Political Science - Western University

We have a winner! 🎉 Big congratulations to Farah Rana, winner of our logo design contest! Stay tuned 👀 new PS merch featuring the design is coming soon! 👕✨

LLMs as annotators: the effect of party cues on labelling decisions by large language models Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - LLMs as annotators: the effect of party cues on labelling decisions by large language models

Just *published* our paper with @westernupolisci.bsky.social PhD student, Hunter Driggers, on LLM bias from party cues in annotation tasks. We extend a previous study showing annotation bias from human coders in the presence of party cues… LLM show similar bias 🧵:

rdcu.be/eIKCj

In 2024, we surveyed US scholars about how, when, why they do (or don’t!) personally participate. We find a few patterns, some differences by subfield and variation in our attitudes toward the place of personal politics in our work, especially the impacts on our credibility with the public.

DeepDive: Decoding Canada’s Conservative coalition What’s binding it together—and what will it take for it to succeed?

A new deep dive in The Hub by Political Science PhD candidate Sam Routley unpacks the complexities of Canadian conservatism—its roots, tensions, and evolving coalition. A must-read for anyone interested in the country’s political landscape.
🔗 thehub.ca/2025/09/27/d...
@westernupolisci.bsky.social

Mayor Andrea Horwath steps down from police board citing ‘scheduling conflicts’ Municipal governance experts are split on the impact of the mayor’s decision.

Political science professor emeritus Andrew Sancton was quoted in The Spec on Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath’s decision to step down from the city’s police services board, citing scheduling conflicts. Read the full story here: www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...
@westernupolisci.bsky.social

Text displaying Max Bell Foundation Youth Civic Engagement Report

🗳️ Supported by Max Bell Foundation, CDEM @westernu.ca to explore YCE in Canada. Profs @laurastephenson.bsky.social & Chris Alcantara collaborating w/ students, to help build a more inclusive, participatory civic environment for young Cdns
📄 Full report/summary: www.maxbell.org/about-us/res...

Leaders of Canada and Mexico Talk Trade and Security Without U.S.

The New York Times
What to know about the North American summit taking place without the U.S.
As leaders of Canada and Mexico met this week to discuss trade, Professor @svallejovera.bsky.social Vallejo Vera explains what the meeting aims to accomplish.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/w...

London’s $94,000 question: Do city councillors need a 33% pay raise next term? A task force recommends London city councillors receive a 33 per cent pay raise (to $94,222/year) next term to compensate for rising workloads, but admits there’s no requirement that they work full-ti...

An independent task force is weighing whether London city councillors deserve a 33% pay raise next term. CTV London notes the group includes Political Science Prof Martin Horak, associate director of Western’s Local Government Program. Read more here: www.ctvnews.ca/london/artic...

📔The latest edition of The Social Contract copy is now available! The Social Contract is Western's undergraduate Political Science journal that is published annually and contains undergraduate student essays on a wide range of issues. politicalscience.uwo.ca/undergraduat...

Measuring Transgender and Nonbinary Identities in Online Surveys: Evidence from Two National Election Studies Measuring Transgender and Nonbinary Identities in Online Surveys: Evidence from Two National Election Studies By Quinn M. Albaugh, Queen’s University, Allison Harell, Université du Québec à Montréal, Peter John Loewen, Cornell University, Daniel Rubenson, University of Toronto, and Laura B. Stephenson, University of Western Ontario Survey researchers increasingly recognize the need to update their gender questions to recognize the existence of transgender and nonbinary people…

Measuring Transgender and Nonbinary Identities in Online Surveys: Evidence from Two National Election Studies

Measuring Transgender and Nonbinary Identities in Online Surveys: Evidence from Two National Election Studies By Quinn M. Albaugh, Queen’s University, Allison Harell, Université du Québec…

New on the blog! Political scientists @pauldjupe.bsky.social @amandafriesen.bsky.social @aesokhey.bsky.social and Jacob R. Neiheisel do some debunking: "Attending Church Encourages Acceptance of Atheists? No, It's a Suppression Effect" contexts.org/blog/atheist... #polisci #religion #sociology

Political science student finds path at Western - Western News Political science student Shelly Eh found her path at Western, where she learned about a wide variety of career and volunteer opportunities.

