Political Science - Western University

Prime Minister Carney has announced three byelections for April 13 Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced three byelection for ridings in Ontario and Quebec which could result in the governing Liberals securing a razor-thin majority in the House of Commons.

Three federal byelections have been called for April 13 in Ontario and Quebec. Political science professor and department chair Laura Stephenson shares expert insight in coverage picked up by the Canadian Press and national outlets. Read more: www.nationalobserver.com/2026/03/09/n...

Analysis: Why London councillors are already turning up the election heat Experts say the timing is no coincidence.

City councillors in London are already turning up the election heat before the civic campaign even begins. What does early pre-campaigning mean for local democracy? Political science expert Martin Horak weighs in. Read more 👇
lfpress.com/news/local-n...

Ukrainian speakers reflect on 4th anniversary of Russian invasion Four years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, three prominent Ukrainian leaders spoke at a conference at Western to reflect on the war’s impact and urge resistance through

The Western Gazette recapped the “Ukraine: 4 Years After Russia’s Escalated War” conference led by Political Science and History professor Marta Dyczok, reflecting on voices and insights 4 years after the Russian invasion. Read more: westerngazette.ca/news/ukraini...

The Department of Political Science Guest Speaker:

Dr. Ryan Briggs | "It Must Be Very Hard to Publish Null Reports"

📆Friday, March 27th, 10:30 a.m. |📍SSC 7200

Dr. Briggs is a social scientist & Associate Professor in the Guelph Institute of Development Studies & Dept of Poli Sci at the UofGuelph.

Ukrainian speakers reflect on 4th anniversary of Russian invasion Four years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, three prominent Ukrainian leaders spoke at a conference at Western to reflect on the war’s impact and urge resistance through

westerngazette.ca/news/ukraini...

Meet Our Students: Celebrating Success Stories

Aidan Runstedler, Honours Double Major in Psychology & Political Science, exemplifies leadership through mentorship, advocacy and community-building as Head Soph and student leader.
Read more: www.ssc.uwo.ca/meetourstars...

An honourable mention goes to the submission from Crystal Lo, “Beyond Voter Turnout: Reconceptualizing Youth Civic Engagement in Canada’s Platformed Public Sphere,” which presented a thoughtful approach to rethinking what civic engagement means in the context of the modern media environment.

considers how social media engagement and one’s ideological extremity influence the frequency of conversations with people who have different political views. Her findings help to enrich our knowledge of the drivers of political discussion among young people.

C-Dem & the Centre for the Study of Political Behaviour at @westernu.ca are pleased to announce the Student Essay Contest on Youth Civic Engagement winner Eliza Yip (McGill U). Eliza's paper “Engaging or Spectating? Social Media Use, Ideology, and Cross-Partisan Conversations Among Canadian Youth"⤵️

If anyone is interested in different forms of racist discourse in text, do I have a paper for you!!!

It’s official → Registration to #CPSA_ACSP26 is open!
See you there? 👉🏽👉🏽 conta.cc/4tqlVCt
@jonathanmalloy.bsky.social @emmettmacfarlane.com @queenspols.bsky.social @westernupolisci.bsky.social
@jlisayoung.bsky.social @matthewlebo.bsky.social @kaelkropp.bsky.social @joannaeveritt.bsky.social

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

After a long journey, our paper "Machines Do See Color: Using LLMs to Classify Overt and Covert Racism in Text" is out at Sociological Methods & Research. In it, we develop a theoretically driven approach to identify and classify covert and overt racism in text:

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Political science professor Amanda Friesen offers insight on coping with political anxiety tied to current U.S.–Canada relations. If recent headlines have you feeling uneasy, this Globe and Mail piece helps break down what’s really going on: www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article...

Our "In Conversation with..." series continues! Join @martadyczok.bsky.social as she discusses her new book "Ukraine, not the Ukraine".

Feb 11 | Noon–1 p.m. | Scholars Lab

Bring your lunch & drop in!

www.uwo.ca/events/2026/...

@westernuhistory.bsky.social #WesternU

Western profs weigh in on Trump’s plan to move Venezuelan oil Amidst the surprise U.S. take-over of Venezuela and Carney’s trade talks with China, Western professors weigh in on what this means for the political state of Canada.

The Western Gazette examines Trump’s plan to move Venezuelan oil, with expert insight from Western political science professors Adam Harmes, Bruce Morrison, and Matt Lebo. Read the analysis: westerngazette.ca/news/western...

