On September 5, Joy Schnittker successfully defended her PhD dissertation

Debates on social change often focus on structural constraints and limited agency of political actors, especially those at local levels. Joy contributes to the structure/agency debate through investigating UK cases of remunicipalisation — the process whereby local governments have taken back control of public services that were previously run by private companies.

Her research acknowledges the constraints that local authorities face but concludes that far from being merely passive agents, they are active sites of contestation, adaptation, and potential democratic renewal.

The process of remunipalisation is neither inherently progressive nor regressive, but is always political. Similarly, her research shows that whilst the results may not always be progressive (transparent, accountable, democratic public services), they nonetheless constitute meaningful interventions whereby seemingly powerless actors negotiate different outcomes. Thus, local actions can reframe debates, challenge how public services should be run, and reimagine what is politically possible.

Joy’s defence was chaired by Dr. Shafiq Huque, and her supervisory committee consisted of Dr. Stephen McBride (supervisor), Dr. Peter Graefe, Dr. Thomas Marois, and Dr. Tony Porter. Dr. Julie MacArthur (Royal Roads University) was the external examiner.

Congratulations, Joy!