Research & Impact

WATCH: Press Conference to Call for a National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking Benjamin Perrin, Past Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC (Video Link: https://vimeo.com/16850174) October 27, 2010 Member of Parliament Joy Smith and UBC Law Professor Benjamin Perrin are calling for the development of a comprehensive national action plan to combat human trafficking in Canada. […]

Review Conference of the International Criminal Court: A Brief Report on Outcomes Adam Bower, Liu Scholar, UBC July 12, 2010 As part of his doctoral dissertation research, Adam Bower recently attended (as an accredited observer), the first Review Conference of the International Criminal Court, held in Kampala, Uganda, between May 31 and June 11, 2010. […]

From obscurity to action: Why Canada must tackle the security dimensions of climate change Margaret Purdy, Leanne Smythe, Liu Scholars Alumni, UBC June 29, 2010 Source: International Journal Humanity is conducting an unintended, uncontrolled, globally pervasive experiment whose ultimate consequences could be second only to a global nuclear war. This was the consensus conclusion of the […]

Trafficking in Persons & Transit Countries: A Canada-U.S. Case Study in Global Perspective Benjamin Perrin, Past Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC June 7, 2010 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://riim.metropolis.net/assets/uploads/files/wp/2010/WP10-05.pdf Source: Metropolis British Columbia Liu Institute Faculty Fellow Benjamin Perrin has just completed a new study on trafficking in persons […]

Colombia: The Task of Reconstructing Historical Narratives when the Conflict is Ongoing During the ‘Week of Memory’, September 20th – 30th 2010, the Commission of Historical Memory (MH for its name in Spanish) presents four major reports on emblematic episodes of the war in Colombia. Professor Pilar Riaño-Alcalá was one of the researchers in the […]

Climate Change & Security Project: Research Guide Leanne Smythe, Liu Scholar Alumna, UBC March 18, 2010 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please click here.

Major powers must stand together on Iran David Santoro, Former Liu Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC February 19, 2010 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/major-powers-must-stand-together-on-iran-20100219-ol6f.html “It has never been clear whether Iran really wants nuclear weapons. But by yet again rejecting a UN proposal meant to end the […]

Speaking Notes — Climate Change-Security Workshop Margaret Purdy, Past Liu Visiting Fellow, UBC January 28, 2010 Speaking notes by Margaret Purdy at the Climate Change-Security Workshop in Ottawa on January 28, 2010. To download a copy of this publication, please click here.

“Her Name is Beatrice, My Name is Lara: Experiences in witnessing, internal displacement and conflict in Northern Uganda after 23 years of war” is a documentary project examining a documentary’s potentials and pitfalls in critical ‘witnessing,’ while exploring how voices from those living in the centre of conflict can challenge dominant media and humanitarian narratives. […]

Speaking at UBC’s Liu Institute on November 26, 2009, Miloon Kothari, a former UN Special Rapporteur, called for Canada to give greater legal recognition to housing rights and to undertake a national housing strategy. Mr. Kothari is the author of the 2007 UN Human Rights Council Report on Adequate Housing in Canada. Kothari explained that the […]

On September 14, 2009, the Africa Canada Accountability Coalition, a student led initiative at the Liu Institute for Global Issues, spoke before the Canada Senate Committee for Human Rights about why and how Canada should address mass rape in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo; regions where mineral exploitation fuels a conflict […]

Complex political perpetrators: reflections on Dominic Ongwen Erin Baines, Liu Faculty, UBC June 30, 2009 Source: J. of Modern African Studies, 47, 2 (2009), pp. 163–191. Please click here to read this journal article. ABSTRACT Dominic Ongwen is an indicted war criminal and former child soldier in one of the world’s most brutal rebel organisations, the Lord’s Resistance […]

Dealing with North Korea’s Tests Wade Huntley June 19, 2009 Source: Foreign Policy in Focus North Korea has conducted its second nuclear test. The big question now is whether the world’s response will recognize the unique features of this most recent intensification of the crisis, and so effectively answer Pyongyang’s latest challenge to global nuclear stability […]

