Archives - Centre for Governance and Public Management

Dr. Mehdi Sanaei Appointed as Senior Fellow

cathleenschmidt — Tue, 17 May 2022 00:36:25 +0000

Dr. Mehdi Sanaei is Senior Fellow of the Centre for Governance and Public Policy at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. He received his appointment to begin in May 2022 as a Senior Fellow with the Centre (2022-2025). Read more here.

Open Letter: An Action Brief for Canadian – Russian Bilateral Relations

cathleenschmidt — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 02:36:02 +0000

Read the open letter written by Gilles Breton (retired Foreign Service officer) and Piotr Dutkiewicz (Professor, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University) on Canadian-Russian bilateral relations here.

Report Analyses Phenomenon of the Putin Majority

cathleenschmidt — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 19:08:44 +0000

We are pleased to present a copy of the report, “The Putin majority on the eve of the next electoral cycle,” provided by our colleagues at the Civil Society Development Foundation. Click here to read the report.

Belarus Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs visits �Ӱ�ԭ��

cathleenschmidt — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 19:02:57 +0000

On Monday, February 13, 2017, Prof. Dutkiewicz introduced Mr. Oleg Kravchenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, who provided a public lecture to an audience of more than fifty people. Mr. Kravchenko spoke about the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Belarus and Canada in 2017 and discussed Belarus’ relations with its neighboring countries.

An interview with Mr. Kravchenko for the Russian language radio program, “From Russia with Love,” host Elena Kaliberda, CHIN Radio Ottawa, aired on February 19 and is available as a podcast (first 10 minutes, in Russian),

The public lecture was co-hosted by the Centre for Governance and Public Managment, the (EURUS), and the .

Photo (left to right): Mr. Oleg Kravchenko, Prof. Piotr Dutkiewicz. Photo credit: Aaron Taylor

Professor Piotr Dutkiewicz Publishes Research Paper on Syrian Civil War and Russian-Iranian Relations

mattbattencarew — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 16:45:47 +0000

EURUS Professor has co-published a paper with Dr. Nikolay Kozhanov entitled “Civil War in Syria and the Evolution of Russian – Iranian Relations”. The research paper can be found , and a summary is included below:

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad enter a hall during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, October 20, 2015. Assad made a surprise visit to Moscow on Tuesday evening to thank Putin for launching air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria. Picture taken October 20, 2015. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

Moscow’s involvement in the Syrian conflict had a direct impact on Russian relations with the Middle East. Specifically, it created a solid base for the development of Russian cooperation with Iran. Currently, Moscow and Tehran formed a marriage of convenience in Syria where each partner tries to reach its own goals through joint efforts. However this form of cooperation does not exclude the possibility of future rifts between the two countries.The current level of confrontation between Russia and the West—unprecedented since the end of the Cold War—has resulted in Russia’s pursuit of strengthened ties with many Middle Eastern countries. A series of “strategic” and “tactical” factors determined the escalation of Russia’s involvement in Syria from its role as a supplier of military hardware and political support, to its direct military intervention in the civil war and war against the ISIL. Amongst the strategic factors, the most important was the Russian elite’s intention to break the “strategic deadlock” that kept Russia subordinated to “western rules and domination” that were diminishing and constraining Moscow’s use of sovereign power domestically and internationally. A set of tactical factors includes a mix of geopolitical, military-industrial, economic and ideological drivers such as Russia’s belief in the necessity of avoiding the collapse of a friendly regime; the protection of Russia’s national security; the importance of preventing Muslim radicalism from destabilizing the region; challenging current regimes in the post-Soviet space and—to a certain extent-challenging the West.

Moscow’s engagement in Syria also added a new layer of contact, coordination and cooperation between Russia and Israel. This, in turn, resulted in the upgrade of Russian-Israeli ties to a “special relations” status. The harsh reaction from a large part of the Middle East to Russia’s military involvement in Syria compelled Moscow to intensify its attempts to bring some of the Arab countries onto the Russian side in order to dilute the emerging anti-Russian camp in the region. Subsequently, the Kremlin found support in Egypt. Cairo not only praised Moscow’s actions in Syria but also became actively involved in the process of the revitalization of the diplomatic track of the Syrian crisis settlement.

