Public Policy

U of T certificate program merges engineering and public policy

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 18:21:51 +0000

U of T certificate program merges engineering and public policy

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 08/23/2023 - 14:21

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A new certificate program, launching this fall, will enable U of T Engineering students to gain fluency and experience with the design and implementation of public policy, including services such as public transit (photo by surangaw, via Envato Elements)

Tyler Irving

Topic

Our Community

Academics

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Public Policy

Undergraduate Students

Subheadline

The certificate in public policy and engineering launches this fall and is available to undergraduate engineering students

Beginning this fall, undergraduate engineering students at the University of Toronto will be able to augment their degree with a new certificate in public policy and engineering.

The program is the result of a collaboration between the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Dionne Aleman (supplied image)

“The idea to create a certificate in public policy actually came from students who were chatting with [U of T Engineering Dean] Chris Yip at the University of Toronto Engineering Kompetition in 2022,” says Dionne Aleman, a professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering and associate dean of cross-disciplinary programs at U of T Engineering.

“We began co-ordinating with the Munk School a few months later and here we are launching the certificate in 2023. It’s a perfect example of how we can create unique educational opportunities to suit our students’ interests – tell us what you want, and we will find a way to make it happen.”

“There are many challenges around the world that cannot be solved without close coordination between engineering and policy makers,” says Daniel Posen, an associate professor in the department of civil and mineral engineering who was part of the team that helped support the new program’s creation.

Daniel Posen (supplied image)

“These challenges exist in a wide range of areas: climate change, energy, the environment, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, space policy, urban design and more. It is hugely beneficial for engineers to bring their technical expertise to the policy space, and for engineers to understand how policy affects their design constraints.”

The new certificate consists of three half-course requirements, which can be completed as part of the elective credits in a student’s program or taken as extra credits.

“Virtually every engineering project is also a public policy project, in that they involve the allocation of public resources and have an impact on public life,” says Alexandra Rahr, assistant professor, teaching stream, and director of undergraduate programs and student experience at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.

“At the same time, engineers have expertise that make them natural partners when it comes to creating effective public policy. This certificate is designed to give engineering students the fluency they need in the language of policy design and implementation, so that they’re not sitting on the outside, but instead can be active participants in that process.”

The first course provides an introduction to microeconomics, a foundational element of public policy, designed for students with an engineering background. The second course looks at the political and social institutions that are involved in making public policy, from legislators to advocacy groups and professional associations.

The final course acts as a capstone in which students will apply the skills they have developed to analyze case studies of public engineering projects. By looking at both the intended and unintended consequences of policy-making, they can gain insights that inform their own practice.

“We know from experience that a number of engineering graduates already choose to enrol in our master of public policy program, so there is a desire on their part to learn more about these policy frameworks,” says Rahr.

“Ideally, what we hope for graduates of this certificate – whether they go on to work in engineering, or in public policy, or some field that combines the two – is that they become effective and fluent practitioners of policy who are deeply engaged with the public good.”

Meet four of U of T’s latest global affairs and public policy grads

siddiq22 — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 20:14:30 +0000

Meet four of U of T’s latest global affairs and public policy grads

siddiq22 Mon, 06/19/2023 - 16:14

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Clockwise from top left: Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy graduates Joaquin Espinosa Alarcón, Sara Duodu, Vedant Puthran and Hilda-Matilda Idegwu (supplied images)

Topic

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Faculty of Arts & Science

Graduate Students

Public Policy

Graduates from the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy celebrated their convocation last week – a milestone as they look toward future careers on the international stage.

The Munk School spoke with four new graduates about what they learned in their programs and how they plan to draw on their experiences at U of T as they prepare for further education and new roles in the global policy space.

Joaquin Espinosa Alarcón

Up next: Research with the Citizen Lab

Joaquin Espinosa Alarcón’s journey to the Munk School’s Master of Global Affairs (MGA) program had many stops along the way.

