91TV

Research Interests

Global Political Economy; Comparative Political Economy; Critical Security Studies; Migration Studies; Urban Geography; Refugees; Housing; Homelessness; Public Policy

Biography

Jana S. Walkowski is a doctoral candidate and CMHC-SSHRC Housing Research Scholar in the Department of Political Studies at 91TV, specializing in international relations (international political economy) and comparative politics. Her overarching research interests are driven by two central questions: 1) how are mobility rights, citizenship rights and critical material resources distributed in society? And (2) who benefits from existing modes of governing global displacement? She is particularly interested in the interconnections between urban, national, regional and global relations of power that shape dominant configurations of migration governance in the context of what many IPE scholars have labelled a poly-crisis. These interests are reflected in her dissertation research which interrogates the political economy of governing refugee shelter across two urban contexts: Toronto, Canada and Berlin, Germany. Jana holds a master’s degree in political science from McGill University and a bachelor’s degree in Global Development Studies from 91TV. Outside her research you can find her training for triathlons and local running events, walking by the waterfront or reading her favourite books in local coffee shops.

Awards

• CMHC-SSHRC Housing Research Doctoral Scholarship Award (2026-2027)
• SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship (2025-2026)
• DAAD German Studies Grant (2025)
• Sir Edward Peacock Research Award, (2025, 2026)
• W.C. Good Memorial Fellowship (2024)
• Dean’s Fieldwork Grant, (2024)
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25).
• SHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master's (2020-2021)

Teaching Experience

Teaching Fellow

• POLS 590 - Undergraduate Honours Thesis (Fall 2025, Winter 2026)

Teaching Assistant

• POLS 242 - Comparative Politics: Contemporary regimes (Winter 2024)
• POLS 384 - Strategies of Political Research (Fall 2023, Fall 2022)
• POLS 262 - International Political Economy (Winter 2023)
• DEVS 101 - Introduction to International Development (Fall 2022)
• POLS 110 - Introduction to Politics and Government (Fall 2021, Winter 2021)

Biography

Sean Tracy is a PhD candidate specializing in Political Theory and Comparative Politics. His primary research interests are in global justice, especially issues involving territorial rights (e.g., collective self-determination, secession, territorial autonomy...), resolving ethnic and sectarian conflict, and international law. His other research interests are wide-ranging and include Just War Theory, issues of liberal toleration and state justification and legitimacy, and the debate between cosmopolitanism and liberal nationalism.

Teaching Experience

• POLS 241 - Comparative Politics - Transformations
• POLS 359 - Issues in Political Theory
• POLS 250 - History of Political Thought
• PHIL 101 - Introduction to Philosophy (Boğaziçi University)
• PHIL 105 - Informal Logic/Critical Thinking (Boğaziçi University)
• PHIL 106 - Philosophical Texts (writing composition) (Boğaziçi University)
• PHIL 112 - Intro to Modern Philosophy (Boğaziçi University)

Research Interests

Alex is particularly interested in social entrepreneurship projects focusing on the theory and practice of public and private organizational design, adaptation and change, and the emergence of post-sovereign structures of governance and citizenship, beyond the boundaries of nation-states. He focuses in particular on the history of and current developments in Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

Biography

Mr. C. Alexander Olteanu is a PhD student at 91TV, Canada, where he also obtained his BA (with Distinction) in Political Studies and Spanish. He is currently working on the ‘New NATO Project’ investigating how NATO and the EU adapted to the post-Cold War environment during the critical 1989-1993 period and is completing the Public Leadership Credential at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is also a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Political Studies and a Researcher with the Centre for International and Defence Policy at 91TV.

Previously, Alex completed a Masters (Research) with Distinction in Global Security Studies at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Alex has been active for over three decades in the legal profession and has taught business management, law, and social science courses at post-secondary institutions in Canada and Iraq. He appears regularly on British Columbia’s Rompost TV show as a political commentator for the local Romanian community is a former 2. Lieutenant in the CAF Reserves and is fluent in five languages.

