M11 - Three Minute Thesis Competition (Preliminary)
Date: Jun 3 | Time: 12:00pm to 01:00pm | Location:
Chair/Président/Présidente : Jean-François Godbout (Université de Montréal)
Graduate Student Three-Minute Thesis - Terms of Reference
Ma thèse en trois minutes - Mandat
Masses et monuments : une histoire conceptuelle du mot democracy en Grande-Bretagne, 1770 -1920: Hugo Bonin (Unviersité du Québec à Montréal)
Abstract: Comment, de terme associé au désordre et à la foule, democracy devient, pendant le 19e siècle britannique, un objectif politique légitime, synonyme de gouvernement représentatif et de société moderne ? Combinant histoire conceptuelle, humanités numériques et théorie politique, cette thèse identifie trois usages principaux du mot democracy en Grande-Bretagne entre 1770 et 1920. Le terme est employé pour désigner à la fois un régime politique populaire, une société égalitaire et une catégorie sociale. Différentes sources (débats parlementaires, traités politiques, ouvrages de référence, presse) et méthodes d’analyse (lecture interne, logiciels textonométriques) sont mobilisées.
Quatre moments clefs sont retenus, chacun étant structuré par une opposition conceptuelle distincte. Le premier, de 1775 à 1801, voit democracy s’opposer à la monarchie et sa connotation négative renforcée suite à la Révolution française. Dans le second, qui va de 1827 à 1852, democracy est conçu en opposition à aristocracy. Si on observe des usages positifs chez les chartistes et républicains en exil, le qualificatif reste peu associé à la Grande-Bretagne. Suite aux réformes parlementaires de 1867 et 1884, tant les conservateurs que les socialistes en viennent à se dire democrats. Face à la montée d’une plutocracy capitaliste, le terme est progressivement employé de manière positive pour désigner la société britannique. Dans le quatrième moment, de 1904 à 1914, les suffragettes opposent la « false male democracy » à la « true democracy » égalitaire. Democracy devient alors une bannière auquel tous les acteurs et actrices politiques se rallient – chacun-e prétendant en avoir la vraie définition.
Pathways to Identity Politics: Joining Anti-Immigration Organisations in Quebec: Audrey Gagnon (Concordia University)
Abstract: In the past two decades, anti-immigration rhetoric and anti-immigrant sentiments have become more prominent in liberal democracies. Quebec is no exception to these dynamics. Various anti-immigration organisations have recently emerged, and their actions have gained visibility. Demonstrations against what they consider as ‘illegal immigration’, distribution of anti-Islam pamphlets, and posting of anti-immigration banners attest the presence of active anti-immigration organisations in Quebec. In this context of increased visibility of anti-immigration organisations, how can we explain individuals’ pathways of participation in these organisations? Through the conduct of twenty semi-structured interviews with members of anti-immigration organisations living in various localities across the province, this research aims to deepen our understanding of the construction of negative opinions about immigration and activism within anti-immigration organisations. On the one hand, it attempts to better understand individuals’ reasoning and rationalization, and to highlight the sources of their opinions about immigration. On the other hand, it aims to make sense of individuals’ motivations, interests and meaning in joining anti-immigration organisations. This research dives into individuals’ journey through anti-immigration activism from the construction of their concerns about immigration to the beginning of their involvement in anti-immigration organisations, the construction of a sense of collective identity with other members, and the strengthening of their opinions and beliefs.
Ignoring Implementation: Defects in Canada's 'Rape Shield' Policy Cycle: Danielle McNabb (University of Guelph)
Abstract: The #MeToo movement, a powerful social media campaign where women came forward with their own experiences of sexual assault and harassment, successfully sparked an international conversation around the prevalence of sexual violence and the omnipresent problem of underreporting. As it raises consciousness of how we discuss and perceive sexual violence, it also provides an opportunity for reflecting on how Canadian law has evolved to provide greater protection for survivors. The saga of Canada’s “rape shield” demonstrates the progress Canada has made in this regard, but also some lessons unlearned. Parliament’s latest attempt at reform – Bill C-51, now enacted, falls into the very same trap that limited the efficacy of earlier efforts, namely the assumption that changes in legal rules will be sufficient without changes in the behaviour of courtroom actors. A content analysis of the parliamentary transcripts of Bill C-51 reveals that “implementation problems” such as judges and counsel defying the legal rules are not being addressed sufficiently by Parliament. If Parliamentarians are truly committed to making the trial process for complainants of sexual assault more humane, and improving the underreporting of sexual violence, they will need to be more cognizant of implementation failures and that may require a more responsive legislative process.
The Electoral Impacts of Media Storms: David Dumouchel (Université de Montréal)
Abstract: Research on media storms — an explosive increase in news coverage of a specific item (event or issue), which garners a substantial share of the total news agenda during a certain time — indicate that they may disrupt the usual power dynamics delineating the reciprocal influence between the media and the political agenda. Analyzing agenda-building dynamics during the 2015 Canadian federal election, this study assesses for the first time the electoral impact of media storms.
Three media storms were detected during the 2015 campaign. They extended for more than half of the of the campaign. Results show that storm periods decreased the average number of issues present in daily media coverage of the campaign, as the media focused their attention on items related to the storm. They also negatively affected political actors’ electoral agenda-building efficiency, as empirical analyses revealed a significant drop in the political actors’ ability to influence the campaign’s media coverage during media storm.