Born in Quito, Ecuador, Espinosa Alarcón immigrated to the U.S. after finishing high school. He completed a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science at Bates College in Lewiston, ME, before moving to Washington, D.C. and working at the World Bank under the advisor on sexual orientation and gender identity as a point of contact for Latin American countries.

“I didn't plan on doing this. But because I have been an immigrant since I was 18, I know there are geographic limitations or legal constraints as to what you can do. That experience, and my job at the World Bank, helped me realize that I am interested in global affairs,” he says.

Espinosa Alarcón’s interest in 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and gender identity informed his time in the MGA program, where he was the director of Spectrum, a student-led initiative that helps with the professional and career development of LGBTQ+ students and their allies.

This summer, Espinosa Alarcón will collaborate with the Citizen Lab team to produce a report on transgender rights, which will be presented in Costa Rica.

— Molly Gosewich

Sara Duodu

Up next: A career focused on environmental sustainability

In starting her Master of Global Affairs program at the Munk School, Sara Duodu knew she wanted to make an impact – during her studies and beyond.

She credits a combination of her coursework, capstone project and leadership in student-led initiatives – including serving as co-editor of student publication Global Conversations, director of activities for the Munk School Black Students Association and coordinator for the school’s career exploration series – for her goal to pursue a post-graduation role focused on sustainability and innovation.

Working on her capstone project, which involved developing and presenting recommendations for a more inclusive strategy to Sustainable Development Technology Canada, underscored Duodu’s interest in making ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) a key component of her future career.

“I think there's a lot of room for working in the sustainability space and actually trying to have an impact there," she says.

— Claire Porter Robbins

Hilda-Matilda Idegwu

Up next: Taking part in the federal Recruitment of Policy Leaders program

At 16, Hilda-Matilda Idegwu came to the Munk School’s Global Ideas Institute (GII) aspiring to change the world. After moving to Canada from the U.K. 11 years ago and growing up in a priority neighbourhood in Toronto, she became interested in community advocacy.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in international development studies from York University, Idegwu started the Diaspora Learning Centre, which provides affordable tutoring and mentorship to Black children and youth.

Founding the organization gave her the confidence to apply to the Munk School, where she has kept busy as president of the Munk School Black Students Association, handling internal relations and operations for the Public Good Initiative, contributing to the Public Policy and Governance Review and participating in the Munk School’s Anti-Racism Working Group.

Now the Master of Public Policy graduate is one of only a handful of people selected from thousands of applicants for Canada’s Recruitment of Policy Leaders program, which trains participants for a career in the federal public service.

Idegwu advises fellow graduates to remember the potential impact of their work.

“It's important to remember that we do end up changing many lives,” she says. “We have to remember to serve people with all we have, and that what we have to offer is so valuable.”

— Adrienne Harry

Vedant Puthran

Up next: Working as an analyst with the RCMP

Initially intending to become a lawyer, Vedant Puthran attended U of T's Faculty of Arts & Science for his undergraduate degree in criminology with a focus on criminal justice policy before joining the Munk School.

“For me, a career in policy seemed like the better fit for my goal of helping the public, rather than pursuing a career in law,” says Puthran, a Master of Public Policy graduate whose studies at the Munk School centred around immigration.

During his two years at the Munk School, Puthran won public policy case competitions, participated in a networking trip to Ottawa and landed an internship with the RCMP, where he hopes to keep working as an analyst after graduation.

“My top advice for students and graduates is to take advantage of available resources and seek out opportunities on your own,” he says.

— Molly Gosewich

Read the grads’ full stories at the Munk School

Researchers find a daily dose of politics leads to stress – but avoiding it can hinder civic engagement

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 08:59:57 +0000

Researchers find a daily dose of politics leads to stress – but avoiding it can hinder civic engagement

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 01/24/2023 - 03:59

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(Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Topic

Rotman School of Management

Stress

U of T Scarborough

From 24-hour news cycles to social media posts from your angry uncle, it’s almost impossible not to get a daily dose of politics.

