Between the American Revolutionary War and the US Civil War (roughly 1775-1861), thousands of enslaved African Americans fled from the US South to the northern ‘free’ states and British Canada.... Show moreBetween the American Revolutionary War and the US Civil War (roughly 1775-1861), thousands of enslaved African Americans fled from the US South to the northern ‘free’ states and British Canada. While many fled to British lines during wartime, other self-emancipators availed of interracial freedom networks commonly known as the Underground Railroad. Within their respective receiving societies, slave refugees established new lives as free men and women. At the same time, they encountered numerous challenges and obstacles, such as poverty and unemployment, racial prejudice and discrimination, and the threat of re-enslavement. Through a comparative and transnational lens, Northward Bound re-examines the various migrations of African American freedom seekers from the South to the North and Canada. It explores the motivations behind self-emancipation, the routes taken by freedom seekers, and the nature of escape to the North and Canada. Furthermore, Northward Bound analyzes the experiences of slave refugees in the northern US, the Canadian Maritimes, and southwestern Ontario. Following Damian Pargas’ recent typology, this study demonstrates that British Canada emerged as a space of ‘formal’ freedom for African American freedom seekers, whereas the northern US developed into a space of ‘semi-formal’ freedom. Show less
Signed in 1976, the EU-Canada relationship was the first bilateral agreement that the EU signed with an industrialised third country. Modest strengthening of the ties was achieved with the 2004 EU... Show moreSigned in 1976, the EU-Canada relationship was the first bilateral agreement that the EU signed with an industrialised third country. Modest strengthening of the ties was achieved with the 2004 EU-Canada Partnership Agenda. A fully-fledged free trade agreement was in the works at this time, but suspended in 2006. The EU-Canada strategic partnership agreement (SPA) and the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) did not materialise until more than a decade later, in 2016. This paper focuses in particular on the strategic partnership dimension. It explores why an SPA was possible in 2016, but not before. To answer this question, the paper looks at four time periods. In so doing it explores the origins of the EU-Canada agreement, how the EU-Canada relationship changed over time, and examines how a more profound strategic partnership came about when it did. In its analysis it considers institutional, domestic and geopolitical factors. It briefly speculates about the possible future of this partnership. Show less
This article argues that social network analyses of the online communications and structures of right-wing extremist groups can allow researchers to obtain otherwise hard-to-get insights into the... Show moreThis article argues that social network analyses of the online communications and structures of right-wing extremist groups can allow researchers to obtain otherwise hard-to-get insights into the ideology, rhetoric, and behaviour of groups. This is illustrated through a study of Facebook-based relations between members of the Soldiers of Odin in Canada, Finland, and Sweden in early 2017. The authors argue that these communications demonstrate the presence of close coordination between the Canadian and Finnish branches of the Soldiers of Odin, suggesting ideological conformity. The authors further demonstrate the presence of a pre-existing divide between the Québec and rest of Canada chapters of the Soldiers of Odin, which contributes to explaining the April-May 2017 schism of the movement. The authors conclude by advocating increased attention to online networks for the study of extremist groups. Show less
Breugom, A.J.; Vermeer, T.A.; Broek, C.B.M. van den; Vuong, T.; Bastiaannet, E.; Azoulay, L.; ... ; Velde, C.J.H. van de 2015
For almost thirty years, the Shica Imami Ismacili community in Canada has been remarkably active and diverse in terms of countries of origin, ethnicities, and languages. However, at issue is the... Show moreFor almost thirty years, the Shica Imami Ismacili community in Canada has been remarkably active and diverse in terms of countries of origin, ethnicities, and languages. However, at issue is the backdrop of the Canadian policy of multiculturalism, which has incited assimilatory threats to the Ismacili collective identity, despite its role of establishing the community in its pluralism. The following deals with this paradoxical positioning of the minority Ismacili community in the construction of multicultural Canada. Show less
Millions of Iranians left their country after the coming to power of the Islamic Republic in February 1979. Some twenty years later, the urge to leave the country is as strong as it was in the... Show moreMillions of Iranians left their country after the coming to power of the Islamic Republic in February 1979. Some twenty years later, the urge to leave the country is as strong as it was in the early post-revolutionary years. In a world that is less hospitable to refugees, some Iranians risk their lives in search of a hostland. For many emigrating Iranians, the hostland does not readily turn into a new homeland. In fact, Iran is often present, or rather reproduced, in the memory, language, way of life, and the network of relationships that remain in place despite physical distance. Show less
