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VoL. 1, IssuE 2 POLITICAL FALL 2008 PERSn PECTIVES DE par T M E N T O F P O LITI ca L S C IEN C E M c M as TE R U N I V E rs ITY n CONGRATULATIONS On December 2, our Undergraduate Assistant, Kathleen Hannan, will be inducted into the Quarter Century Club at McMaster University. Congratulations on achieving 25 years of service here at McMaster and for being an invaluable member in the Department of Political Science! n IN THIS ISSUE n Department introduces new MA in International Relations n PoliticalT heory strengthened through appointment and visiting professor n Four new PhDs defended n Discussion of global financial crisis MEssaGE From THE ChaIR – ROBERT O’BRIEN HONorarY DEGREE RECIPIENT The months since our October also featured the intensification During the November last newsletter have of the US credit crisis and its spread to 2008 Convocation proved to be an other parts of the world. Tony Porter, who ceremonies, McMaster extremely busy time specializes in international finance, led a awarded a Doctor of for the Political Science roundtable discussion on the financial crisis Laws degree to Dr. Department and we and some of his thoughts are enclosed. Janice Gross Stein. hope that this brief This Fall we are very pleased to welcome a Professor Stein is the Robert O’Brien newsletter gives you new faculty member, James Ingram, to the Janice Gross Stein Belzberg Professor of an overview of that activity. We have been Department. James is a political theorist Conflict Management in the Department working on redesigning our Departmental specializing in modern political thought. of Political Science and the Director of WebPages which we invite you to visit We are also honoured to have a visiting the Munk Centre for International Studies (http://www.socsci.mcmaster.ca/polisci/). scholar from the University of Stockholm at the University of Toronto. She has We are excited to announce that our new stay with us for the year. Peter Hallberg is written widely on international relations MA in International Relations has been conducting research on the impact that the and public policy. In addition to being an approved and it will take in its first student Age of Discovery had on Western political outstanding academic, Professor Stein has enrolment in the Autumn of 2009. Four thought. Finally, in this issue of the also been a leading contributor to public of our PhD students successfully defended newsletter we feature a brief update on one policy debate in Canada. their dissertations. Faculty members of our many of successful MA graduates. such as Peter Graefe, Henry Jacek and Karen Bird have been engaged with local, national and international media commenting upon the Canadian and US Robert O’Brien elections. The months of September and Professor and Chair FOCUS ON CURRENT ISSUES n NEW M.A. LEctURE SERIES THE POLITICS OF THE GLOBAL CREDIT CRISIS In 2008-2009 the Department of Political BY: TONY PORTER Science launched a new Career Series of Visiting Speakers designed especially for our MA students. The speakers are MA Tony Porter is s professor in the Department of Political Science, graduates of our Department who have McMaster University. developed interesting and successful Tony conducts research on business regulation and global governance, careers. These speakers demonstrate including financial regulation, private and hybrid public/private how a student can go from a MA degree in rulemaking, the organizational effects in governance of technologies, Political Science to such a career. and safety and environmental standards in the automobile industry. He is the author of several books on these topics and aside from his Nigel Fisher, President teaching and research obligations, Tony is currently the Undergraduate Chair in the Department of Political Science. and CEO of UNICEF CANADA, was our first speaker. Nigel has had a lifetime of experience n For much of the past quarter century derivatives that supposedly reduced risks, in international NGOs. supporters of the rapid expansion of and sold worldwide. Actors all along this Nigel Fisher Along the way he has global financial markets applauded the chain, including bank CEOs, enjoyed been Assistant Secretary apparent ability of these markets to astoundingly lucrative fees and bonuses escape the control of political authorities while passing off to others the risk or General of the United Nations as well as and manage their own risks, even if many responsibility that supposedly justified Deputy Special Representative of the political scientists have long pointed to those payments. Public authorities, Secretary-General for Relief, Recovery the key role played by states in facilitating especially in the US, often spent more and Reconstruction in Afghanistan. Other this expansion. Now, in the midst of the time cheering on this new system than assignments have taken him to Iraq and the global credit crisis, and with governments regulating it. around