But new research finds that daily exposure to politics can cause chronic stress. Disconnecting from the hectic news cycle has its own repercussions, however – strategies aimed at avoiding those negative emotions might result in becoming less politically engaged.

Brett Ford

“The stress of daily politics poses an unfortunate dilemma,” says Brett Ford, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at U of T Scarborough, who co-authored the study with Matthew Feinberg, an associate professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School of Management. “It seems that people who are better able to deal with the daily stress of politics are also less likely to be politically involved.”

The research, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, surveyed more than 1,000 Americans after the 2016 U.S. presidential election as they experienced daily political events such as statements from the President, laws debated in Congress and conflicts with foreign countries. Participants, who included Democrats, Republicans and Independents, were asked about how these events made them feel, how they managed those emotions and how motivated they felt to take political action such as donating, volunteering and contacting their representatives.

Matthew Feinberg

In additional experiments, another group of participants watched clips of popular political television programs such as Tucker Carlson Tonight and The Rachel Maddow Show before being surveyed. Some participants were asked to just respond naturally to the programs, while others were asked to use different strategies to help them regulate their emotions during the clips – including distraction and cognitive reappraisal.

Ford, director of U of T's Affective Science & Health Laboratory, says cognitive reappraisal is a type of coping strategy that can help reduce stress or anxiety by reinterpreting or thinking about something in a different way – by downplaying its significance, for example. Distraction, on the other hand, involves avoiding thinking about the content altogether.

“Both of these strategies can be effective ways to reduce negative emotions. If you can limit your exposure to upsetting information, that helps. If you can change what the information means to you, that also helps,” she says.

The researchers found the strategies were effective in lowering negative emotions, and while that predicted greater well-being, it also meant participants were less likely to take action.

Ford, whose research looks at how people manage their emotions, says a daily dose of politics seems to share the same features as other forms of chronic stress in that it’s something people face regularly and feel there is very little they can do about it.

“It’s perfectly reasonable to want to protect yourself in the face of chronic stress, but we also need to understand the potential drawbacks of avoiding negative emotions, which is that people might be less likely to take action to change the systems that caused those emotions in the first place,” Ford says.

Ford recommends a few strategies for those wanting to stay politically engaged without jeopardizing their mental and physical well-being in the process – including emotional acceptance, or the idea of staying in touch with your emotions rather than immediately trying to get rid of them. This might involve viewing emotions as a valid and natural response to a stressful situation. This response, according to the researchers, tends to predict better mental health without coming at the cost of taking action.

Study co-author Feinberg says the research raises the question about whether people should avoid political news altogether to prevent stress.

“Our data suggests that if you are able to disconnect, you are going to feel better – but you may become less engaged. This is a difficult dilemma to manage, and it can be hard to strike a good balance,” he says.

The researchers say getting stressed over politics is nothing new and has typically been studied by looking at how people respond when the party they support loses an election. Their new research, on the other hand, reveals the impact of day-to-day political events and suggests that politics might be a chronic stressor in people’s lives.

“It underscores the far-reaching influence politicians and policymakers have beyond the formal powers they are endowed with,” Ford says.

The research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Jane Philpott, Lisa Raitt and Megan Leslie to talk 'modern leadership' at U of T

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 16 Jan 2020 16:28:54 +0000

Jane Philpott, Lisa Raitt and Megan Leslie to talk 'modern leadership' at U of T

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 01/16/2020 - 11:28

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From left to right: Jane Philpott, Lisa Raitt and Megan Leslie (photos by Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star via Getty Images, Melissa Renwick/Toronto Star via Getty Images and Mike Gifford)

Lani Krantz

Topic

Our Community

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Faculty of Arts & Science

Politics

Public Policy

Veteran parliamentarians from Canada’s three major political parties will gather on stage at the University of Toronto next week to discuss what it takes to be a leader.

The event, on Jan. 20 at the Isabel Bader Theatre, is part of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy’s David Peterson Program in Public Sector Leadership Lecture Series.

