oxbridge canadian conference june 1st, 2013 canada house
TRANSCRIPT
Sponsorship
In addition to the participation by the Cambridge Canadian Club and Oxford CanSoc, this event was made possible by the financial support
of the following organizations:
The High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom
~
Fondation Baxter and Alma Ricard
Exploring the Post-secondary Aspirations of Aboriginal Students with Exceptionalities
Carly Beth Christensen ([email protected])Dept. of Education, University of Cambridge
Aboriginal special education is often discussed with respect to budget, which commonly leaves the cultural relevance of special education
practices unexplored. Special education programming strives to assist students in transitioning to adult life. However, views concerning
exceptionalities and a meaningful adult life are culturally based and highly individualized. This multiple case study examined the post-secondary
aspirations of three self-identified Aboriginal students with exceptionalities living in north-western Ontario. The students' contexts included: a student
who attended a First Nations community-controlled secondary school; a student who was funded to leave his First Nations community to attend a
provincial secondary school; and a student who attended a provincial secondary school in an urban community. Qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews with three individual students followed by interviews with the individual students' legal guardians, and special education teachers; as well as school documents, classroom discussions, relevant literature and the researcher's journal. This study used thematic
coding to examine what the students perceived would help or hinder them in reaching their post-secondary aspirations. Some of the initial findings include the themes of family relationships, exposure to careers, identity
construction, remoteness, addiction, connection to physical land, and balancing community obligations. Aboriginal perceptions of
exceptionality and adult status were conceptualised using the Seven Grandfather/Seven Sacred teachings. The data shows synergy with
Amartya Sen's capability approach, which stressed the importance of assessing equality based on the capability an individual has to pursue their version of the well being. Arjun Appadurai's explanation of aspirations as rooted in cultural norms and expectations was also applied to this study.
21
Teaching Leadership Effectively to Professionals in Different Contexts
Name: Jaason Geerts ([email protected])Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge
President, Cambridge University Leadership Development; President, Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club
The age-old question of whether leadership can be taught is nuanced by the reality that it manifestly is being taught in military academies, corporations, consultancies, and universities around the world.
Furthermore, the amount of time and money being invested into leadership education and development is increasing every year and expanding to
previously unexplored domains, such as medicine. This reflects the widespread belief that leadership can indeed be taught, and particularly,
learned. In spite of its surging popularity, there are significant gaps in research in terms of how to teach leadership effectively and the relationship between leadership development and performance outcomes. Such factors
as “what” (programme goals and content), “how” (structure and pedagogical methods), “who” (in terms of participants and facilitators), and
“how will one measure effectiveness” (primarily by outcomes and secondarily by perceptions) have not been adequately investigated in
connection to each other. There is also a paucity of research comparing leadership development in different professional domains to ascertain the extent to which it is universal versus domain-specific. This paper reports
My PhD research, building on previous work, investigatinges how leadership can be taught effectively by focusing on development
programmes for military officers, business executives, doctors, and professional athletes. This follows an identical study done at the University of Toronto and an MPhil dissertation on a comprehensive, university-based
programme in the UK for senior business executives from 12 different countries. Here I present preliminary findings of eEffectiveness based on
will be approached through performance data collected by participants and their organisations and onthrough the perceptions of those involved in
teaching and undertaking the programmes.
Welcome
A warm and earnest welcome to the inaugural Oxbridge Canadian Conference. With submissions from the social sciences, sciences, and
humanities, we hope to exhibit today the depth and diversity of Canadian academics studying at both Cambridge and Oxford. As an academic and
networking platform for Canadian students, we are confident that this event can become an annual fixture in the calendars of Canadian students
and those studying Canada, creating a new and lasting tradition that exemplifies Canada's consistent contribution to academic scholarship.
Furthermore, we want to highlight the role that Canadians are playing on the world stage and, indeed, here in the United Kingdom. Our keynote
speaker, Mr Robert C. Hain, embodies this aspiration fully. An alumnus of the University of Toronto and the University of Oxford, he personifies the
deep links between Canadians and the United Kingdom, as well as the educational and career opportunities available to Canadians in an
increasingly competitive and borderless global and intellectual economy.
We sincerely hope that you find today's events and talks not only intellectually stimulating, but also proof of the quality of Canadian ideas
and Canada's importance to global thinking. Thank you.
