Political Science Weekly Digest for Friday, May 15, 2026
May 15, 2026
POLITICAL SCIENCEWEEKLY DIGESTFriday, May 15, 2026 |
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We acknowledge and respect the Ləkʷəŋən (Songhees and Xʷsəpsəm/Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Ləkʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day. |
Department Announcements |
Hi everyone,
Looks like the rain has finally caught up with us after a beautiful stretch of weather, hope you’re all staying dry out there today! It’s been a lively week in the department with the European Community Studies Association Canada (ECSA-C) conference underway. A tremendous amount of work has gone into making it happen, so thank you to everyone involved in the planning and organizing, and to those participating this week, enjoy.
On the teaching side, three of our summer courses began this week, and our final Speakers Series event for this cycle is coming up on Tuesday. We also have a site visit happening later this month for our Indigenous Politics scholar hire, so while the spring term has wrapped up, there’s certainly no shortage of activity happening. As the summer research and conference season kicks off, I hope you all have a safe and happy long weekend!
–Matt
Undergraduate |
We’d like to recognize four of our undergraduate students who received Above and Beyond Awards from the Social Sciences Dean’s Office this month:
ANASTASIA YEE-FAN CROOK was recognized for her dedication to community building, including her leadership with the Pacific-Asian Students' Society through cultural events, grant writing, and tireless behind-the-scenes work.
GILBERT IMOESI was recognized for his outstanding leadership and community involvement, including his work with The African Nexus in organizing student-led events relevant to the social sciences community.
MICAH MULLER was recognized for their advocacy and community building, including rebuilding the UVSS Pride Collective and restoring vital programming for Queer and Trans students on campus.
PARKER STENSON was recognized for his leadership in revitalizing the Pacific-Asian Students' Society and coordinating a wide range of cultural events in collaboration with campus organizations.
Graduate |
MA students, Alexis Legault-Toffoli and Anna-Elaine Rempel are planning a summer writers’ group. If you are interested in participating and haven’t already responded to their survey you can do so here.
A special thanks to PhD student, Marie Duval who took on the task of consulting with some other grad students in the department to gather feedback for an update to the graduate handbook. She compiled a detailed report with several insightful recommendations.
Faculty |
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
COLIN BENNETT: Political parties not subject to Alberta's private sector privacy law. Analyst says that needs to change
AMY VERDUN: Canada broadening international trade relationships
AMY VERDUN: Carney courts European investment, while Liberals reveal domestic spending plans
Events |
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POLI SPEAKERS SERIES: Dr. Antoine Chollet Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2026 from 1:00-2:30 PM [lunch from 12:00-1:00 for those that RSVP’d] Location: David Turpin Building, Room DTB A357 In recent years, electoral wins of antidemocratic political forces in countries such as Turkey, Hungary (until very recently), the United States or Argentina have very frequently been described under the name of “populism.” Even though this word appears to be a misnomer in most cases, its use reveals some underlying political ideas. To understand them one has to go back to the 1950s and find the inventors of populism’s new meaning, the most prominent ones being Richard Hofstadter, Edward Shils and S. M. Lipset. The purpose of this massive semantic drift, from a notion that related to fundamentally democratic political movements (starting with the US People’s Party in the 1890s) to one that depicts resenting crowds prone to nativism and prejudices, is to attack the very idea of democracy as a participatory regime. This shift was reenacted in the 1980s (France being the laboratory of this new meaning) and has today become the most common meaning of the word, with the same purpose than it had in the 1950s: to depict the people as a threat against democracy. Dr. Antoine Chollet is a senior lecturer in political thought at the Université de Lausanne, Switzerland. He has a PhD in political theory from Sciences Po Paris, France, and works and publishes on contemporary political philosophy, theories of populism, direct democracy, sortition in politics, and time and temporality. He is currently a visiting scholar at UVic, in the Department of Political Science. |
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INDIGENOUS POLITICS JOB TALK: Dr. Tyler McCreary “Indigenous Legalities, Pipeline Viscosities: Colonial Extractivism and Wet’suwet’en Resistance” Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2026 from 2:30-4:00 PM Location: Sky Classroom, Room FRA B261 This talk examines the politics of pipelines on unceded Wet’suwet’en territories in northern British Columbia. It places pipeline regulatory review processes within a deep history of the relationship between Indigenous peoples and settler colonialism and how that has been mediated by Canadian courts. Then using the example of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, it explores two aspects of corporate efforts to reconcile Indigeneity with pipeline development, through traditional use studies and industrial partnerships with communities. But it also highlights the failure of these mechanisms to resolve fundamental and enduring conflicts over territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction. Ultimately, the talk advances an understanding of cyclical and ongoing movements between resistance and reconciliation. |
OTHER RELATED EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS |
Sustainability Transformations in Global Supply Chains: The Politics and Challenges of Implementing EU Due Diligence Regulations
When: May 19, 2026 from 12:00-1:00 PM
Where: KULA Lounge, Mearns Centre for Learning – McPherson Library, UVic
Dr. Alexandra Bögner, visiting from the Sustainability Research Group at the University of Basel, will be giving a free public lecture discussing pathways for implementing due diligence regulations in the agricultural sector of the EU. Join us for lunch-- pizza and beverages will be provided!
The production of agricultural commodities such as coffee, cocoa, or palm oil is associated with persistent environmental and social harms, including deforestation, forced and child labor, and smallholder poverty. Transforming agri-food systems is thus a major challenge for sustainable development. The European Union is tackling these issues through mandatory supply chain sustainability legislations, including due diligence regulations & import restrictions. Dr. Bögner’s ongoing research highlights how the politics that surrounds these regulations continues to impact effective implementation after their adoption.
This event is hosted by CIFAL Victoria, the Environmental Governance Group, and KULA: Library Futures Academy.
The Political Science Weekly Digest is available online. I’d love your help in highlighting media appearances, publications, student achievements, upcoming events, and any other good news — please send items to mattdavies@uvic.ca.