to Global Political Economy are encouraged to apply. The application deadline is November 13 2017.
Please see the Call for Proposals (attached below) for details.
See Call for Proposals

Will the Anthropocene End the Social Sciences? A Roundtable Discussion with Professor Clive Hamilton
2018-04-25 10:15 - 12:00
Professor Clive Hamilton argues in his recent book Defiant Earth (2017) that our Anthropocene epoch is a new human-induced rupture in the Earth system. Humanity has now altered the workings of the planet in such profound and negative ways, that our current social structures and political institutions must soon change to keep pace with the Anthropocene’s inevitable transformations, or face collapse. As we now enter this Anthropocene epoch of unprecedented uncertainty, this roundtable asks: how do we as scholars respond to this human-made epoch? What research questions should we be asking in a new Earth System? What should scholars do, specifically, in response to these new circumstances? What comprises philosophy, critique, science, and ethics, in the new ‘age of humanity?’ Does the Anthropocene spell the end of the social sciences, or can it ignite their reinvention?
Join us at the BSIA for this rare discussion with Prof. Clive Hamilton and other leading scholars in the environmental and social sciences. It will be an opportunity to share your opinions and engage in dialogue and discussion about the fate of academia and humanity in our new Anthropocene epoch.
Roundtable Participants include:
– Clive Hamilton (University of Canberra, Australia)
– Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty (CIGI)
– Simon Dalby (BSIA)
– Scott Hamilton (BSIA)
– Audra Mitchell (BSIA)
– Bryon Williston (Laurier)
– Anne Wilson (Laurier)
** It is also recommended that participants in this event attend Prof. Hamilton’s 24 April lecture at the BSIA, which will serve as a catalyst for this discussion.
Coffee and pastries will be provided upon registration.

The Fate of Humans in a New Geological Age: Beginning to Think About the Anthropocene
2018-04-24 19:00 - 20:30

‘Stop this carnage’: The politics of death and mourning in the production of Europe’s ‘migration crisis’
2018-04-19 12:00 - 13:30
We are having a technical issue with our ticketing system. To register for this event, please email events@balsillieschool.ca.
Between 2014 and 2016 an estimated 1.6 million refugees and migrants crossed the Mediterranean by boat to Europe. Over 12,000 deaths were recorded of people trying to make the journey, and many more unrecorded deaths are thought to have occurred elsewhere along the way before reaching the sea. In 2015, at the height of Europe’s so-called ‘migrant/refugee crisis’, over one million arrivals were recorded in Italy and Greece and 3771 people died during the crossing. Against this backdrop, the paper locates the discussion over migrant deaths at sea in the context of debates on borders, deaths and the politics of mourning. It identifies the key stages in the development of European responses to the crisis, showing how EU policymakers oversaw a reorganisation of the governance of migration and border control in the Mediterranean whilst under pressure from tragic events at the EU’s external borders and outpourings of public grief. Finally, drawing on interviews with refugees and migrants who crossed the Mediterranean, I will focus on the different ways that witnessing and becoming aware of the risk of death, as well as a longing for survival, can shape migration decisions and experiences.
About the speaker
Nando Sigona is a social scientist with over fifteen years research and teaching experience in migration, refugee, citizenship and ethnic studies. He joined the School of Social Policy in February 2013 as a Birmingham Fellow. Dr Sigona’s work investigates the migration and citizenship nexus. This is achieved through in-depth examinations of a range of experiences of societal membership including, but not limited to, those of: EU families; refugees; Roma, undocumented migrant families, ethnic minorities, unaccompanied minors, children of undocumented migrant parents, dual citizens, ‘failed’ asylum seekers, and stateless people.
Can’t make it to the event? Watch it live here.

Film Screening: A Bold Peace: Costa Rica's Path of Demilitarization
2018-04-17 19:00 - 21:15
NEW DATE!
Registration Required:
Register Now via Eventbrite

Revised April 16, 2018
The Balsillie School and Project Ploughshares are pleased to screen the award-winning 2016 documentary A Bold Peace which presents the unique political and cultural history of Costa Rica. Over 60 years ago, Costa Rica became one of the only nations in the world to disband their military and to redirect national resources towards education, health, and the environment. A Bold Peace challenges our thinking about war and peace. This inspiring film also shows how this small Central American country has become on an international leader on diplomacy, disarmament, environment and climate change. More information about the film can be found here.