The Oxbridge Canadian Conference Organizing Committee 2013
Andrew Deonarine and Justin Fantauzzo Conference Founders (Cambridge Canadian Club)
Annalijn Conklin (Cambridge Canadian Club)Kateryna Pakhomova (CanSoc Oxford)
David Kent (Cambridge Canadian Club)
120
Dog-training Programs in Prison: Effects and Implications for the Correctional Service of Canada
Barbara J. Cooke ([email protected])Girton College, University of Cambridge
To date, dog-training programs have been implemented in over 150 U.S. states and two Canadian prisons. These programs use inmates to train dogs
to work as either service animals or to increase their chances of being adopted. Anecdotally, they appear to improve both institutional and
personal factors (e.g., staff/inmate rapport, self-control) as well as recidivism rates. Two program evaluations of Canadian dog-training programs have been conducted—Lai (1998) and Richardson-Taylor & Blanchette (2001)—but relatively little research has been conducted on
these programs despite their widespread use. This paper will outline the findings of the Canadian evaluations and discuss the current findings of an
on-going evaluation of five programs in two U.S. states. The policy and prison programming implications of these findings for both the U.S.
Department of Corrections and the Correctional Service of Canada will also be addressed.
Programme9:45 AM: Organizing Committee Opening Statements
11:15 AM: Break
13:00 PM: Lunch
10:00 AM: Infection (Aaron Lim) ........................................................................................10:15 AM: Genomic Analysis of Novel Strains of Swine Influenza in Europe (Pinky Langat) .....................................................................................10:30 AM: Gene Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis: Going Viral (Jean-Francois Gelinas) ...............................................................................................................10:45 AM: Measuring Up in Timber: High-Rise Wood Buildings in Europe and Canada (Patrick Fleming) ...........................................................11:00 AM: Geoengineering: Technical challenges and the SPICE project (Hilary Costello) ................................................................................................
11:45 AM: Statistical Forensic Fingerprint Identification (Peter Forbes) ...12:00 PM: Greenland, Natural Resources, and Canada’s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council (Dawn Berry) ......................................................................12:15 PM: Bounding Nature: Canadian and Russian Arctic National Parks and Sovereignty (Mia Bennett) ..............................................................12:30 PM: Economic distributive justice, Canada, and the 21st century (Catherine French)...............................................................................................12:45 PM: By Luck and Design (Ellen Quigley) .............................................
14:00 PM: Give, Give, Give: charitable fundraising in the age of uncertainty and austerity (Rosalind Franklin) ...............................................14:15 PM: From Law to Kapp: the Canadian contribution to the debate on human dignity as the basis for human rights (Philippe-André Rodriguez) ...........................................................................................................14:30 PM: Financial Market Power as Cause of and Antidote for Regulatory Failure (Rasheed Saleuddin) ......................................................
Virus Versus Host: A New Perspective to Modelling HTLV-I
192
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
1213
14
15
16
Combating Human African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping Sickness): Investigating the Uptake of Nutrients and Blood Proteins by the Parasite,
Trypanosoma brucei, from the Bloodstream of Humans and Animals
Olivia Macleod ([email protected])Magdalene College, University of Cambridge
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) or sleeping sickness. Approximately 300,000 new HAT cases and 52,000 deaths occur annually.
The parasite Trypanosoma brucei causes both sleeping sickness and livestock diseases that greatly reduce agricultural productivity. Sleeping
sickness is one of thirteen neglected tropical diseases, affecting the world's poorest populations. Canada's Toronto Star recently reported that
Canadian universities fall behind in prioritizing such diseases. The parasite is transmitted to the bloodstream by the tsetse fly and avoids immune
detection by constantly changing its surface coat. It is thought to survive usingsurface receptors that take nutrients from the bloodstream, however, only two of several possible receptors have been identified. Thus there is great need to further investigate how the parasite survives in mammals. This paper reports PhD work characterising the function and structure of 14 potential surface receptors. In doing so, this work will allow design of
better drugs against this devastating disease. Current treatments are difficult to administer and toxic. This project expects to directly benefit
people affected by T. brucei.