Titled Modern Leadership: Policy and Politics, the conversation will feature former Liberal Party MP and cabinet member Jane Philpott, former Conservative Party MP and Deputy Leader Lisa Raitt and former NDP MP and Deputy Leader Megan Leslie, who is also a Munk School senior fellow. The discussion will be moderated by journalist Paul Wells of Maclean’s magazine.

The panel promises to bring a broad range of viewpoints and a lively discussion. Though legislators on Parliament Hill may often take opposing sides of fiscal or social issues, many hold their counterparts in high esteem and enjoy strong friendships outside of the office.

“You kind of have to have an unwritten rule – and sometimes it’s a spoken rule – on massive issues of policy that you won’t get into debate,” said Raitt. “Not that you won’t have serious discussions ... but the debate should stay inside the House of Commons.”

On what she’s most looking forward to in taking part in this event, Raitt says: “Seeing Jane and Megan again because I like them enormously as human beings.”

Leslie, meanwhile, pointed to what the three lawmakers have in common: “(We) have all been on the national stage ... voices for our party at different points – and all three of us have lost elections at different points for different reasons.”

Philpott is excited about the dynamic of speaking with her political peers, but also interacting with students and alumni at the event.

“We will build diversity in leadership as people start to realize that you can carve your own path,” she said. “Even if there is nobody that looks or talks like you in a powerful position in this country right now, that doesn’t mean that you won’t find your way there.”

Raitt hopes the audience takes away an important lesson from the event.

“It’s okay to be brave,” she said. “Even when you’re punished for being brave, it’s still the right thing to do and you’re going to be okay.”

The David Peterson Program in Public Sector Leadership Lecture Series invites speakers from a broad range of backgrounds and expertise to share their perspectives with the Munk School community. Recent events have featured former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, Indigenous child welfare advocate Cindy Blackstock, and former B.C. Premier Christy Clark, among many others.

“These three highly accomplished women have demonstrated political leadership in three different parties and after active politics,” said Mel Cappe, a Munk School professor and former clerk of the Privy Council.

“I look forward to hearing their ideas about the secret sauce for showing leadership at all levels.”

Researchers at U of T make recommendations to improve health of LGBTQ communities

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 15:03:26 +0000

Researchers at U of T make recommendations to improve health of LGBTQ communities

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 07/09/2019 - 11:03

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A participant in Toronto's 2019 Trans March, held in June, holds up a placard (photo by Anatoliy Cherkasov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Françoise Makanda

Topic

Our Community

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Graduate Students

LGBTQ

Public Policy

Trans people do not have access to adequate and inclusive medical care. Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men face discriminatory policies when donating blood. When measuring homelessness, researchers cannot determine how many LGBTQ youth and young adults are affected.

When Canada doesn’t collect data on gender identity, it’s to the detriment of the community. But one researcher at the University of Toronto says that could be about to change.

Along with their PhD students, Assistant Professor Alex Abramovich and Associate Professor Lori Ross – both of U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health – helped develop 23 recommendations that were presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in June. If enacted, the recommendations would allow the government to collect inclusive data – a significant change the LGBTQ community has been requesting.

“Trans people are often not included in national health data, such as suicide data,” says Abramovich. “There is still so much that we don’t know regarding LGBTQ2S health.

“Collecting this data will allow us to implement interventions and save lives.”

Alex Abramovich is an assistant professor at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health (photo courtesy of Dalla Lana)

Abramovich has been studying the issue of homelessness among LGBTQ youth and young adults for over a decade and does a lot of work in the area of trans health. With enough data, he says, public health specialists can provide safe housing for LGBTQ youth and education for health providers across Canada.

“It is also time to address the issue of LGBTQ2S youth homelessness nationally,” he says. “LGBTQ2S youth are overrepresented among the youth homelessness population in Canada. However, national point-in-time counts and street needs assessments, up until very recently, have not collected inclusive data.”

The report also recommends an end to all discriminatory practices related to blood, organ and tissue donation for men who have sex with men and trans people.