Political science professor Matt Lebo joined 12 CBC afternoon radio shows, including CBC Radio West, to break down President Trump’s comments on nationalizing voting and what it means for democracy. Listen to the full discussion here 👇
iqmediacorp.com/ExternalIfra...

Canada’s Defence Minister has turned down calls for Canada to pursue nuclear weapons, emphasizing diplomacy and security cooperation instead. Political science expert Erika Simpson provides key insight on what this means for Canada’s role on the global stage. www.pressreader.com/article/2815...

Skeleton scandal: U.S. racer says Canadian team blocked her 6th Olympic bid - National | Globalnews.ca U.S. skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender was hoping to be the first woman to compete in the Winter Games six times for the U.S., but fell short of qualifying. She's not giving up.

Comments from Political Science PhD candidate Noah Vanderhoeven were featured in a Global News story exploring a U.S. skeleton athlete’s claim that the Canadian team blocked her 6th Olympic bid. Read more: globalnews.ca/news/1163951...

R you a recent graduate with a passion for politics? Apply to this transformative internship inside Ontario's legislature.
👉🏽👉🏽 www.olipinterns.ca/apply-to-olip
@queenspols.bsky.social @westernupolisci.bsky.social
@jlisayoung.bsky.social @matthewlebo.bsky.social

Meet Professor Laura Stephenson in this week’s Wisdom Wednesdays: Humans of Social Science. From election research to critical citizenship, her story explores how understanding motivation helps us make sense of political life. 🔗 ssc.uwo.ca/humans_ssc/m...

International media outlets including The Straits Times (Singapore), The Print (India) and U.S. News & World Report highlighted a Reuters story quoting Political Science chair Prof. Laura Stephenson on U.S. reactions to PM Carney’s WEF speech. Read more: www.usnews.com/news/world/a...

Donald Trump’s turbulent day in Davos ends with hope of ‘forever’ deal on Greenland The U.S. president has said America must acquire the Danish island to protect against national and international security threats.

Political science professor Matt Lebo shared expert insight on Trump’s Davos address on 17 CBC Radio afternoon shows, including CBC Afternoon Drive (part 1 & part 2), and was quoted in the Toronto Star online & print A1. Read more: www.thestar.com/politics/fed...

How are global events shaping the way students learn about politics? CBC London highlights @WesternU Political Science classes where real-world issues bring theory to life. Prof Blair Welsh and students share insights from the classroom and beyond.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Political science professor Martin Horak joined CBC London Morning (part 1, part 2) to discuss why expanding rapid transit in London matters for growth, accessibility and the future of the city. Listen and learn more 👇
iqmediacorp.com/ExternalIfra...

Voted down when it was funded, city now seeks money for north-end transit upgrade | CBC News In a budget submission to the province, the City of London is reviving a version of a transit project it voted down back in 2019: A rapid transit line that will link downtown London with Western Unive...

City of London is pursuing provincial funding for a new bus rapid transit route into North London that would extend service to Western University, with insight from Professor Martin Horak on what this could mean for local commuters and growth. Read more: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

R you a recent graduate with a passion for politics? Apply to this transformative internship inside Ontario's legislature.
👉🏽👉🏽https://www.olipinterns.ca/apply-to-olip
⏰Deadline: January 31st!
@queenspols.bsky.social @westernupolisci.bsky.social
@jlisayoung.bsky.social @matthewlebo.bsky.social

Why U.S. Democrats are feeling good about 2026 | CBC News For much of the last two years, the U.S. Democratic Party has been on its back foot, enduring painful electoral defeats to an omnipresent Republican opponent while grappling with a troubling decline i...

Political Science professor Matt Lebo shares his insights on U.S. politics and Canada-U.S. relations. Featured by CBC News, CityNews Toronto, CTV, BNN Bloomberg & CP24. Stay informed with expert analysis: www.cbc.ca/news/world/d...

I know you all have your THOUGHTS on LLMs and their application in the social sciences... and I agree with all of them, but here is an extension of a method that uses in-context learning (ICL) to improve annotation of text using LLMs:

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The Body Politics Lab/Political Science Speaker Dr. Tobias Rohrbach (Assistant Prof, Dept of Communication & Media Research, Fribourg U, Switzerland) Wed., Jan 14 @ 2:30pm. This workshop is designed to be an overview of the different steps of conceptualizing, conducting, & reporting a meta-analysis.

It's officially out! City Politics in Canada, co-edited with @jacklucas.bsky.social and Martin Horak @westernupolisci.bsky.social is in print and available for course adoption. Thank you to all chapter authors for their contributions. bsky.app/profile/did:...