14:45 PM: Technology, Economics and Nationalism in Canada: the Transnational Market of Assistive Reproductive Technologies (Kathleen Hammond) .........................................................................................................15:00 PM: Combating Human African Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping Sickness) (Olivia Macleod) ...............................................................................15:15 PM: Dog-training programs in prison: Effects and implications for the Correctional Service of Canada (Barbara Cooke) ...................................
16:30 PM: Teaching leadership effectively to professionals in different contexts (Jaason Geerts) ....................................................................................16:45 PM: Exploring the Post-secondary Aspirations of Aboriginal Students with Exceptionalities (Carly Beth Christensen) ............................
15:30 PM: Break
15:45 PM: Address by the High Commissioner Gordon Campbell
16:00 PM: Keynote Address: Canada and the Meaning of Everywhere (Rob C Hain, Chair of the Foundation for Canadian Studies, and Chairman, City Financial Investment Co. Ltd)
17:00 PM: Organizing Committee Closing Statements
318
20
21
17
18
19
Virus Versus Host: A New Perspective to Modelling HTLV-I Infection
Aaron Lim ([email protected])Wolfson College, Oxford University
The persistent retrovirus human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infects an estimated 10-25 million individuals world-wide and is
characterised by life-long infection and risk of developing one of two major, clinically independent diseases: an aggressive blood cancer, adult T-
cell leukaemia (ATL), and a progressive neurological and inflammatory condition, HAM/TSP. Infected individuals typically mount a large,
chronically activated cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response against HTLV-I-infected cells, but ultimately fail to effectively eliminate the virus.
Moreover, the exact mechanisms of pathogenesis remain elusive and a precise determinant of disease outcome has not yet been identified.
A key issue in current HTLV-I research is to better understand the
dynamic interactions between persistent infection by HTLV-I and virus-specific host immunity. One important feature of HTLV-I that has not been considered in within-host mathematical models of HTLV-I infection is the simultaneous expression of multiple, antigenically variable, viral proteins
in the pool of infected target cells.
In light of this observation, we develop a mathematical model for the within-host infection dynamics of HTLV-I that captures the inherent
heterogeneity and diversity in provirus-positive cells and host immune responses, thereby allowing us to explore the connections between
abundance and structure in both the virus and CTL populations. The consideration of antigenic variation at multiple viral epitopes prompts the
usage of a multi-locus modelling framework representing the complex host-virus interactions that define HTLV-I infection in vivo. Results from
our model offer insights to the evolution of strain structure and its significance to the diagnosis and treatment of HTLV-I-associated disease.
Technology, Economics and Nationalism in Canada: the Transnational Market of Assistive Reproductive Technologies
Kathleen Hammond ([email protected])University of Cambridge
Over the past 30 years, there has been rapid evolution and growing demand for assistive reproductive technologies (ARTs): technologies that
assist in achieving and monitoring a pregnancy. The ART market is a unique one – fuelled by parents willing to go to great lengths to conceive.
The demand is high and desire deep. ARTs have led to medical service markets, and markets for eggs, sperm and surrogacy. The Canada ART
Register (2003, 2006 and 2007) demonstrates increased use of the technologies, and the opening of more ART centres. However, supply and
demand for gamete donors and surrogates is in disequilibrium, with donors and surrogates in scarce demand in Canada. As a result, Canadians
are contributing to the transnational market of assisted reproduction: traveling south of the border, or elsewhere, to seek donors and surrogates, and simultaneously receiving ART medical services outside of the country. In my presentation, I will address the factors behind this disequilibrium, as well as the impacts of this transnational market for (1) Canadians utilizing these technologies, (2) the Canadian economy, and finally, (3) for Canadian
nationalism.
174
Financial Market Power as Cause of and Antidote for Regulatory Failure
Rasheed Saleuddin ([email protected])Darwin College, University of Cambridge
My paper describes the regulatory regime in Canada for retail structured financial products. Specifically it addresses the possible causes of the regime's failure to avoid significant financial product 'accidents', with
sometimes catastrophic results, during the latest financial crisis of 2007-2009, and considers the observed lack of post-crisis regulatory change.
