GLOBAL DATASET: STFX POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR RELEASES PAPER ON NON-RESIDENT VOTING PRACTICES
September 7th, 2022
Dr. Nathan Allen
With some 300 million people today living outside their country of birth, and a world where emigrants are increasingly connected to their home countries, what does this mean for democratic citizenship?
That’s a complicated question StFX political science professor Dr. Nathan Allen has been tackling for the past five years, and a question he and co-authors Elizabeth Iams Wellman (Williams College) and Benjamin Nyblade (UCLA School of Law) examine. Their newly released global dataset on emigrant voting rights has just been published in Comparative Political Studies, a top political science journal.
The Extraterritorial Rights and Restrictions dataset (EVRR) is a global time-series dataset of non-resident citizen voting policies and procedures. No existing data source simultaneously captures the scale (195 countries), time frame (1950-2020), and level of detail concerning extraterritorial voting rights and restrictions. This includes over 20 variables covering such details as the option to vote by mail, eligibility restrictions on the number of years abroad, and the existence of designated seats for non-residents.
“We wanted to get a good sense of the evolution of these things. We are trying to track the voting rights, the laws and practices, and to do that it takes a lot of work,” says Dr. Allen, who notes the paper has already been well received since its release, including a short feature on the popular data analytics website FiveThirtyEight.
It’s an important issue, particularly due to the way people are living today. They are more mobile and more likely to stay connected to their home country after they move. Across the world, countries are trying to figure out how to respond to these new demands and capabilities, including looking to see what others are doing around the globe.
“We’ve been doing a scan of where things have been, where they’re going and where innovations are happening,” Dr. Allen says.
As countries include their emigrant population, he says there is a wide gap between what franchise means in principle and what occurs in practice.
OPPORTUNITY FOR STFX STUDENTS
With the help of funding from SSHRC, Dr. Allen has been able to involve 11 StFX students as research assistants. Many join the project early in their undergraduate years at StFX, gaining valuable experience that helps prepare them for law or grad school.
“It’s an opportunity for undergraduates to get involved in policy-relevant research,” says Dr. Allen. “The tasks they complete are relatively close to what they will do working as lawyers or in the public service.
“The students here are really good and their work on the project has been well done. StFX attracts very talented students.”
Dr. Allen says it feels great to have the dataset now out in the world.
“This is a dynamic project. We plan to keep it updated regularly. I hope to have students working on this project for years to come.”
Please note: 2022-23 Student Handbook, PSCI
NEW COURSE
Fault Lines in Israel Palestine*Fault lines in Israel/Palestine (PSCI 364) is an on-the-ground course in political science addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It will be conducted on-the-ground in Israel and the Palestinian Territories over a 10 day period at the end of the Winter Semester every second year. The course will be heavily subsidized, thanks to a grant from the Larry and Judy Tanenbaum Family Foundation. The course aims to foster understanding, empathy, and a nuanced analysis of Israeli and Palestinian politics and culture using a mixed-methods format (formal lectures and seminar discussions, guided tours of relevant sites, meetings with Israeli and Palestinian cultural figures, policy makers, activists, and academics, and informal encounters).
This course is a companion to PSCI 356 Understanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Students are strongly encouraged to take that course and must take 101 and 102 and six additional credits at the 200 level.
Sample itinerary (pdf)
The cost of the trip will be $500 and will include airfare, accommodations, most meals, ground, and insurance. Students will be expected to offset the costs of some meals. Scholarships are available to cover the costs of this program. For more information, please contact Prof. Jamie Levin at jlevin@stfx.ca
*Though we do not meet weekly during the winter semester, a placeholder date/time has been reserved in the academic calendar. If this conflicts with one of your other courses, you will not automatically be able to register for the course on Banner. In such a case, you will need to request an override from Marcy Baker at mbaker@stfx.ca.
The Memorial for Mr. MacEachen at St. F.X. can be watched on YouTube at Allan J. MacEachen a Celebration of life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a20tbGyzf-Q
The life and legacy of one of Canada’s most important and respected politicians, the Hon. Allan J. MacEachen, was honoured as hundreds—including Canadian Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau—filled StFX’s Keating Centre Sept. 17 for a celebration of life for a man regarded as a Canadian icon.
Mr. MacEachen, 96, a native of Inverness, Cape Breton, died Sept. 12, 2017. The longtime Nova Scotia MP, cabinet minister and senator was also Canada's first deputy prime minister. He was one of StFX’s most notable alumni.
Hugh and Celia Gillis Bursary
This award is available to students enrolled in a full-time undergraduate program at StFX, with preference for students majoring in Political Science. Applicants must have an entrance average of 75% and demonstrate financial need in their application. Preference will be given to students from Antigonish County. This bursary is renewable if the student reapplies and continues to meet the criteria in subsequent years of study, including maintaining an average of at least 75% in each year of study. Award Value: up to $2000. Applications will open mid-August and are available to students online at the Financial Aid Office.