“I am thrilled this report has meaningfully included the research findings of community-based organizations I am fortunate to work with, including the Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC),” says Daniel Grace, an assistant professor at Dalla Lana.

In a recently published qualitative study in the journal BMC Public Health, Grace spoke to 47 Canadian men who wanted policies to catch up to evidence on HIV testing. Grace says an HIV-negative man told him his blood shouldn’t be deemed “better or worse” and that we “should look more at risky sexual behavior – independently of a person’s sexual orientation or gender.”

To give blood just three years ago, a man had to abstain from all sexual contact with other men for at least 12 months. Today, the deferral period is three months – an incremental step in the right direction, but still discriminatory, according to Grace.

In his latest op-ed in Vancouver’s Georgia Straight, Grace and his collaborators expressed the importance of a scientifically-informed blood donation policy that removes discriminatory bans while ensuring Canada’s blood supply is safe and readily available.

While problems continue to persist in LGBTQ health, Abramovich says he’s optimistic.

“This study on LGBTQ2S health that the committee undertook is historic. Many people have waited a long time for something like this to happen,” he says.

“I am honoured to have been invited as a witness, especially as a trans-identified researcher, studying LGBTQ2S youth homelessness.”

Canada’s restrictions on foreign competition hurt the economy, U of T researchers argue in Globe and Mail

rahul.kalvapalle — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 16:06:10 +0000

Canada’s restrictions on foreign competition hurt the economy, U of T researchers argue in Globe and Mail

rahul.kalvapalle Thu, 06/20/2019 - 12:06

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Among OECD countries, Canada ranks among the highest for protecting domestic incumbents against foreign competition, write Rotman's Walid Hejazi and Daniel Trefler in the Globe and Mail (photo by Getty Images)

Topic

Rotman School of Management

Canada’s protection of cellphone companies, airlines and banks from foreign competition doesn’t just mean higher prices for consumers, it also hurts the economy by stifling productivity and job creation, according to a Globe and Mail op-ed summarizing research findings by faculty members at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Walid Hejazi, associate professor of international business, and Daniel Trefler, professor of economic analysis and policy, write that while it’s no secret Canadian consumers have long overpaid for certain services, new research shows barriers on foreign competition also hurt the economy as a whole.

“Restrictions on foreign entry have cost the Canadian economy a whopping 137,400 jobs. Or, for those who prefer dollar figures, they cost Canadian wage earners $10-billion each and every year,” they write, citing findings from their paper Implications of Canada’s restrictive FDI policies on employment and productivity, which was recently published in the Journal of International Business Policy.

“The restrictions also slow down productivity growth, creating a drag on the economy.”

Read the op-ed by Walid Hejazi and Daniel Trefler in the Globe and Mail

How U of T student Yasmin Rajabi combined community activism with a degree in public policy, city studies

noreen.rasbach — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 04:00:00 +0000

How U of T student Yasmin Rajabi combined community activism with a degree in public policy, city studies

noreen.rasbach Mon, 06/11/2018 - 00:00

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“I am someone who’s very invested in my community,” says Yasmin Rajabi, a U of T Scarborough student who graduates on Monday (photo by Ken Jones)

Topic

Yasmin Rajabi's passion for community activism started early – and prompted a desire to learn more about how local government works.

Rajabi, who graduates Monday from the University of Toronto Scarborough with a bachelor’s degree in public policy and city studies, is the founder of a non-profit organization called Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN), which helps young women over the age of 14 build their leadership skills through civic engagement.

“I am someone who’s very invested in my community,” says Rajabi. “I’m a very action-oriented individual with a passion for change that leads me to fight for more equitable and fair environments for all.”

When Rajabi was eight years old, her family fled ethnic and religious persecution in Afghanistan and came to Canada. “We picked Scarborough because we had family here, and I know that’s a lot of the reason why so many immigrant families continue to settle in Scarborough,” she says.

Scarborough became home and Rajabi grew up in the Malvern neighbourhood, surrounded by people who inspired community involvement from an early age.