Primary research, conducted via interviews with senior decision-makers at many of the largest financial institutions as well as industry experts and civil society organizations, offers a unique perspective on the regulatory
regime's context and content. I found, firstly, evidence of continuing government failure, likely due to client politics. The second finding, and key contribution of this paper particularly to the self-regulation literature, is the identification of instances where financial firms, likely due to market
pressures to maintain reputation and 'licenses to operate', are going 'beyond compliance' with the formal regime. Finally, this paper reports
failures of reputational risk management to prevent product failures which likely resulted from misaligned incentives combined with a lack of full
understanding of the risks on the front lines. All on-the-ground managers interviewed would welcome more state intervention in their space, even as
upper management lobbies against tougher regulation. This paper concludes that better information from learning and deliberation combined
withincentives to match customers with suitable products would make firms and individuals with the best reputations more of a mitigant to
government failure and less of a cause of regulatory failure.
Genomic Analysis of Novel Strains of Swine Influenza in Europe
Pinky Langat ([email protected])Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
As demonstrated by the recent swine-origin H1N1/2009 pandemic, pigs may play an important role in the pathogenicity and epidemiology of
influenza A viruses. They can act as a ‘mixing vessel’ for the reassortment of genetically diverse avian, swine, and human influenza viruses to
generate new, pathogenic strains potentially adapted for cross-species transmission. The European Surveillance Network for Influenza in Pigs 3
(ESNIP3) project aims to gain insights into the epidemiology and evolution of swine influenza viruses (SIVs) circulating in Europe in order to define
and reduce public health risks of influenza and improve pandemic preparedness. We developed a robust, BLAST-based mapping approach to
assemble influenza virus sequencing data for large-scale genotypic identification. Application of this whole-genome assembly method and
phylogenetic analysis to examine 180 influenza-positive samples isolated from European pigs has demonstrated improved detection of a broad range of influenza A viruses, including novel reassortant strains of SIVs described
here for the first time. Our findings reveal the ongoing changes in the epidemiology of circulating SIVs in Europe, highlighting the necessity for continued surveillance of swine influenza to minimize potential risks to
public health.
516
Gene Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis: Going Viral
Jean-François Gélinas ( [email protected])Keble College, Oxford University
Gene therapy offers the potential to treat a range of genetic conditions including lung disease associated with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). CF is the most common lethal inherited disease affecting Canadian children and young
adults. One in every 3,600 children born in Canada has CF, with a median life expectancy of only ~36 years. Typically, CF individuals suffer from
repeated bacterial infections of the airways eventually leading to respiratory failure. To date, no treatment that targets directly the genetic defect is available, despite its identification in 1989. Our aim is to utilise a virus specifically adapted to enter airway cells to transfer the correct gene
to CF patients. This research will be translated to the clinic in order to prevent decline in lung function and early death. Development of this new viral technology is also an exciting opportunity to treat other lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema.
From Law to Kapp: the Canadian Contribution to the Debate on Human Dignity as the Basis for Human Rights
Philippe-André Rodriguez ([email protected])Exeter College, University of Oxford
Canadian Rhodes Scholarship
This paper examines the contribution brought by the Canadian Supreme Court (CSC) to the current debate about the value and legitimization of human dignity as the philosophical and legal basis for the international human rights system. Canada once was the main supporter of human
dignity as the legal grounding for equality, a reality that is easily identifiable in the 1999 decision Law v. Canada, which created the Law
Test. The stated mandate of this test was to determine whether a given law demeans the dignity of individuals or groups. However, the CSC soon realized that it was impossible to judge a violation of human dignity
because, as the Court would state in the 2008 decision R. v. Kapp, 'human dignity is an abstract and subjective notion that […] cannot only become
confusing and difficult to apply; it has also proven to be an additional burden on equality claimants, rather than the philosophical enhancement it
was intended to be.' (Par. 22) I argue that paradoxically, by undermining the importance of human dignity, the CSC allowed the intellectual human rights discourse to strengthen. Indeed, the rapid shift from Law to Kapp
stirred a profound intellectual questioning among philosophical and legal academic circles: the justification for human dignity as the grounding of human rights shed light on the conceptual relationship between the two
notions and unfolded the internal structure of human dignity.