Historians and Chinese World Order: Fairbank, Wang, and the Matter of ‘Indeterminate Relevance’ Paul Evans, Liu Faculty, UBC June 12, 2009 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://liu.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Historians-and-Chinese-World-Order.pdf It is a great honour and daunting prospect to take part in this special event celebrating the career of […]

Despite major costs to taxpayers in the U.S. and Canada, government programs that offer rebates to hybrid vehicle buyers are failing to produce environmental benefits, a UBC study says. The study finds that hybrid sales have come largely at the expense of small, relatively fuel-efficient, conventional cars, rather than large SUVs, trucks and vans, which […]

Arctic dwellers must be included in international talks: world Inuit group Michael Byers, Professor, UBC By Bob Weber April 28, 2009 Source: The Canadian Press Click here to read more. Although Inuit have observer status on the Arctic Council, they continue to be excluded from crucial meetings, said Michael Byers, a University of British Columbia law […]

Arctic sovereignty: Another threat runs silent and deep Michael Byers, Professor, UBC March 5, 2009 Source: The Globe and Mail, Thur 5 Jan 2009 Click here to read the full article written by Michael Byers on Globe and Mail.

The Promise of the Six-Party Process Wade Huntley February 10, 2009 Source: Foreign Policy in Focus Over the past two decades, engagement with North Korea by the United States and the rest of the world has waxed and waned. This vacillation is evident even in the past year. The Six-Party Talks process produced both optimistic progress […]

Testing Theories of Proliferation: The Case of Nuclear South Asia Karthika Sasikumar, Former Liu Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC January 1, 2009 This publication is not available for download. To purchase a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=17471 The edited volume “Inside Nuclear South Asia“, edited by Scott D. Sagan features this chapter by Karthika Sasikumar, Postdoctoral […]

Presentation Slides – Climate Change and Security: A Canadian Perspective Margaret Purdy, Past Liu Visiting Fellow, UBC October 24, 2008 This publication is available for download. To download a copy, please click here. Climate change–induced events and conditions will pummel Canada with a myriad of significant, unprecedented security challenges in the coming decades. Yet the words […]

At the Nuclear Precipice: Catastrophe or Transformation Wade Huntley Edited by David Krieger and Richard Falk October 14, 2008 Source: Nuclear Age Peace Foundation The book is edited by Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) President David Krieger and NAPF Board Chair Richard Falk. The contributing authors are leading scholars and activists in the nuclear disarmament movement, […]

Nuclear Fallout — Implication of the World’s Nuclear Deal With India Wade Huntley September 30, 2008 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.asiapacific.ca/canada-asia-agenda/nuclear-fallout-implication-worlds-nuclear-deal-india Source: Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada On September 6, 2008 the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) agreed to exempt India from its rules barring nuclear dealings […]

Clean Cooking Fuels and Technologies Workshop June 16-17, 2008 – Istanbul, Turkey Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC June 17, 2008 A pre-conference workshop was organized in conjunction with the 31st International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) international conference in Istanbul on the 16th and 17th of June, 2008. The main objectives of the workshop were […]

Integrating Health and Human Security into Foreign Policy: Cuba’s Surprising Success Jerry Spiegel, Liu Faculty, UBC Robert Huish June 1, 2008 Source: The International Journal of Cuban Studies, Volume 1, Issue 1, June 2008 This article provides a case study of how Cuba’s foreign policy initiatives in primary health-care provision has led to a practice that […]

From açaí to access: distributed electrification in rural Brazil Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC May 8, 2008 Source: International Journal of Energy Sector Management, Volume 2, Issue 1, Page 90-117 – 2008 Abstract Purpose – To rigorously examine success and failure in the use of small scale technologies for rural electrification. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured primary field interviews plus […]

Our Child Sex Offender Laws Should Cross Borders Benjamin Perrin, Past Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC April 11, 2008 Source: The Lawyers Weekly, April 11, 2008 Our Child Sex Offender Laws Should Cross Borders By Benjamin Perrin Canada has only convicted one person in the last decade under our extraterritorial child sex offender law. This stands in […]