When she was 13 years old, a close friend invited her to get involved with the YWCA, which works with young women and girls in local communities and schools.

“During the time I was there, they had a lot of programs that focused on civic engagement, and I think that really sparked a passion,” she says.

Follow Yasmin Rajabi on Instagram as she graduates Monday

She learned about the importance of voting in elections, making it a point to take her parents to vote for the first time during the 2014 provincial election.

“The governments, and in turn the policies we vote for, have a large part in determining how we live our everyday lives,” she says.

With her non-profit organization, she continues to work closely with the YWCA. The first group of girls she brought to city council for a Young Women’s Leadership Network event were students from the YWCA Council.

“The students got to chat with a city councillor, sit in the mayor’s seat and the council chambers, and they felt an ownership of City Hall,” says Rajabi.

Over the past six months Rajabi has had the opportunity to get a look at the inner workings of City Hall through the Protégé Program. The mentorship program pairs young women who aspire to be involved in local politics with female city councillors and staff.

Rajabi said in an interview earlier this year that local politics is where work really gets done. “In municipal politics you actually see more immediate change happen, and because it’s local it has a much larger impact on the people around you,” she says.

U of T's Munk School offers dual master's degree in global affairs and public policy with Sciences Po in Paris

ullahnor — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 15:45:00 +0000

U of T's Munk School offers dual master's degree in global affairs and public policy with Sciences Po in Paris

ullahnor Mon, 03/13/2017 - 11:45

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The program will allow master's students to complete degrees from the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs in Paris

Topic

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Faculty of Arts & Science

The University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs in Paris are launching a dual master's degree program, in which students will get a window into public policies and global affairs from a European and North American context.

Aimed at “students who combine intense curiosity about the world with ambition to take leadership in changing it for the better,” the combined two-year program begins in 2018.

Students will spend their first year at Sciences Po in Paris, complete a summer internship and then spend their second year at the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto. They will receive master's degrees from both institutions.

“This dual master’s degree is a first for the Munk School, and we’re thrilled to have an experienced partner in Sciences Po,” said Stephen Toope, director of the Munk School of Global Affairs. “It’s fashionable today to focus on cracks in Europe, but however the winds shift, these are strong countries that will be leaders in shaping the world’s future. We need to build bridges and understanding.”

Graduates of the dual degree program will be uniquely positioned to enter the field of global affairs worldwide, Toope said.

Students who enrol will interact with colleagues from many countries, gaining new perspectives that will help them engage in a deeper way in cross-cultural environments. They will learn how to adapt to education systems with different roots and methods. They will build international networks that will help them professionally and enrich their lives personally.

The dual master’s degree program builds on a long-standing collaboration between Sciences Po and the University of Toronto, whose first exchange program was created in 2001.

“We are very glad to combine for the first time our Master in Public Policy with a Master of Global Affairs provided by the Munk School,” said Yann Algan, dean of the Sciences Po School of Public Affairs. “This dual degree aims to bring to our future public affairs professionals a unique and complementary understanding of global challenges.”

Students may choose to study in English or French at Sciences Po. At the Munk School of Global Affairs, courses will be taught in English. The first cohort of students in the dual degree program will start classes in Paris in September 2018 with an expected intake of 10 to 12 students.

Trump, Bannon could “seriously damage” the U.S. government system, U of T expert says

Romi Levine — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 20:33:45 +0000

Trump, Bannon could “seriously damage” the U.S. government system, U of T expert says

Romi Levine Fri, 02/03/2017 - 15:33

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White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (right) listens to U.S. President Donald Trump at the beginning of a meeting with government cyber security experts at the White House on Tuesday (photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Romi Levine

Author legacy

Romi Levine

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Public Policy

As President Donald Trump’s second week in office draws to a close, his political strategy is becoming more defined and so is his commitment to playing by his own rules.

“Trump is really pushing the limits in terms of constitutional propriety,” says Professor Robert Bothwell, of the department of history in the Faculty of Arts & Science, and an expert in international relations at U of T's Munk School of Global Affairs.