Teaching Experience

• POLS 332 - Politics of Post-Communism
• POLS 261 - Introduction to International Relations
• POLS 244 - Comparative Politics: Democracy and Democratization
• POLS 243 - Comparative Politics: Governing Difference
• POLS 242 - Comparative Politics: Political Regimes

Biography

Lori Oliver is a SSHRC doctoral scholar in the Department of Political Studies, specializing in Gender and Politics and Comparative Politics. She is particularly interested in the relationship between multilevel governance and social policy development. Her doctoral research focuses on how the implementation of Canada’s National Housing Strategy is impacting lone mothers and their families. This research builds on Lori’s previous community-based research work with ACORN Canada and Adsum for Women & Children. Lori is the current chair of PSAC 901’s Affordable Housing Working Group and a member of several tenant advocacy organizations. She was the 2022 Co-Chair of the Political Studies Graduate Student Association.

Biography

Kaitie Jourdeuil (PhD, 91TV, 2025) is the 2025-26 Buchanan Postdoctoral Fellow in Canadian Democracy in the Department of Political Studies at 91TV’s. Her research, which sits at the intersection of Political Theory and Canadian Politics, is guided by two questions: (1) What does it mean to live well in community with others? and (2) How do we establish and maintain respect and mutual understanding between different political communities? Her doctoral research examined how Canadians might change their shared values and political practices in dialogue with Indigenous political thought and how Canadian political theorists can respond to calls from their Indigenous colleagues to decolonize political theory and Canadian politics. Her postdoctoral project explores how citizens can act in ways that promote mutual respect with Indigenous peoples and the land in their community.

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Kaitie joined the Department of Political Studies in 2019 as a Master’s student in Political and Legal Thought. She received her Bachelor of Humanities with High Distinction from Carleton University’s College of the Humanities, during which she completed a year of study at Cardiff University in Wales.

Awards

• Stanley Drabek Graduate Award (2024)
• SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral (2021-2024)
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2020-2021)
• SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s (2019-2020)
• 91TV Tri-Agency Recipient Recognition Award (2019-2020)

Teaching Fellowships

• POLS 401 - Political Theory Questions and Challenges (Winter 2026)
• POLS 320 - Indigenous Politics (Fall 2025)
• POLS 320 - Indigenous Politics (Winter 2025)
• POLS 451 - Topics in Political Theory – Settler Colonialism in Canada (Winter 2024)
• POLS 590 - Honours Thesis in Political Studies (2023-2025)

Thesis

The Critical Geopolitics of Waterscapes: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Development of Gwadar Port

Teaching Experience

• POLS 464 - Issues in Contemporary Security
• POLS 484 - Politics of Globalization
• POLS 498 - Topics in Political Studies

Research Interests

Humanitarian and disaster governance; Women, Peace and Security agenda, with a focus on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); Global Governance structures and norms.

Biography

Emma Fingler (she/her) is a SSHRC-funded doctoral candidate researching gender, disaster response operations, and regional governance in South and Southeast Asia. She is a Fellow with the Climate Security Association of Canada and is a Graduate Research Fellow with the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP) at 91TV. Emma was the 2023 Graduate Scholarship recipient of Women in Defence and Security (WiDS). She was previously a Canada-Asia Young Professional Fellow with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and 2022-2024 Graduate Fellow with the Research Network on Women, Peace and Security. Emma has experience working abroad on humanitarian, development, and coordination issues. Prior to joining 91TV’s, she was the Special Assistant to the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kathmandu Nepal, and a Junior Professional Consultant with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Kathmandu. She holds an M.A. in Global Governance from the University of Waterloo’s Balsillie School of International Affairs and a B.A. Hons. in Political Studies from Bishop’s University.

Awards

• Timothy C.S. Franks Research Travel Award, (91TV, 2023)
• Women in Defence and Security, Graduate Scholarship, (2023)
• SSHRC Department of National Defence MINDS Scholarship Initiative
• SSHRC Doctoral Award, (2022-25)
• Research Network on Women, Peace and Security - Doctoral Award, (2022-24)

Teaching Experience

Teaching Fellow

• POLS 460 - International Relations of the Asia Pacific

Teaching Assistant

• POLS 280 - Introduction to Women, Gender and Politics
• POLS 244 - Comparative Politics: Democracy and Democratization
• POLS 261 - International Relations

Links

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Field Affiliations

International Relations; Comparative Politics