Democracies Violating Commitments: US and the Usage of Nuclear Weapons against Non-Nuclear States Saira Khan March 26, 2008 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://liu.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Democracies-Violating-Commitments.pdf Governments accountable to people for their choices are generally more responsible compared to the dictatorial ones. Thus, democratic states are unlikely to […]

With or Without Peace: Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration in Northern Uganda Erin Baines, Liu Faculty, UBC February 28, 2008 Justice and Reconciliation Project Special Issue with Quaker Peace and Social Witness Field Notes, No. 6, February 2008 As parties to the historic peace process in Juba, South Sudan meet this week to discuss the final […]

The Right Way to End India’s ‘Nuclear Apartheid’ Wade Huntley December 20, 2007 Embassy, December 19th, 2007 OPED The Right Way to End India’s ‘Nuclear Apartheid’ By Wade L. Huntley Canada’s exemplary record as a steadfast advocate of global nuclear disarmament faces a moment of truth. A new deal to re-open global nuclear co-operation with […]

The Asia-Pacific Security Lexicon – Updated 2nd Edition Paul Evans, Liu Faculty, UBC David Capie November 20, 2007 The ending of the Cold War opened a new debate across the Pacific about the meaning of security and the new regional multilateral institutions that were beginning to emerge. The first edition of The Asia-Pacific Security Lexicon, published […]

Transfer of detainees is complicity in torture Michael Byers November 14, 2007 TheStar.com, November 14th, 2007 The world’s most respected human rights organization has just accused this country of complicity in torture. Canadians should hang their heads in shame. Yesterday, the London-based international secretariat of Amnesty International released a 38-page report into detainee transfers conducted […]

Canadian Policy on Nuclear Co-operation with India: Confronting New Dilemmas Karthika Sasikumar, Former Liu Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC Wade Huntley October 3, 2007 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.ligi.ubc.ca/sites/liu/files/Publications/2Oct2007_CPNCI.pdf In July 2005, the United States and India announced a bold agreement to restore nuclear co-operation. The deal was immediately controversial, engendering […]

Abomination: Local belief systems and international justice Erin Baines, Liu Faculty, UBC Justice and Reconciliation Project September 19, 2007 Over the course of two years of research in internally displaced persons camps in Acholi-land, JRP researchers have repeatedly come across the concept of kiir, or abomination: the local belief that certain transgressions of the moral order […]

Canada, by fate and geography, is destined to be an Arctic country Michael Byers, Professor, UBC August 20, 2007 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.thehilltimes.ca/policy_briefings/082007_pb.pdf For many people, looking at the Canadian Arctic from a foreign-policy perspective seems counterintuitive. Surely the main issues up north concern […]

Peace in northern Uganda, but whose justice? Erin Baines (Liu Faculty, UBC) & Adrian Bradbury August 2, 2007 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?page=imprimable&id_article=23087 August 1, 2007 — We have just passed the one-year anniversary of the ongoing peace talks between the government of Uganda and […]

Intent for a Nation Michael Byers, Professor, UBC July 11, 2007 Intent for a Nation A compelling call to arms to reinvigorate our vision of Canada’s place in the world, from one of the best of our new generation of public intellectuals. Why do Canadians think so small? “We’re a serious country. But our clout—we […]

U.S. Policy toward North Korea in Strategic Context: Tempting Goliath’s Fate Wade Huntley June 30, 2007 This publication is not available for download. To purchase a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4497262 Source: Asian Survey, Vol. 47, Issue 3, pp. 455–480 The collapse of the US-North Korea Agreed Framework in 2002 not only initiated a new […]

Notes and Comments: Policing the High Seas: The Proliferation Security Initiative Michael Byers, Professor, UBC June 5, 2007 Michael Byers analyzes the proliferation security initiative, announced in May 2003. In December 2002, Spanish marines, acting on request from the United States, boarded the So San, a North Korean freighter crossing the Arabian Sea. To read the […]

