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Brief Biography

Sean Tracy is a PhD candidate specializing in Political Theory and Comparative Politics. His primary research interests are in global justice, especially issues involving territorial rights (e.g., collective self-determination, secession, territorial autonomy...), resolving ethnic and sectarian conflict, and international law. His other research interests are wide-ranging and include Just War Theory, issues of liberal toleration and state justification and legitimacy, and the debate between cosmopolitanism and liberal nationalism.

Teaching

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• POLS 241: Comparative Politics - Transformations
• POLS 359: Issues in Political Theory

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• POLS 250: History of Political Thought

Boğaziçi University (2014-2016)

• PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy
• PHIL 105: Informal Logic/Critical Thinking
• PHIL 106: Philosophical Texts (writing composition)
• PHIL 112: Intro to Modern Philosophy

Brief Biography

Mr. C. Alexander Olteanu is a PhD student at Queen’s University, Canada, where he also obtained his BA (with Distinction) in Political Studies and Spanish. He is currently working on the ‘New NATO Project’ investigating how NATO and the EU adapted to the post-Cold War environment during the critical 1989-1993 period and is completing the Public Leadership Credential at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is also a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Political Studies and a Researcher with the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen’s University.

Previously, Alex completed a Masters (Research) with Distinction in Global Security Studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Alex has been active for over three decades in the legal profession and has taught business management, law, and social science courses at post-secondary institutions in Canada and Iraq. He appears regularly on British Columbia’s Rompost TV show as a political commentator for the local Romanian community is a former 2. Lieutenant in the CAF Reserves and is fluent in five languages.

Research Interests

Alex is particularly interested in social entrepreneurship projects focusing on the theory and practice of public and private organizational design, adaptation and change, and the emergence of post-sovereign structures of governance and citizenship, beyond the boundaries of nation-states. He focuses in particular on the history of and current developments in Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

Teaching Assistant at Queen’s (2020-2022):

• POLS 332: Politics of Post-Communism
• POLS 261: Introduction to International Relations
• POLS 244: Comparative Politics: Democracy and Democratization
• POLS 243: Comparative Politics: Governing Difference
• POLS 242: Comparative Politics: Political Regimes

Brief Biography

Lori Oliver is a SSHRC doctoral scholar in the Department of Political Studies, specializing in Gender and Politics and Comparative Politics. She is particularly interested in the relationship between multilevel governance and social policy development. Her doctoral research focuses on how the implementation of Canada’s National Housing Strategy is impacting lone mothers and their families. This research builds on Lori’s previous community-based research work with ACORN Canada and Adsum for Women & Children. Lori is the current chair of PSAC 901’s Affordable Housing Working Group and a member of several tenant advocacy organizations. She was the 2022 Co-Chair of the Political Studies Graduate Student Association.

Brief Biography

Kaitie Jourdeuil (PhD, Queen’s University, 2025) is the 2025-26 Buchanan Postdoctoral Fellow in Canadian Democracy in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s. Her research, which sits at the intersection of Political Theory and Canadian Politics, is guided by two questions: (1) What does it mean to live well in community with others? and (2) How do we establish and maintain respect and mutual understanding between different political communities? Her doctoral research examined how Canadians might change their shared values and political practices in dialogue with Indigenous political thought and how Canadian political theorists can respond to calls from their Indigenous colleagues to decolonize political theory and Canadian politics. Her postdoctoral project explores how citizens can act in ways that promote mutual respect with Indigenous peoples and the land in their community.

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Kaitie joined the Department of Political Studies in 2019 as a Master’s student in Political and Legal Thought. She received her Bachelor of Humanities with High Distinction from Carleton University’s College of the Humanities, during which she completed a year of study at Cardiff University in Wales.

Selected Awards

• Stanley Drabek Graduate Award (2024)
• SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral (2021-2024)
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2020-2021)
• SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s (2019-2020)
• Queen’s University Tri-Agency Recipient Recognition Award (2019-2020)

Teaching Fellowships

Winter 2026 - POLS 401: Political Theory: Questions and Challenges

Fall 2025 - POLS 320: Indigenous Politics

Winter 2025 - POLS 320: Indigenous Politics

Winter 2024 - POLS 451: Topics in Political Theory – Settler Colonialism in Canada

2023-2025 - POLS 590: Honours Thesis in Political Studies

Thesis

The Critical Geopolitics of Waterscapes: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Development of Gwadar Port

Teaching

POLS 464 Issues in Contemporary Security

POLS 484 Politics of Globalization

POLS 498 Topics in Political Studies

For detailed information about political studies courses and instructors, please refer to the Undergraduate and Graduate pages.