156
Give, Give, Give: Charitable Fundraising in the Age of Uncertainty and Austerity
Rosalind Franklin ([email protected])King’s College, University of Cambridge
While social investments by philanthrocapitalists dominate the news and preoccupy academic debate, overlooked is the importance of giving by
average citizens to the third sector. In Western Europe and the Americas, charitable fundraising has steadily crept into almost every niche of public space and even into the most private and profit-oriented spheres. Hit up
night and day in creative and multifaceted ways, citizens respond by walking, running, selling and buying consumer goods, offering personal
banking details to strangers on the street, convincing others to donate and so forth to support the charitable sector. This paper explores this
fundraising frenzy as emblematic of the sector's changing relationship with the state, market, and citizen in modern democratic societies. Arguing that
the sector is neither shadow state nor shadowing the market, the paper suggests that the sector's progressively hybrid, knowledge-driven, and
adaptive nature provides for fundraising's vegetative-type growth. Two contrasting interpretations on this widespread appropriation of space, time
and money are presented with the intent of provoking discussion on whether the sector’s traditional values and role have been compromised.
Sources include Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, research in behavioral economics, gift theory, and socio-spatial concepts of
Henri Lefebvre and David Harvey.
Measuring Up in Timber: High-Rise Wood Buildings in Europe and Canada
Patrick Fleming ([email protected])Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge
The widespread use of massive structural timber elements, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels and glulam beams and columns, allows
architects and engineers to design and build with wood at unprecedented speed and scale. Moreover, the growing concerns of climate change and the
carbon emissions associated with the construction sector also encourage wood as a viable alternative to steel and concrete construction due to the
CO2 sequestration effect of growing trees. However, pioneering examples of mid and high-rise timber buildings in the UK, Canada, and Austria, ranging from 6 to 30 stories in height, still closely resemble the forms
already established by steel and concrete structures. In reference to the historical development of structural materials such as cast iron and
reinforced concrete, this copying is expected and confirms that current ideas for designing tall structures with wood are still immature. Rather than narrowly focusing on construction and technical aspects, architects and engineers need to explore and research new ways of adapting and
using wood to respond to architectural and urban issues. A design proposal for a six-storey office building in central London shows how
simultaneous experimentation and engagement with material, architectural, and urban issues is not only possible, but also beneficial and may reinforce each other. The project raises questions for further structural
and architectural research, and demonstrates how large-scale wood buildings can be more successfully integrated into an existing urban
context dominated by brick, steel, glass, and concrete.
714
Geoengineering: Technical Challenges and the SPICE project
Hilary Costello ([email protected])Churchill College, University of Cambridge
Geoengineering, or climate engineering, is a growing topic of interest and is inciting heated debate around the world. The SPICE (Stratospherical
Particle Injection for Climate Engineering) project is conducting research on the engineering, climate modeling, particle science and ethics associated with a form of geoengineering which would mimic volcanoes and inject
particles into the stratosphere using a high-altitude tethered balloon. The focus of the research at the University of Cambridge is on the engineering challenges associated with the delivery system of the particles, including the tethered-balloon system dynamics and pumping requirements. The presentation will aim to give an introduction to geoengineering and its
associated technical challenges in order to generate informed discussion on the political, ethical, economic and social issues related to geoengineering..
By Luck and Design
Ellen Quigley ([email protected])Claire College, University of Cambridge
As it is told in the media today, the story of Canada's resilience in the face of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and its aftermath is one of smart regulation
in the context of a liberalised financial sector. But this good news story obscures a more complicated narrative – one of geography, history,
regulatory strengths and weaknesses, institutional structure, and happenstance. The country's portrayal as a free market exemplar with
smart regulation gives a false picture of successful financial sector policy for other states to emulate. Canada, whose policies have often mimicked those of the U.S. or the U.K. throughout its history, chose to reinforce its
financial regulatory regime even as its largest trading partners went in the opposite direction. However, the simplest and most common explanation for Canada's resilience obscures its devolution toward some of the same deregulated practices that ensnared the U.S., with consequences muted
only by their delayed execution. Although stringent regulatory and supervisory frameworks certainly account for part of the system's
resilience, protectionism in the banking and mortgage insurance sectors and good timing may have played a commensurate role. So, too, did
legislation enacted in the 1980s and 1990s which was meant to prevent recurrences of bank failures, ballooning of government deficits, and high unemployment and interest rates that characterised that era. Moreover,
demand for commodities in Asia kept commodities prices high throughout the crisis, compensating somewhat for damage to other sectors. Canada
was partly smart, partly lucky.
