Martin Papillon - Böcker

Debating how Canada compares, both regionally and in relation to other countries, is a national pastime. This book examines how political scientists apply diverse comparative strategies to better understand Canadian political life.Using a variety of methods, the contributors use comparison to examine topics as diverse as Indigenous rights, Canadian voting behaviour, activist movements, climate policy, and immigrant retention. While the theoretical perspectives and kinds of questions asked vary greatly, as a whole they demonstrate how the "art of comparing" is an important strategy for understanding Canadian identity politics, political mobilization, political institutions, and public policy.Ultimately, this book establishes how adopting a more systematic comparative outlook is essential – not only to revitalize the study of Canadian politics but also to achieve a more nuanced understanding of Canada as a whole.

The Global Promise of Federalism honours the life and work of Richard Simeon, one of Canada’s foremost experts on federalism. It features a group of distinguished scholars of federalism from Canada and abroad who take up some of the fundamental questions at the heart of both Simeon’s work and contemporary debates. Does federalism foster democracy? Can it help bring together divided societies? How do federations evolve and adapt to changing circumstances?In the course of answering these questions, the chapters in this collection offer a comparative perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing well-established federations such as Canada and Australia, as well as new federal and quasi-federal systems in Europe, Africa, and Asia. They examine the interplay between federal values, such as trust and mutual recognition, and institutional design; the challenges facing post-conflict federations; and the adaptability of federal systems in the face of changing social, economic, and cultural contexts.