Finally, media storms affected citizens’ political attitudes and vote choice. Using the case of the “refugee crisis,” the study highlights how the storm’s emergence brought changes in opinions about the prominent frames invoked about the issue. The storm gradually increased the impacts of those attitudes on vote choice in the 2015 election. These findings suggest that agenda-building dynamics are not linear; some contexts are more amenable to successful influence by parties than are others. More generally, it provides insights on the well-known aphorism that the best election campaign always stays “on message.”
Personality Traits and Politics. A Study of the Indirect Effects of Personality on Political Attitudes, Behaviors and Identification: Thomas Bergeron (Université de Montréal)
Abstract: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in political science toward personality. The empirical analysis in the literature largely draws their theory on the Big Five model. Very few studies have linked the theory in psychology to political science. Moreover, scholars almost exclusively studied the directs effects of personality traits. It is a crucial first step. Yet, it presents an incomplete view of the real effects of personality traits in the political life of citizens because traits can affect indirectly political life through, notably, values. Very few scholars have studied this type of effects. This master thesis wants to fill this gap by providing a clear and consistent theory and empirical evidences about how personality affects politic. We propose that personality affects political attitudes, behaviors and identification by two mechanisms: directly and indirectly via the mediation of ideology, moral traditionalism and egalitarianism. Using the data of the American National Election Study of 2012 and 2016, we analyze four dependable variables: political interest, environmental attitudes, partisan identification and electoral choice. To do so, we use OLS regressions and the mediation framework developed by Imai and colleagues which allows to estimate the proportion mediated in the relation between traits and a dependant variable. We show that the majority that of the associations between personality traits and attitudes, identity and electoral choice are mediated by one of our mediators. More generally, this study demonstrates the importance of considering indirect paths in the study of personality in political science.
Behind New Eyes: Balancing Identities and Loyalties Amongst New Canadians: Leonard Logan Churchill (Concordia University)
Abstract: Canadian federalism is founded on the balancing of “a will to live together and a will to live apart” (LaSelva 1996), as well as balancing provincial and pan-Canadian identities. Already complex, the 1982 Constitution Act made the balance between centralizing and decentralizing forces even more difficult by simultaneously promoting pan-Canadian standards and a stronger “national” identity.
This paper investigates how the 1982 Constitution shaped the political loyalties of Canadians and their understanding of the federation. More specifically, it examines how three distinct groups of Canadians balance these dual loyalties. First, building on the works by Bilodeau et al. (2010, 2015), it examines how newcomers to Canada after 1982 balance provincial and federal identities. Second, it expands the investigation by examining Canadians born after the adoption of the 1982 Constitution. Finally, it examines Canadians born before 1982, using them as a benchmark for comparison with “new” Canadians. The logic of inquiry is to compare two groups introduced to Canada after the adoption of the 1982 Constitution with Canadians socialized before 1982. I expect that newcomers and younger Canadians who have not known the Canada before 1982 will exhibit a profile of political identities as well a vision of the Canadian federation different from that of Canadians socialized in Canada before 1982.
The paper relies on the Provincial Diversity Project, a 2014 stratified survey of Canadians in each province, containing a sample of the general population (n=6400), an oversample of young Canadians (n=1900) and an oversample of visible minority Canadians (n=1600).
Introducing the PILAC Innovative Model: To What Degree Has Traditional and Local Knowledge Been Incorporated into the Arctic Council’s Work?: Evgeniia Sidorova (University of Calgary)
Abstract: By signing the Arctic Council’s Ottawa Declaration in 1996, the Arctic states recognized that “traditional knowledge of the indigenous people of the Arctic and their communities and took note of the importance and that of Arctic science and research to the collective understanding of the circumpolar Arctic.” Many AC reports claim that they utilized traditional and local knowledge (TLK) in their work. Yet, after 25 years of research on TLK in the Arctic Council, the question still remains: How to evaluate to what degree has TLK been incorporated into the AC reports and assessments? This paper suggests the innovative model of evaluation scale called PILAC, which uses five indicators to assess whether TLK has been meaningfully incorporated into Western science and decision making. Using the PILAC scale (Participation-Indigenous methods-Localized nature-Application to policy-Cross-cultural expertise), the study evaluated more than 40 reports released by the Arctic Council. The study concluded that: 1) there are “ups” and “downs” in the process of TLK incorporation in the Arctic Council; 2) Permanent Participants were more successful in incorporating TLK; 3) most AC reports are “lip service,” they failed to incorporate TEK.
The Ethical Politics Imperative: Is Canada's Political Process Ethics System Best Practice?: Duff Conacher (University of Ottawa)
Abstract: How does the federal Canadian political process ethics system measure up when compared to a best-practice model system? By political process ethics I don’t mean the ethics of the effects of decisions by politicians and governments but instead how ethical and honest the decision-making process.
I will develop the model system using the approach of a philosopher called John Rawls – by imagining what kind of system you would want if you didn't know in advance what your social status would be. If you didn’t know these things, what rules would you want for donations to politicians, election promises, politicians making decisions, lobbyists, etc.?
I will also use an approach known as Legal Pluralism that has the goal of changing not only laws but also the culture of politics. To create this ethical political culture, the model system I develop will include the usual enforcement measures of audits, inspections and fines and jail terms, and also psychological ways to nudge people to behave ethically.
The model system I develop will be based on best-practice standards from the United Nations and other international organizations, as well as the results of peer-reviewed research by legal, political science, criminology and behavioural psychology scholars.
My aim is to develop a system that will be the best for the most people, and will effectively require people in politics to act ethically, with detailed rules, enforcement measures, and penalties. Then I will evaluate how Canada’s system measures up to the model.
Lunch will be served.
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