Co-sponsored with

Indigenous Peoples, Canada and the Declaration
2018-04-05 19:00 - 21:00
Watch The Recording

Romeo Saganash MP will give a talk on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Canada.
Romeo Saganash was the first Aboriginal MP elected in Quebec; he represents Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou. Romeo has served as NDP critic for Energy and Natural Resources, International Development, and as deputy critic for Intergovernmental Aboriginal Affairs.
Romeo Saganash is a member of the house of commons. He has advanced the private members bill C-262 “An act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
At the age of 23, Saganash founded the Cree National Youth Council. In 1989, he became the first Cree graduate to obtain a Bachelor of Law in Quebec. Between 1990 and 1993, he was Deputy Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees and then Vice-Chairman of the Cree Regional Authority.
Beginning in 1993, he was Director of Quebec Relations and International Affairs for the Grand Council of the Crees. In 1997, he chaired the James Bay Advisory Committee on the Environment. In 2003, he received an award of recognition from UQAM for his role in the negotiations that led to the signing of the Paix des Braves on February 7, 2002, between the Quebec government and the Grand Council of the Crees.
This public talk will be followed by a legal panel consisting of Paul Joffe, Jose Aylwin, and Dr. Peggy Smith. The event will be moderated by Darren Thomas.
Event Poster

Right-wing populism as the "new nationalism" of Europe and America
2018-04-03 12:00 - 13:30
What is new and what is nationalist about Europe’s ‘new nationalism’?
Daphne Halikiopoulou
Far right parties are on the rise across Europe. While these differ in many ways, it is their shared emphasis on sovereignty and policies that promote a ‘national preference’ that has facilitated the term ‘the new nationalism’. In other words, the shared ability of these parties to mobilise support by advocating strict immigration policies, euroscepticism and policies that place the ‘native’ inhabitants first in a range of areas including welfare and social services, points to the importance of nationalism in understanding this phenomenon. But while the rhetoric of these parties is indeed centred on nationalism, the drivers of support are neither new nor necessarily nationalism – related. There is a much more complex mechanism at play. The threefold explanation involves: (1) An economic argument about insecurity and the risks and costs of economic hardship facing both labour market insiders and outsiders; (2) a political argument about the loss of trust in institutions, state capacity and the ability of the state to deliver on its social contract obligations; and (3) an instrumentalist argument about nationalism as a ‘supply-side’ factor, a strategy used by parties in an attempt to broaden their appeal by presenting themselves as legitimate to large sections of the population.
The Populist Spiral: Ethno-Traditional Nationalism, Immigration and ‘Antiracism’
Eric Kaufmann will present evidence for what he calls the ‘populist spiral’, arguing first that right-wing populism is largely an ethnocultural response to culturally-distinct immigration or ethnic change among the section of the population that is psychologically conservative or authoritarian. Second, this impulse is in tension – within individuals and nations – with a quasi-religious norm system based on antiracism. The definition of racism is contested, but had been expanding in scope prior to the 1990s. Since then, European and now American populists have successfully challenged these norms and rolled them back. Once norms are breached, a self-fulfilling spiral increases both the supply of, and demand for, right-wing populist parties and policies. That is, until the supply of conservative/authoritarian voters is fully mobilised.
About the speakers
Dr Daphne Halikiopoulou (PhD LSE) is Associate Professor in Comparative Politics, Department of Politics and IR, University of Reading. She has written extensively on radical nationalism, the politics of exclusion as well as the cultural and economic determinants of far right party support. She is author of Patterns of Secularization: Church, State and Nation in Greece and the Republic of Ireland (Ashgate 2011); co- editor of Nationalism and Globalisation: Conflicting or Complementary (Routledge 2011 with Sofia Vasilopoulou); and co-author of The Golden Dawn’s Nationalist Solution: Explaining the rise of the far right in Greece (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, with Sofia Vasilopoulou). Her research appears in the European Journal of Political Research, Journal of Common Market Studies, Government and Opposition, Nations and Nationalism and South European Society and Politics among others. She is currently working on insecurity and far right party support in Europe.
Eric Kaufmann is Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth (Profile 2010), The Rise and Fall of Anglo-America (Harvard 2004), The Orange Order (Oxford 2007) and Unionism and Orangeism in Northern Ireland since 1945 – with H. Patterson (Manchester 2007). He is co-editor, among others, of Political Demography (Oxford 2012) and Whither the Child: causes and consequences of low fertility (Paradigm 2012), and editor of Rethinking Ethnicity: Majority Groups and Dominant Minorities (Routledge 2004). An editor of the journal Nations & Nationalism, he has written for Newsweek International, Foreign Policy and Prospect magazines, and blogs at Huffington Post. His current ESRC grant, affiliated with the think tank Demos, examines white working-class responses to diversity in the UK.