138
Economic Distributive Justice, Canada, and the 21st Century
Catherine French ([email protected])Dept. of Philosophy, University of Cambridge
Canada presents a special challenge for theorists interested in economic distributive justice. Theorists of distributive justice are interested in the question of how best to distribute the benefits and burdens of economic
goods in a political society. Canadian policy-making at each level of government ultimately presupposes a certain conception of how best to
distribute economic goods. The choices made about this matter at the level of principle greatly affect actors at all levels in everyday contexts:
individuals, groups (cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.), corporations, and government. This talk has two parts. First, this talk expounds the
importance of the philosophical enterprise of selecting the best principles to guide political decision-making. Second, I offer an analysis of how we, as
Canadian citizens, should think about the question of economic distributive justice. Specifically, I present this analysis alongside considerations
pertaining to the issues most central to Canadian political life: multiculturalism, equality of citizens, and democracy. Special focus is given
to the interplay between this theoretical project and empirical facts about the moral, political, and legal context in Canada, both now and what is to
come over the next century.
Statistical Forensic Fingerprint Identification
Peter Forbes ([email protected])Somerville College, University of Oxford
I am developing a model to quantitatively assess the strength of forensic fingerprint evidence. For over one hundred years, a fingerprint match has been considered infallible should be more clear, infallible/incontrovertible evidence by courtrooms worldwide. Thus in most courtrooms worldwide,
including Canada, legal precedents prevent fingerprint experts from quantifying their uncertainty.
Contrary to the above opinion, there have been several high-profile fingerprint convictions that were later overturned based on DNA evidence. This has instigated a strong push within the forensics community to switch
to a probabilistic presentation of fingerprint evidence in court.
To enable this switch, a standardized method for quantifying the strength of fingerprint evidence needs to be developed. I am developing such a
model using the mathematical theory of spatial point processes.
912
Greenland, Natural Resources, and Canada’s Chairmanship of the Arctic Council
Dawn Alexandrea Berry ([email protected])University College, University of Oxford
This May Canada will assume the governance of the Arctic Council. The overarching theme: “developing the people of the north” indicates that Canada will take a distinctly business oriented approach to its mandate.
Canada’s chairmanship comes at an important moment in the development of many arctic nations and will be particularly significant for Greenland. The global economic crisis and global warming are both increasing the
demand for natural resources and, in some cases, the ability to access and extract previously inaccessible deposits. Many arctic powers, including
Canada and Greenland, are expanding mining, oil, and gas activities in the north. For Greenland this expansion will be especially significant. The new Greenlandic government is hoping to utilise revenue from the development
of its natural resources to transform itself from a colony dependant on Denmark to an independent nation. As with other arctic regions, however,
there are tensions between efforts to maintain traditional ways of life on the one hand, and the need to derive income from the exploitation of natural resources on the other. This talk will explore the ways in which the stated
objectives of the Canadian mandate for the arctic council relate to the contemporary development challenges facing Greenland.
Bounding Nature: Canadian and Russian Arctic National Parks and Sovereignty
Mia Bennett ([email protected])Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge
Scott Polar Research Institute; Foreign Policy Association
Today, conservation efforts of Arctic states tend to reflect a territorialized, state-based approach. This contrasts with international conservation efforts in the post-Cold War period, which perceived the region more as a global commons. In this paper, I examine the ways in which Canada and Russia use national parks as instruments to express sovereign rights through an analysis of territory, sovereignty, and foreign policy discourse. I compare
Canada's proposed Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area at the mouth of the Northwest Passage and Russia's recently expanded
Natural System (zapovednik) of Wrangel Island Reserve near the eastern entrance to the Northern Sea Route. These two case studies allow for an
examination of the domestic politics of zoning, exclusion, and access alongside Arctic geopolitics. Both parks are complex products of domestic and foreign policy, making them densely layered spaces of contested and contingent sovereignty. Canada, espousing liberal democratic values, has traditionally been more receptive towards multilateralism in the Arctic, whereas a more assertive Russia views international relations in realist
terms. Yet both countries draw on regimes such as UNCLOS and UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to defend their sovereignty in
contested waterways. Whereas around the world, states have historically created national parks in areas without significant economic value, Lancaster Sound and Wrangel Island lie in waters valuable for their
geostrategic position and shipping potential. As I will show, the creation of national parks in these two areas can actually promote sovereignty and economic interests, but at the cost of excluding certain parts of society.
1110