“The question will be at what point is he actually explicitly going to overrule the law and just pass on into rule by decree.”

Trump tested those limits last weekend with his travel ban for citizens of seven-Muslim majority countries.

But even as he issued that executive order and created “disruption” in its wake, Trump quietly promoted his chief strategist – and some have called his alter-ego – Steve Bannon, to the National Security Council and its exclusive Principals Committee.

Bannon is the former head of the ultra-conservative Breitbart News. His presence in the Trump inner circle has raised red flags with human-rights groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, which called him “the main driver behind Breitbart becoming a white ethno-nationalist propaganda mill.”

His appointment to the National Security Council has many on edge, including Time Magazine, which asked this question yesterday: “Is Steve Bannon the Second Most Powerful Man in the World?”

U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi echoed those concerns: “What’s making America less safe is to have a white supremacist named to the National Security Council as a permanent member, while the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the director of national intelligence are told, ‘Don’t call us we’ll call you. You’re no longer permanent members.' It's a stunning thing that a white supremacist would be a permanent member of the National Security Council.”

Kent Roach, professor and Prichard Wilson Chair in Law and Public Policy at U of T’s Faculty of Law, says the Principals Committee is like an inner cabinet on national security matters.

“It is supposed to be operational, but the line between operations and policy is often blurred,” Roach said.

“[Bannon] would have influence over Trump regardless of whether he was on the National Security Council. Nevertheless, Bannon's appointment, like so much else in Trump's early days, is at best deeply troubling, and at worst just plain scary.”

Bannon largely drafted the immigration and refugee announcement, just as he largely drafted Trump's inauguration speech, says Bothwell. His political philosophy boils down to three things for America: Capitalism, nationalism, and “Judeo-Christian values.”

“With the collection of ideas that he has, this is extremely dangerous,” Bothwell said of Bannon's appointment.

Roach says Bannon and Trump are alike in many ways.

“He seems to have some of the same impulsive and aggressive temper as Trump, raising concerns that the new President has formed a kind of echo chamber where he is unlikely to hear contradictory views,” he says.

“Bannon could be in the room and by some accounts screaming when decisions are made to engage in targeted killings, send more people to Guantanamo, invade other countries or to pull the U.S. out of NATO or other international alliances.”

Bannon’s influence could be detrimental to the U.S. government, says Bothwell, but so far, Republicans appear to remain loyal to Trump.

“I think there's a kind of tacit bargain that he will meet the agenda of the Republicans in Congress and in return, it looks as though they've given him unconditional support,” he says. “Some of them might talk a lot but you look at the votes and they're voting with their colleagues so I don't think there's anything they won't swallow.”

That loyalty will be tested if Trump does eventually overrule the law, Bothwell says.

“You'd like to think that the people in Congress have the guts or the perception to be able to oppose it but I haven't seen much evidence of that so far.”

As Trump builds allies in government, he’ll have to do the same internationally. But as he enacts more protectionist policies, it’s unclear who those allies will be, Bothwell says.

“There has to be a fantastic overestimation of American strength – and by antagonizing everybody at the same time, you're creating a world in which the United States will be quite isolated.”

Whether or not Canada will prove to be a friend of the U.S. will depend on Trump’s demands, he says.

“There is no such thing as a cooperative negotiation,” says Bothwell. “Are we going to overtly repudiate the Mexicans in order to curry favour with the United States? Is he going to demand that we limit the flow of refugees in Canada or he will retaliate with border restrictions? These things are possible. Any set of negotiations that Trump undertakes will be a zero-sum game.”

The Greek debt crisis explained (for now)

sgupta — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 11:24:04 +0000

The Greek debt crisis explained (for now) sgupta Wed, 04/08/2015 - 07:24

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(photo by Eustaquio Santimano via flickr)

Jelena Damjanovic

Author legacy

Jelena Damjanovic

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

UTSC

Global

Subheadline

A Q & A with Phil Triadafilopoulos

The high stakes poker game between Greece and its creditors continues this week with Athens facing a €448 million payment to the International Monetary Fund April 9.

