Research Axes
Governance and Democracy. Democratic governance is a key issue of our times. This research area includes democratic transitions; citizens' political participation; "shared governance;" the relationship between difference and equality; the recognition of the rights of minority peoples, such as (but not exclusively) those of indigenous peoples.Ethics and Governance. Ethical principles, shared norms, and ideas about rights and obligations play important roles in the governance of many diverse realms of interaction. It is important to understand and evaluate the complex ways these conceptual mechanisms explicitly and implicitly underlie, enable and resist contemporary modes of governance.
Global and North American Governance. Governance arrangements at the North American and global levels are evolving in a context of economic, technological and political changes. In order to better understand this trend, we study the groups that influence theses transformations, on the basis of the interests, norms and institutions that are present in the global arena.
Knowledge, Complexity and Governance. The issue of how systems of knowledge shape contemporary modes of governance defines a rich research domain.We may ask, on the one hand, whether some governance and knowledge sharing arrangements are more conducive to good governance than others; and, on the other hand, to what extent contemporary governance mechanisms and processes hinder our ability to deal with complex, knowledge specific social and policy challenges.