Political Science faculty answer the question, "What does Canada stand for?" in the U of T Magazine
March 30, 2011
Lawrence Cannon’s face said it all. Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs looked glum, his eyes fixed on the dark green marble dais at the front of the United Nations General Assembly hall. The second-round votes for a coveted seat on the UN Security Council had been tallied and the news wasn’t good. Tiny, sun-kissed Portugal […]
We're fighting War Lite, writes Clifford Orwin
March 24, 2011
Humanitarian military interventions such as the one under way in Libya typically face just two main obstacles. The first is, they’re humanitarian. The second is, they’re military interventions. Humanitarianism means never having to say you’re sorry. The wars it generates present themselves as peace by other means. Not politics by other means – Clausewitz’s famous […]
New chair announced for Political Science Department at UTM
March 17, 2011
Professor Edward Schatz has been appointed as Chair, Department of Political Science at UTM for a three year term, effective July 1, 2012. Effective July 1, 2011, Professor Graham White will be Acting Chair for one year while Prof. Schatz is on a research and study leave. Professor Schatz, an expert on the ex-USSR, is […]
Art heals cruelty, says Ramin Jahanbegloo in the Toronto Star
March 14, 2011
They were forbidden to speak to each other, so the women in Iran’s Evin prison used Morse code to communicate. They knocked on walls and held mirrors through the barred windows to catch the sun and send messages of solidarity to their imprisoned sisters.
Clifford Orwin reviews Human Dignity by George Kateb in the Globe and Mail
March 13, 2011
Human dignity: All froth about it, but few discuss it with precision and nuance. That’s what Princeton political philosopher George Kateb sets out to do in this powerful and ambitious book. He provides a sterling example of one of the most challenging of genres, the philosophic essay. He writes not just for other scholars but […]
Liberal concept of intervention at play in Libya, comments Janice Stein in the Globe and Mail
March 12, 2011
Within the span of a month, Libya has gone from sovereign state to international plaything. The borders and barriers that keep a country separate and inviolable suddenly began to dissolve in Moammar Gadhafi’s realm, and now it’s respectable, even moral, for leaders of other countries to call for intervention, no-fly zones and a forced change […]
David Rayside comments on women in politics
March 8, 2011
Getting elected is the first step for women trying to achieve equality in Canadian political houses but true change will only happen if more women are seated around the cabinet table, says Ontario’s New Democratic Leader Andrea Horwath. Twenty-one years ago, Ontario led by example, Horwath said Monday at an NDP event marking the 100th […]
Mubarak still holds some support, comments Janice Stein
February 4, 2011
The White House is reportedly discussing a plan with Egyptian officials that would see Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resign and immediately hand power to an interim government backed by the country’s military. The interim government would then work toward preparing the country for free and fair elections, to be held later this year. As looting […]
Clifford Orwin describes the easy part of revolution in the Globe and Mail
February 2, 2011
The world has every reason to be mesmerized by the events unfolding in Tunisia, Egypt and who knows where next. Every reason but one: the expectation that this ferment will yield working democracies. Talk is cheap, and the 24-hour news stations must glut themselves on it. Think of their chatter as the fast food of […]
Clifford Orwin critiques President Obama's Tucson speech in the Globe and Mail
January 14, 2011
Whatever others may make of him, Barack Obama continues to see himself as a statesman standing above party and partisanship, one who, unlike his opponents, is actuated by a lofty civic vision. This vision was on display in Tucson on Wednesday evening. Mr. Obama rose above tacky surroundings to deliver the best speech of his […]