PhD Theses Archive
Welcome to the McMaster University Political Science PhD Theses Archive
Discover the groundbreaking research and innovative contributions made by our PhD graduates. Each thesis represents years of dedication, rigorous analysis, and a commitment to advancing the field of political science.
Our graduates have explored diverse topics, from international relations and public policy to political theory and comparative politics, providing fresh insights and solutions to contemporary challenges.
Explore the work of our scholars below and see how their research is shaping the future of political science. If you are interested in learning more about our graduate supervisors, please visit the Graduate Supervisors page.
John Hayes: Mining, Institutional Change, and Mexico’s Natural Resource Governance in Comparative Perspective, 1988-2018
Supervisor: Michelle Dion
Spencer Naylor: The ‘Poor Cousin’ of Health Policy
Supervisor: Katherine Boothe
Garima Sarkar: Barriers to Women in Politics: Candidate Selection and Informal Party Politics in India.
Supervisor: Netina Tan
Mohammad Ferdosi: The Development of Employment Protection Legislation in the United Kingdom (1963-2018) and Sweden (1971-2020)
Supervisor: Stephen McBride
Michael Gordon: Solidarity and Resistance at the Borders of EUrope: Civil Fleet Search and Rescue Operations in the Mediterranean Borderscape
Supervisor: Peter Nyers
Roomana Hukil: Exploring Core-Periphery Subjectivities: Transnational Advocacy Networks and Environmental Movements in India
Supervisor: Robert O’Brien
Alexander (sasha) Kovalchuk (skaidra): Remapping Sanctuary: Political Theology and Ontario Border Enforcement
Supervisor: Peter Nyers
Trina Vella: The Courts and Political Speech Rights: A Comparative Study
Supervisor: Tony Porter
Colette Nyirakamana: Incentives, Rules, Power, and Discretion: A Comparative Analysis of Local Financial Autonomy Building in the Cities of Accra and Nairobi
Supervisor: A. Shafiqul Huque
Suneth Wijeratne: Examining Other Diplomacies of Sri Lankan Workers in South Korea: A Human-Centric Approach to Diplomatic Studies
Supervisor: Lana Wylie
Khaled Al-Kassimi: Jus Gentium & the Arab As Muselmanner: The “Islamist Winter” is the Pre-Emptive (Creative) Chaos of the “Arab Spring” Multipyling Necropolises
Supervisor: Marshall Beier
Oldrich Bubak: Social Policy at the Edge of Knowable: Towards a Unified View of Evolutionary Change in Policy Systems
Supervisor: Stephen McBride
Liam Midzain-Gobin: Making Sense: Indigenous Peoples, Knowledge Production, and Settler Colonialism
Supervisor: Marshall Beier
Jacob Muirhead: The potential of contracting in Global Agri-Food Governance
Supervisor: Tony Porter
Kelsey Leonard: Indigenous Water Governance to Protect the Heart of Ohke (Mother Earth) the Great Lakes
Supervisor: Dustin Garrick
Marguerite Marlin: ENGO Policy Influence via Legislative Committees in Canada, the United States, and Russia
Supervisor: Karen Bird
Nowrin Tabassum: Multi-scalar Knowledge Brokers and the Labelling of Bangladesh’s Climate Change-induced Uprooted People
Supervisor: Robert O’Brien
Michael Di Gregorio: The Affect of the Political: On the Politics and Psychology of Internalizing the International
Supervisor: Marshall Beier
Jessica Jurgutis Foran: Colonial Carcerality in International Relations: Imprisonment, Carceral Space, and Settler Colonial Governance in Canada
Supervisor: Marshall Beier
Samantha Jackson: Politicizing the White Coat: Physician Activism and Asylum Seeker Healthcare in Canada, Germany and England
Supervisor: Karen Bird
Hayden King: An Anishinaabe Politics of the International: Odaenuah, Akina, Miniwaa Gchi’Naaknigewin
Supervisor: Marshall Beier
Sorin Mitrea: Canadian Active Labour Market Policy and the Cognitive Face of Political Economy
Supervisor: Stephen McBride
Ata-Ul Munim: Policy Rationale for Innovation Parks in Canada
Supervisor: Stephen McBride
Sarah Shoker: Military-Age Males in U.S. Counterinsurgency and Drone Warfare
Supervisor: Marshall Beier
Zeina Sleiman-Long: Sanctuary Regions and the Struggle for Belonging and Recognition Among Undocumented Immigrants in the United States
Supervisor: Peter Nyers
Berkay Ayhan: Cultural Political Economy of Financial Literacy in Turkey
Supervisor: Stephen McBride
Danielle Blab: Muslims of Interest: Practices of Racialization in the Context of the War on Terror
Supervisor: Marshall Beier
Hubert Rioux Ouimet: The New Sponsor States: Economic Nationalism & Venture Capital in Quebec and Scotland, 1990-2017 Supervisor: Peter Graefe
Nicholas Bernards: Actors and Entanglements in Global Governance: The ILO in sub-Saharan Africa
Supervisor: Robert O’Brien
Claudia Milena Diaz Rios: When Global Ideas Collide with Domestic Interests: the Politics of Secondary Education Governance in Chile, Argentina and Colombia
Supervisor: Michelle Dion
Andrea Rowe: Designing Equality of Opportunity in National Innovation Systems Moving Towards Gender Conscious Policy, Performance Measurement, and Resource Allocation
Supervisor: A. Shafiqul Huque
Fatma Armagan Teke: Gender, Migration and Frames of Deservingness: The Gendered Management of Women’s Care Migration from Armenia to Turkey
Supervisor: Robert O’Brien
Stephanie Tombari: The Green Publicity State: Sustainability, Austerity, and the ‘Green Economy’ in Michigan and Ontario, 2007-2012
Supervisor: Stephen McBride
Nicole Wegner: Inter-National Imag(ining): Canada’s Military Intervention in Afghanistan
Supervisor: Marshall Beier
Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn: Reasserting Private Authority in Times of Crisis: Technical to Moral Discourses in Anglo-American Finance
Supervisor: Tony Porter
Philippe Frowd: Securing Borders in West Afrtica: Transnational Actors, Practices, and Knowledges
Supervisor: Peter Nyers
Steve Haarink: North Korea Does Not Exist: Human Rights in Asymmetry
Supervisor: Lana Wylie
Jessica Merolli: Feeling like a Citizen: Integration Exams, Expertise, and Sites of Resistance in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands
Supervisor: Charlotte Yates
Falin Zhang: Comprehending China’s Stances Toward Global Financial Governance: A Two-stage Model
Supervisor: Robert O’Brien
Caitlin Craven: The Politics of (Not) Being Tourable: Landscapes, workers, and the production of touristic mobility
Supervisor: Peter Nyers
Halina Sapeha: Explaining Variations in Success of Subnational Immigration Programmes in Canada and Australia
Supervisor: Michelle Dion
Marcela Vecchione-Goncalves: Managing Borders, Nurturing Life Existences, Resistances and Political Becoming in the Amazon Forest
Supervisor: Marshall Beier