Comparing Canada

Methods and Perspectives on Canadian Politics

Edited by Luc Turgeon, Martin Papillon, Jennifer Wallner, and Stephen White
Categories: Political Science, Government & Elections, Canadian Political Science, Public & Social Policy
Publisher: UBC Press
Hardcover : 9780774827843, 356 pages, September 2014
Paperback : 9780774827850, 356 pages, February 2015
Ebook (PDF) : 9780774827867, 356 pages, September 2014

Table of contents

1 Introduction / Luc Turgeon

Part 1: The Politics of Diversity

2 Framing Self-Determination: The Politics of Indigenous Rights in Canada and the United States / Martin Papillon

3 The Management of Nationalism in Canada and Spain / André Lecours

4 The Comparative Study of Race: Census Politics in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain / Debra Thompson

Part 2: Political Mobilization

5 The Comparative Study of Canadian Voting Behaviour / Éric Bélanger and Laura B. Stephenson

6 Canadian Immigrant Electoral Support in Comparative Perspective / Stephen White and Antoine Bilodeau

7 Between Hope and Fear: Comparing the Emotional Landscapes of the Autism Movement in Canada and the United States / Michael Orsini and Sarah Marie Wiebe

Part 3: Political Institutions and Public Policy

8 Parliamentary Politics and Legislative Behaviour / Jean-François Godbout

9 Comparing Federations: Testing the Model of Market-Preserving Federalism on Canada, Australia, and the United States / Jennifer Wallner and Gerard W. Boychuk

10 Climate Compared: Sub-Federal Dominance on a Global Issue / David Houle, Erick Lachapelle, and Barry G. Rabe

11 Putting Canadian Social Policy in a Comparative Perspective / Rianne Mahon and Daniel Béland

12 Economic Development Policies in Ontario and Quebec: Thinking about Structures of Representation / Peter Graefe

13 Governing Immigrant Attraction and Retention in Halifax and Moncton: Do Linguistic Divisions Impede Cooperation? / Kristin R. Good

14 Conclusion / Martin Papillon, Luc Turgeon, Jennifer Wallner, and Stephen White

Index

Canadians love to compare Canada – what do political scientists learn when they do it?

Description

Debating how Canada compares – both regionally and in relation to other countries – is a national pastime. This book examines how political scientists use comparison as a tool to better understand Canadian political life. Using a variety of methods, the contributors explore topics as diverse as Indigenous rights, voting behaviour, and climate policy. While their theoretical perspectives and the kinds of questions they explore 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.

Reviews

This is a noteworthy edited collection which illustrates the benefits of comparative studies in political science in Canada. It will appeal more to specialist readers than general readers as some of the chapters are quite theoretical, but it is nevertheless highly recommended.

- Jatinder Mann, University of Alberta