A study by researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) finds that Canada has fallen behind Australia and the United States in cracking down on its travelling child sex offenders, and calls on the RCMP to pro-actively enforce Canada’s so-called “child sex tourism” laws. The study is particularly timely with the recent extradition of […]

Northern Uganda: Challenges in the Pursuit of Transitional Justice Michael Otim April 18, 2007 This paper was presented at a conference entitled Transitional Justice and Peace Negotiations, held in Oslo from the 16 to the 18 of April, 2007. The conference was hosted by the Government of Norway and the International Center for Transitional Justice. Please click here to […]

Social and environmental determinants of Aedes aegypti infestation in Central Havana: results of a case–control study nested in an integrated dengue surveillance programme in Cuba Pagliccia N, Ibarra AM, Bonet M, Jerry Spiegel (Liu Faculty, UBC), Ouellette V, Yassi April 1, 2007 Social and environmental determinants of Aedes aegypti infestation in Central Havana: results of […]

Raising the Risks of War: Defence Spending Trends and Competitive Arms Processes in East Asia Brian Job (Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC) & Robert Hartfiel March 1, 2007 After a temporary downturn in many Asian states after the 1997 Economic Crisis defence expenditures are rising again. Although most states put internal and transborder security issues at […]

Securing transparency: Armed conflicts and the management of natural resource revenues Philippe Le Billon, Liu Faculty, UBC January 1, 2007 Le Billon, P. (2007) “Securing transparency: Armed conflicts and the management of natural resource revenues”, International Journal. Winter 2006/7: 93-107. You may view the full publication here.

Human Security Brief 2006 Human Security Centre December 20, 2006 The Human Security Brief 2006 updates the 2005 Human Security Report‘s conflict trend data and analyzes the findings of two recently released datasets that track trends in war terminations and organized violence against civilians. The new data indicate that the post-Cold War decline in armed conflicts and related […]

Nuclear North Korea: Old Worries, New Challenges Wade Huntley November 14, 2006 Dr. Wade Huntley, Director of the Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research, was invited by the Science and Technology Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to speak on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Dr. Huntley presented a talk entitled Nuclear North Korea: Old Worries, New Challenges in […]

Young Mothers, Marriage and Reintegration in northern Uganda: Considerations for the Juba Peace Talks Erin Baines, Liu Faculty, UBC Justice and Reconciliation Project October 23, 2006 The Justice and Reconciliation Project is pleased to announce a new report, Young Mothers, Marriage and Reintegration in northern Uganda: Considerations for the Juba Peace Talks. This issue of Field […]

A World of Risk: The Current Environment for US Nuclear Weapons Policy Karthika Sasikumar, Former Liu Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC October 1, 2006 This publication is not available for download. To purchase a copy of this publication, please visit: http://cisac.stanford.edu/publications/us_nuclear_weapons_policy_confronting_todays_threats/ The edited volume “U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy: Confronting Today’s Threats“, edited by George Bunn and Christopher F. […]

Fatal Transactions: conflict diamonds and the (anti)terrorist consumer Philippe Le Billon, Liu Faculty, UBC September 1, 2006 Le Billon, P. (2006) “Fatal Transactions: conflict diamonds and the (anti)terrorist consumer”, Antipode 38(4): 778-801. You may view the full publication here.

War Affected Children & Youth in Northern Uganda: Toward a Brighter Future an Assessment Report Eric Stover, Erin Baines (Liu Faculty, UBC), Marieke Wierda May 29, 2006 Commissioned by the MacArthur Foundation & the Government of Canada As Uganda enters the 20th year of a bloody and intractable civil war in its northern region, the […]

Canada, Meet Global China Paul Evans, Liu Faculty, UBC March 31, 2006 Atlases in any Canadian home invariably display a vast expanse of blue separating the land masses of Asia and North America. The two continents comfortably occupy different pages, usually in separate sections. We need a new kind of map. Globalization has increased Canada’s […]