the world nationalizing key Middle East during and after the Gulf War. parts of their banking systems or taking There are very significant political His most notable contribution was as one other aggressive measures to prevent consequences of this crisis. The credibility of the firstNG O responders to the genocide of the exuberant faith in the self- financial collapse, it is glaringly obvious in Rwanda. For his heroic efforts there that politics and the state matter. Indeed governing capacities of markets that has he was awarded the Meritorious Service it is likely that we are living through a been so powerful has been irreparably transition to a new epoch in which global damaged as has the stature of the US as Cross from the Canadian Government. financial markets and the broader trends a global power. Not only was US global they signaled and supported will play a leadership ideologically entangled with Our second speaker much more modest role and the role of the promotion of global financial markets, was Chris Charlton, MP political institutions in formulating and but US economic well-being was staked (Hamilton Mountain). on the success of its financial industries protecting the public interest will become Chris has served as an much more prominent. and was prolonged by its impressive ability to attract financial flows from Ontario Legislative Intern The crisis has revealed a massive systemic around the world. In the short run the followed by developing failure to ensure that self-interested actors decline of this US-centric system may be Chris Charlton equity programmes, did not dump the costs of their reckless delayed by the lack of alternatives but in especially for women, pursuit of financial gain on others, the medium term these alternatives are for the Ontario Government. She also including taxpayers. Traditional bank certain to be constructed in Asia, Europe, loans, in which regulators and the bank and elsewhere. While some of the more served as a top aid and policy advisor to structure itself ensured that banks bore ambitious proposals for global reform Premier Bob Rae. Charlton has also served the cost of bad lending decisions, were are likely to fail, it is certain that an array as a Director of Government Relations, and replaced by the “originate-to-distribute” of less visible multilateral regulatory a policy and communication analyst for model in which loan originators arranged collaborative arrangements that have been non-profit organizations.I n the recent 2008 loans, banks packaged these into constructed over the past quarter century “structured investment vehicles” which will be greatly strengthened. However Federal General Election she doubled her then issued opaque securities with the exact contours of new national and margin of victory. different risk profiles, inaccurately priced transnational regulatory regimes will be with reassuring but faulty risk models, the product of intense political struggles - Dr. Henry Jacek carelessly rated by credit rating agencies, that have yet to be waged, and that will often backed up by complex credit be fascinating to study. n n NEW M.A. LEctURE SERIES FOCUS ON FACULTY FOCUS ON ALUMNI In 2008-2009 the Department of Political ROBERT LUMMACK Science launched a new Career Series of n The Department of n We are pleased to Political Science would welcome Dr. Peter In July 2008, Robert Visiting Speakers designed especially for like to welcome the Hallberg as a visiting Lummack, a MA graduate our MA students. The speakers are MA most recent addition professor in the of the Political Science graduates of our Department who have to our faculty, Department for the Program at McMaster, developed interesting and successful Dr. James Ingram. 2008-2009 academic began a seven month CIDA IYIP internship careers. These speakers demonstrate James completed year. Professor his doctorate at the Hallberg comes working in Guatemala how a student can go from a MA degree in Dr. James Ingram Dr. Peter Hallberg New School of Social from the University Robert Lummack City as a legal researcher Political Science to such a career. Research in 2007 and spent a year teaching of Stockholm and his research is being for COPREDEH, the at the University of Oregon before arriving supported by the Pro Futura Fellowship Guatemalan Presidential Human Rights Nigel Fisher, President at McMaster in 2008. in Honor of Eva Österberg. He specializes Commission. The Commission is responsible and CEO of UNICEF in democratic theory and early modern for overseeing the government’s adherence CANADA, was our first Trained in the area of Political Theory, political thought. Professor Hallberg has to obligations in regards to International Human Rights agreements to which speaker. Nigel has had James commands a wide repertoire published articles in journals such as of teaching and research specialties, History of Political Thought, Race & Class, Guatemala is a ratified member.

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