Roland Paris: 2020 Mark Zacher Distinguished Visitor



Roland Paris

Due to current conditions with the COVID-19 outbreak, we are postponing our Roland Paris: 2020 Mark Zacher Distinguished Visitor event on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 — we will reschedule this event for a date TBD. 

For information on how UBC continues to monitor the development of the situation, including resources, click here.  

UBC Political Science is thrilled to host Roland Paris as the 2020 Mark Zacher Distinguished Visitor.

Roland Paris brings his experience in international security, peacebuilding, and foreign policy to answer the question: how should Canada respond to its place on the international stage in a nastier world? This is a highlight event of our year that brings together our alumni, faculty, students and emeriti for a topic of wide interest from a prominent speaker, and that provides an opportunity for all members of our Political Science and International Relations community to connect and socialize.

6:00 p.m. – Program – Canada Alone? Surviving in a Nastier World
7:30 p.m. – Reception

Ponderosa Ballroom
6445 University Boulevard
Vancouver, BC

Abstract:

The world in 2020 is very different than it was when the Trudeau government came into power in 2015. America is a less reliable partner. Populist nationalism is roiled Europe. China is asserting itself as a major power. Digitized disruption has become commonplace. Institutions, alliances and rules that underpinned a largely open and relatively stable international order are degrading faster than many expected. What principles and priorities should guide Canada’s foreign policy in the face of these mounting challenges?

More about Roland Paris:

Roland Paris is Professor of International Affairs in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), and former Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada on global affairs and defence.

Roland Paris’ research on international security, peacebuilding, and foreign policy has appeared in leading academic outlets and earned several prizes, including the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. He sits on the editorial board of seven scholarly journals and has received four awards for teaching and three for public service.

Prof. Paris has taken several academic leaves to work in government. In addition to serving in the Prime Minister’s Office, he previously held positions in Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Privy Council (cabinet) Office, and Federal-Provincial Relations Office. He also been the founding Director of the Centre for International Policy Studies at the University of Ottawa, Director of Research at the Conference Board of Canada, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Visiting Researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, Visiting Fellow at the Institut d’études politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris, Global Ethics Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Geopolitics.

He was appointed in 2014 to a group of international experts advising the Secretary General of NATO, and currently serves on the Advisory Council to the Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. He also provides international-affairs analysis and commentary in national and international media.

Prof. Paris holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge, and a B.A. from the University of Toronto.

More about the Mark Zacher Distinguished Visitor Program: 

The Mark Zacher Distinguished Visitor Program was created by members of the Department of Political Science, with the support of Mark Zacher’s family and many of his former students, to honour his contribution to the teaching, understanding and scholarship of international affairs. Annually, we invite one prominent scholar, leader, or senior elected official who has made significant contributions to the field of international affairs to give a series of lectures, and to meet with students, faculty, and community members.