Last week, Athens proposed a 26-page list of reforms to secure financial aid from its EU partners and prevent it from defaulting on its foreign debt. Conspicuously absent from the reforms: an overhaul of the Greek pension system and labour market measures that would be in direct contrast to the newly elected Greek government’s anti-austerity election platform. So far, this week's events have included a calculation by Greece that Germany owes it €279 billion in reparations for the Nazi occupation – and a high profile meeting between Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

With negotiations and revelations continuing, writer Jelena Damjanovic spoke with Phil Triadafilopoulos, associate professor in the department of political science at UTSC and the School of Public Policy and Governance.

A member of the European Parliament recently accused the European Central Bank (ECB) of blackmailing Greece but ECB President Mario Draghi suggested it was the other way around.
Blackmail is a strong term. But it’s not hard to see why both sides are throwing it around. The Greeks would like more assistance from the ECB to offset currency flight and maintain a modicum of liquidity. The ECB claims that its assistance has already been substantial and limits on Emergency Liquidity Assistance are needed to ensure that relevant terms of the bailout agreement are honoured. The ECB’s position has doubtlessly made life harder for Greek leaders, prompting accusations of financial “asphyxiation.” Predictably, ECB officials have rejected such claims.

Rumours have emerged that Russia could offer Greece a bailout if the European Union declines.
I don’t believe that is realistic at all. As Professor Stathis Kalyvas pointed out in his lecture inaugurating the University of Toronto’s new Hellenic Studies program, the principle aim of Greek politics since the establishment of the Greek state has been to build strong ties to the West. This is reflected in Greece’s membership in NATO and the EU. Most Greeks are not interested in cutting ties to the West and SYRIZA has not been authorized to do so.This has made the government’s bargaining position difficult: it has a mandate to renegotiate the terms of the bailout agreement and end austerity but no mandate to leave either the eurozone or EU. While there are important religious and other connections to Russia they do not translate into significant political ties – there’s too much to lose.

It’s also not at all clear that Russia is in a position to offer Greece the sort of support it needs to meet its debt obligations.

Greece’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has said that his government wants a new plan for fiscal stimulus with repayment of existing debt tied to Greece’s ability to restore growth.
Dr. Varoufakis and others understand that no one is interested in seeing Greece leave the eurozone because the consequences of such a move are unknown. It would introduce a degree of instability and uncertainty that would be most unwelcome. Also, if the debt is to be repaid the Greek economy will have to stop shrinking. Cutting one’s way to balance via endless austerity is politically untenable – the Spanish “success story” is a modest one; unemployment is still very high and support for opposition parties remains strong.

If Greece defaults, it would become the only advanced economy to default on its IMF loans. Could this lead to a renewed process of handling IMF loans, as well as debts?
I presume it would, though I cannot say how. What’s clear is that there’s little appetite for finding out, though there appears to be some difference of opinion on this matter between Varoufakis and some of his colleagues. Varoufakis’ side has prevailed for now, as evidenced in his recent meeting with the managing director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde.

How do you expect the events to unfold in Greece and what will their effect be on countries in similar predicaments: Spain, Portugal, Italy?
Mr. Tsipras cannot repeat the course of the last government led by Mr. Samaras, moving from defiance in opposition to retreat and capitulation after taking office. On the other side, there is some interest in demonstrating that the positions championed by SYRIZA are futile and that the future lies with a “moderate” political class willing to meet outsiders’ demands in order to maintain Greece’s membership in the eurozone. This may backfire: SYRIZA’s downfall may push even more Greek voters to the extreme Right, making a return to the pre-2015 status quo impossible.

A positive outcome requires compromise, but overheated rhetoric, strategic gaffes, and the collapse of trust on both sides have made reaching such a compromise all the more difficult. I don’t know how things will go. I worry for Greece and I worry for Europe.

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