“There isn’t just one right path after graduation.” Shelly Eh, a political science student with a minor in refugee and migrant studies, said her experiences at #WesternU have opened her eyes to the wide range of career possibilities.

Calling All Creatives Logo Design Contest, Western Political Science, Don't Miss Out! Deadline September 30

🎨LOGO DESIGN CONTEST🎨
Western Political Science is getting a fresh look designed by 🫵

👕 Winner gets their design on official dept swag (& a custom T-shirt)!

📅 Deadline: Sept 30, 2025
📧 Send entries to: polisci-web@uwo.ca

Leave your mark. Shape our brand.

#WesternU #LogoDesign #PoliticalScience

Western Law helps self-represented people in family court - Western News Community Legal Services expands reach, impact through Court Assistance Program for self-represented people

#WesternU's new Court Assistance Program is giving law students hands-on experience while helping self-represented people in #LdnOnt better navigate the family court system.

Roger Keil @rkeil.bsky.social and I are proud to announce the release of an @urbanaffairsreview.bsky.social collection celebrating the life and work of the late political theorist and scholar of cities Warren Magnusson, who passed away earlier this year. www.urbanaffairsreview.com/walter-magnu...

What did Trump accomplish in his summit with Putin? | Hanomansing Tonight U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded their summit in Alaska without a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Trump said there would be 'no deal until there is a deal.'

My comments on CBC www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

Don’t miss the spotlight on Professor @amandafriesen.bsky.social's "300 Words on Political Stress" >> magazine.westernu.ca/political-st... <<

What Texas redistricting fight means as FBI joins hunt for absent Democrats - National | Globalnews.ca A battle over future control of the U.S. House of Representatives has spilled out of Texas into the rest of the country, with experts warning of a 'slippery slope.'

What Texas redistricting fight means as FBI joins hunt for absent Democrats

@globalnews.ca included expert insight from Prof @matthewlebo.bsky.social in an explainer article about why Republican lawmakers in Texas are pushing to redraw the state’s congressional maps.
globalnews.ca/news/1132228...

JOB ADVERTISEMENT-POSSIBILITÉ D’EMPLOI
#CPSA_ACSPJobs
🔴Assist Prof T🛤️International Politics
⏰Sept 30 2025
👉 conta.cc/3ITElIW
@raulpachecovega.bsky.social
#polisci
@csnrec.bsky.social
#cdnpoli
#PoliSciTwitter
@jonathanmalloy.bsky.social
@emmettmacfarlane.com

JOB ADVERTISEMENT-POSSIBILITÉ D’EMPLOI
#CPSA_ACSPJobs
🔴Assist Prof T🛤️Canadian or Comparative Politics
⏰Sept 30 2025
👉 conta.cc/4lZ635U
@raulpachecovega.bsky.social
#polisci
@csnrec.bsky.social
#cdnpoli
#PoliSciTwitter
@jonathanmalloy.bsky.social
@emmettmacfarlane.com

Should Canada follow the U.K.'s move to lower the voting age to 16? #WesternU professor Laura Stephenson joined several CBC radio shows, including CBC London Morning, to discuss the potential implications for voter engagement and election outcomes.

News Current news and announcements from the Department of Political Science at Western University.

We are very excited to have the brilliant @blairwelsh.bsky.social joining the Dept of Political Science @westernu.ca! Look for big things and important work in empirical IR; great for us and great for Canada!

politicalscience.uwo.ca/about_us/new...

Faculty (UWOFA) Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.

Political Science at Western University, Canada is searching for three tenure track assistant professors. There are two ads, one in International Politics (IR or comparative) and one in Comparative or Canadian. Ads are here: www.uwo.ca/facultyrelat...