Research

This essay will look at the criticism of double standards in the international community's response to the war in Ukraine, with reference to the interplay of international law, human rights, and ethics.

This essay will examine the war in the Donbas region of Ukraine, a conflict characterized
by its hybrid and proxy nature. Central to this analysis is an exploration of the various factors
that led to The Russian Federation’s (hereafter Russia) involvement in the region, a key aspect
that has significantly shaped the conflict's intricacies and outcomes. It will also address the
hybrid warfare tactics used, and critically examine Russia's strategic objectives in the conflict,
assessing the degree to which these goals have been achieved. By dissecting the intricate web of
political, military, and socio-economic elements that underpin this conflict, the essay aims to
provide a comprehensive understanding of the Donbas War and its broader implications on
geopolitics.

This essay will evaluate the impact of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on the global security challenge posed by migration. It will examine its significance in the context of resettlement and integration of refugees and migrants in Canada. It will focus on the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initiative to analyze how effectively the joint partnership between the inter-governmental organization and Canada achieved its objectives.

The analysis will examine the IOM’s approach to achieving its goals of saving lives and promoting sustainable recovery, protecting migrants and facilitating orderly migration. It will not only explore the strategies implemented but analyze their impacts on the lives of Syrian refugees and migrants, underscoring the IOM’s vital role in addressing the security challenges posed by global migration.

This essay will assess and explain the relative importance of social media’s impact on global security. It will examine the case of The Russian Federation’s (hereafter Russia) invasion of Ukraine and the potential military implications of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, Instagram and TikTok.

This essay will critically evaluate the tensions between targeted versus dispersed support in relation to the reintegration of ex-combatants. It will examine cases of ex-combatants, including female combatants and child soldiers, and argue that the most effective approach to reintegration is a combination of both.

First, it will analyze the cases of ex-combatants from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where targeted and dispersed approaches to reintegration were taken, respectively. Then, looking at Liberia and Burundi, it will focus on the more complex situations regarding former female combatants and their paths to reintegration. Finally, evaluating the circumstances of former child soldiers post demobilization, it will conclude that a blended approach to reintegration is a stronger proposal than either alone.

This essay will assess the utility of non-textual sources and their role in historical research. It will examine how oral histories, artifacts, and visual materials can provide deep insight into some of the world’s most infamous tragedies, where textual sources can fall short. It will seek to comprehend their unique advantages as well as the potential challenges and limitations they present.

First, it will analyze the importance of oral histories from Holocaust survivors in filling gaps in textual records. Then, it will explore how artifacts from the Titanic provide a tangible connection between the researcher and the past. Further, it will discuss the value of photographs
of the Chornobyl explosion, serving as a pivotal historical record, capturing visuals of the immediate devastation as well as the short and long-term consequences. Finally, it will delve
into the unique challenges of preservation, misinterpretation and subjectivity that accompany
these non-textual sources.

This essay will argue that securitization is a political choice—a decision to conceptualize an issue in a particular way. It will examine the securitization of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada and the actions that political leaders took in response to the threat of a global health crisis.

First, it will analyse the way the Canadian government conceptualized COVID-19 as a threat to the referent objects: citizens’ health and safety, the broader healthcare system, as well as the country’s economy. Then, it will look at how this was achieved with the help of public messaging and the use of extraordinary measures, including border and movement restrictions, vaccination mandates, as well as major new legislations. Finally, by considering vaccination statistics and public response, it will highlight the consequences of said actions, showcasing the impact the political decision to securitize this issue had...

This essay will argue that critical theories provide a more convincing approach to security studies than problem-solving theories due to their stance on not accepting the state as the sole referent object. It will analyze realist, Queer, and feminist theorists’ approaches to terrorism, focusing in particular on their viewpoints regarding the terrorist organization The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and its impact on the security of marginalized groups.

Using these theoretical lenses, this essay will first discuss ISIL’s attack on the LGBTQ2A+ community, a marginalized group whose security is often excluded from the narrative of traditional global security studies. It will then discuss the systemic terror, abuse, and sexual exploitation that ISIL has forced onto innocent women and children. Relating both of these issues to notable events of international conflict, this essay will highlight why problem-solving theorists’ top-down approach often fails to secure both marginalized groups and state security in the long run.