The Agora: Political Science Undergraduate Journal
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What’s Mine is Hers: A Solution to Common Law Property Woes
No full textAs more and more Canadians elect not to get married and opt instead for a common law relationship, the matter of division of property has grown ever more relevant. This essay explores possible remedies to reducing gendered inequalities that result from the division of common law property
Multilateralism and Arctic Sovereignty: Canada’s Policy Options
No full textThis paper will examine Canada’s policy options regarding Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic Ocean, and will recommend a policy of multilateral engagement. Canada claims full sovereignty over the Arctic Archipelago and its surrounding waters, as well as a more limited form of sovereignty in parts of the Arctic Ocean. There is significant strategic, environmental, and economic value to uncontested Canadian control of these waters. However, these claims are not recognized by other states and contravene accepted international rules laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). As Canada lacks the infrastructure and military power to effectively assert control of the region, as well as the diplomatic power to make other states recognize Canada’s claim, Canada should abandon its unilateral stance and pursue its claim through existing multilateral options: the UNCLOS and the Arctic Council.
Canada and Terrorism: A Case Study
No full textDespite an all-pervasive focus on terrorism, there is little critical discussion about its precise meaning or applicability to modern international relations. This paper seeks to examine Canada\u27s role in relation to terrorism, by comparing official policy statements to the ways in which key government actors responded to a key, concrete example of international terrorism (the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in the winter of 2008-9). Based on the example discussed, the paper argues that contrary to official policy statements, Canada seems to offers firm support for international terrorism when it is committed by our allies
Bolivian Politics
No full textThe essence of Bolivian politics can be conceptualized under four main aspects: the economy, political issues and context, indigenous identity, and democracy. A brief overview of the economy over the last hundred years is explored, and focuses on resource export. Economic policy in relation to Bolivia’s resources is closely tied to the success of political leaders, as policy resentment by the populace has led to the creation of political movements, parties, ousting of presidents, and the rise of a current populist leader. Indigenous identity underlies issues of water control and the coca industry. Evo Morales continues to successfully bring such issues to light, and is providing solutions of nationalization that agree with public sentiment, and may be helping to consolidate democracy
The American Judiciary Through the Lens of The Federalist Papers
No full textThe manner in which a Supreme Court justice ought to rule in any given case before him or her is a controversial topic in America, with a number of American lawmakers feeling that each justice should exercise “judicial restraint.” Those who feel this way often subscribe to the interpretive strategies of strict construction or originalism, which both cast judges as activists who have a political agenda, imposing it on America while ignoring the Constitution. As a remedy to their grievances, constructionists propose that the constitutional text should be rigorously adhered to while constitutional rights should be narrowly defined. Similarly, originalists propose that the Justices of the American Supreme Court interpret the law according to the intentions of the founding generation. This paper assesses the validity of these interpretive strategies by entertaining the originalist argument (albeit modified) and deferring judgment in this matter to The Federalist number seventy-eight and number ten. Upon analysis of these American founding documents, it is found that the intent of the founding generation to indeed create a judiciary that adheres to the parameters set by the Constitution, but also one that possesses room to incorporate their own judicial philosophies into their legal interpretations as opposed to one that exercises strict judicial restraint
The Hypocrisy in our Democracy: Placing Youth Voting in Perspective
No full textIn 2002 the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench dismissed a lawsuit brought by two women who had been denied the right to vote in an Alberta election. The court laid out several different justifications for the limiting the franchise to those under the age of 18. However, upon analysis, those justifications fail to withstand critical reasoning. Placing the courts reasoning in wider perspective exposes a great deal about the nature of Canada’s political system today
Reformed Development: How Edmonton Can Benefit From Globalization Through Improved Development Strategies
No full textAchieving economic success in a globalized world is a complex task for cities. One of the most important challenges cities need to address to reach prosperity is how they plan their development. Creating a socially, and economically attractive environment can help cities prosper. This essay explores the development impediments that Edmonton has experienced in the last few essays. Specifically Edmonton\u27s focus on suburbanization has put Edmonton at a competitive disadvantage internationally. However, with strategies explored, Edmonton can drastically improve its quality of life
Kant’s Universal History and The Paradox of Ethnocentric Egalitarianism
No full textAs a subset of political theory, postcolonial critique exists to examine the fundamental disparity in the asymmetrical power relations between the actors involved in colonial and imperial interaction. Part of this examination includes the assumption that the totalizing nature of imperial practice and its effects are necessarily problematic. This paper examines the notion that there can be a ‘universal history’ for human beings, as sketched in the political writings of Immanuel Kant. In addition, the historical context of Kant’s political theory, centered within 18th century European imperialism, forms a substantial portion of the examination. The paper begins with a consideration of the friction between Kant’s ideas of human freedom and natural necessity. Kant’s solution to this conflict is to sketch a model of historical development that is then applied universally to human beings and human societies. This paper considers Kant’s writings, in their historical context, in order to evaluate the degree to which Kant is subject to the problems inherent to the discourse of imperialism
On the Best Life
No full textIn order to find a thorough treatment of the good life, arguably the subject of political science, we must have recourse to the ancients. Aristotle directly addresses and thematizes the concept of “the good life” in his Nicomachean Ethics, wherein it is suggested that the best possible life for a human being is one that is lived in accordance with a human being’s natural function, that is, logos. This paper implements Aristotle’s definition of the good life in order to suggest that it presents us with not merely a viable but a superior alternative to the relativistic language of “lifestyles” and “values” that dominates contemporary political theory. This paper will first establish a framework within which the best life for a human being may be understood, then proceed to explain the inadequacy of relativism as a way of conceiving of the best life and the relationship between the best life and the best person. The argument will conclude by making a case for the importance of the best life as a topic worthy of pursuit in both theory and practice