Moscow’s intensified involvement in the regional affairs can also have a direct influence on Russian relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. After a few years of minimal contact, a combination of power shifts, new security threats in the Middle East, and a shift in GCC foreign policies that became slightly less allied with the US, contributed to a recent boost in Russian–Saudi relations with repercussions for other GCC members

Prof. Piotr Dutkiewicz featured in Valdai Discussion Op-Ed

ottiliegrisdale — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 01:46:04 +0000

For a second time this month, CGPM Director Piotr Dutkiwiecz has been featured on the Valdai Discussion Website via his article, “Why EU’s New Russia Policy Sets Both on a Collision Course.” In his article, professor Dutkiewicz analyses the five-point set of guidelines released by the EU Foreign Affairs Council for EU-Russia relations. He argues that the new guidelines reveal a lack of meaningful ideas on how to approach relations with Russia. For example, professor Dutkiewicz argues that, in advising the EU to build relations with its Eastern Partners, the guidelines do not seem to account for the possibility that Russia will likely interpret such a move as an attempt by the EU to intervene in its influence over Central Asia.

Please click on the following if you would like to read the article in its entirety.

Prof. Dutkiewicz writes feature article for Valdai Discussion Club

ottiliegrisdale — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 17:36:59 +0000

For the 70th anniversary since the start of the Cold War, CGPM director Piotr Dutkiewicz has been featured on the Valdai Discussion Club website. In his article, “The Cold War That Isn’t,” professor Dutkiewicz argues that current relations with Russia do not constitute the development of a new Cold War. The article presents five main arguments including that the Cold War represented a systemic conflict, which is no longer a reality given that Russia has transitioned to a market economy. If you would like to read the full article on the Valdai Discussion Club website, please click .

Leslie Pal and CGPM helped organize and co-sponsor an authors’ workshop

ottiliegrisdale — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 21:06:49 +0000

Leslie Pal and CGPM helped organize and co-sponsor an authors’ workshop on February 22-23, 2016 at the University of Strasbourg for a forthcoming book. The event was held at the Maison Interuniversitaire des Sciences de l’Homme – Alsace. The book is a comparative analysis of policy transfer among nations and jurisdictions, with a special focus on micro-dynamics and their macro-effects. Authors from Europe, Brazil, Australia, and Turkey participated in the event. The various chapters examined different dimensions of governance and public management issues in the European Union, but with comparative examples drawn from Australia, South America, and Africa. The co-editors of the book are Leslie Pal, Magdaléna Hadjiisky (Université de Strasbourg), and Christopher Walker (University of New South Wales). The book will be published by Edward Elgar in 2017.

Prof. Dutkiewicz Featured in Toronto Star Article

ottiliegrisdale — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 16:08:59 +0000

On February 10, 2016, professor Piotr Dutkiewicz was featured in a Toronto Star article which addressed the recent NATO decision to bolster military defence in Eastern Europe in the hopes of deterring future aggression from Russia. Professor Dutkiewicz argues that such a move represents an escalation of conflict, and claims that additional military forces in the region will play in favour of domestic Russian propaganda: the latter has protested repeatedly against what it views as a NATO attempt to encircle Russia.

Please click if you wish to see professor Dutkiewicz’s full contribution to the article.

Leslie Pal keynote speaker at conference on peace education in Qatar

ottiliegrisdale — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 15:57:07 +0000

Dr. will be a keynote speaker in Doha, Qatar, at a conference on on February 8 and 9, 2016. The conference is hosted by Hamad bin Khalifa University and the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies. Scholars and practitioners from Europe and North America will be discussing peace education as a component of post-conflict reconstruction and peace-building efforts.