Linked In:

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Brief Biography

Emma Fingler (she/her) is a SSHRC-funded doctoral candidate researching gender, disaster response operations, and regional governance in South and Southeast Asia. She is a Fellow with the Climate Security Association of Canada and is a Graduate Research Fellow with the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP) at Queen’s University. Emma was the 2023 Graduate Scholarship recipient of Women in Defence and Security (WiDS). She was previously a Canada-Asia Young Professional Fellow with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and 2022-2024 Graduate Fellow with the Research Network on Women, Peace and Security. Emma has experience working abroad on humanitarian, development, and coordination issues. Prior to joining Queen’s, she was the Special Assistant to the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kathmandu Nepal, and a Junior Professional Consultant with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Kathmandu. She holds an M.A. in Global Governance from the University of Waterloo’s Balsillie School of International Affairs and a B.A. Hons. in Political Studies from Bishop’s University.

Selected Awards:

Timothy C.S. Franks Research Travel Award, Queen’s University, 2023

Women in Defence and Security, Graduate Scholarship, 2023

SSHRC Department of National Defence MINDS Scholarship Initiative

SSHRC Doctoral Award, 2022-25

Research Network on Women, Peace and Security, Doctoral Award, 2022-24

Research Interests

• Humanitarian and disaster governance;
• Women, Peace and Security agenda, with a focus on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); and
• Global Governance structures and norms.

Field Affiliations

International Relations

Comparative Politics

Teaching

POLS 460: International Relations of the Asia Pacific (Teaching Fellow)

POLS 280, Introduction to Women, Gender and Politics (Teaching Assistant)

POLS 244, Comparative Politics: Democracy and Democratization (Teaching Assistant)

POLS 261, International Relations (Teaching Assistant)

Brief Biography

Admira Bužimkić is a doctoral candidate specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics. She holds a Master’s in Globalization from McMaster University and a BA in International Relations (High Distinction) from the University of Toronto.

Admira has actively participated in panel discussions on global research methods and the influence of war, gender, and religion on democratization. As an editor for the Student Strategy and Security Journal (affiliated with the University of Glasgow), she oversees paper submissions and collaborates with reviewers and scholars to elevate manuscripts to publishable standards.

Research Interests

Admira’s research, situated at the intersection of international relations, globalization, and political geography, explores several key themes. These include conflict and forced displacement, global mobility, border control, and the practical implementation of policy in politically volatile regions. Additionally, her work explores post-conflict reconstruction and state building, offering critical insights into the evolving nature of border enforcement and state building. Admira has presented her work at various academic conferences, symposiums and workshops.

Additionally, Admira is interested in international water resource management and security. As part of the McMaster-UNU-INWEH program, she has conducted research on urban water sustainability and the impact of melting glaciers on local populations in Peru.

Awards

Ontario Graduate Scholarship 2022-23

Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2021-22

Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2020-21

R.S. McLaughlin Fellowship – Queen’s University, 2020-2021

McMaster Graduate Scholarship

Teaching Experience

Teaching Assistant:

POLS 262 International Political Economy (Winter 2023, 2022 and 2021)

POLS 261 International Politics (Fall 2022, Fall 2020)

Head Teaching Assistant:

POLS 261 International Politics (Fall 2021)

Biography

Patricia's research interests primarily lie in the area of mineral resource governance, specifically, how state-global mining company relationships historically and, at present, shape current local socioeconomic development outcomes in the resource-rich sections of sub-Saharan Africa.

Research Interests

Global Political Economy, Environmental Politics, International Relations, Political Ecology, Just Transitions, Infrastructure, Social Movements, Resistance and Transformation, Environmental and Climate Justice

Brief Biography

Joshua McEvoy is a SSHRC Doctoral Fellow in International Relations in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University. Joshua’s research interests are situated at the intersection of political economy and environmental politics with a focus on the discourses and practices of resistance and transformation. His dissertation focuses on ‘just transition’ movements and their relationship to dominant socio-political and economic structures. Specifically, Joshua’s research examines the potential for transformation in community energy, transit, and ‘green’ labour movements. Joshua is also broadly interested in the relationship of material infrastructures to socio-political processes, especially the role of energy in settler colonialism and the building of a decolonized future.

Joshua completed his comprehensive exams in International Relations and Comparative Politics in 2017, receiving a mark of Distinction in both fields. Prior to arriving at Queen’s, Joshua was a Research Assistant at the University of Ottawa, and an intern at the Council on Foreign Relations. Joshua completed his Bachler of Arts (Highest Honours) at Carleton University with a double-major in Law and Political Science, and Minor in Economics, and his Master’s in International Relations Theory at the London School of Economics.

Selected Awards

• SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship (2019-21)
• Timothy C.S. Franks Travel Award (2019)
• Dean’s Travel Award (2019)
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2017-18, 2018-19)
• The Donald S. Rickerd Fellowship (2017-18)
• Queen’s Graduate Award (2016-17)

Teaching

Teaching Fellowships

• POLS 463 – International Relations Theory (Fall 2021)
• POLS 405 – Global Environmental Politics (Winter 2021)

Teaching Assistantships

• POLS 262 – International Political Economy (Winter 2018)
• POLS 261 – International Politics (Winter 2017)
• POLS 243 – Comparative Politics (Fall 2016)