A new online hub created by Carleton University students is pushing a variety of international policy topics to the forefront – from conflict and security to international development.
iAffairs Canada, produced by the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), provides regularly updated international affairs content, including news, op-eds, interviews, multimedia and scholarly articles. It includes original research and policy commentary from authors, including new and senior scholars, practitioners and industry professionals.
“We have graduate and PhD students (writing articles) and people with a lot of experience in the field,” says Adrian Swietlicki, a managing director with the iAffairs team. “We have great researchers and students getting involved.”
iAffairs Canada is housed at NPSIA and managed by the editorial staff of the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal (CFPJ). It was created under the direction of NPSIA Prof. David Carment.
Swietlicki says the CFPJ oversees the website and helped with iAffairs Canada’s official launch event – a conference entitled Reclaiming Global Governance: Prospects for an Uncertain World.
“Right now we’re working for and with the CFPJ, and as we become more autonomous and more independent, we will focus on creating our own events and conferences,” Swietlicki says. “Right now, we’re still fairly new.”
Fellow managing director Uri Marantz says iAffairs Canada is the result of master’s and PhD students extending their research and publicizing it.
“We’re trying to bring extra value to the conversation by bringing these different perspectives that might not be included,” he says, adding that the students’ experience is much different than writing for a professor. “Now you’re getting feedback directly from friends, colleagues and others from the blogosphere.”
Marantz adds that the team has already received feedback on its pieces, which has been a great experience for students.
“It’s rewarding,” he says. “It’s good for students to see that what they’re studying is interesting to others besides themselves and their professors. I hope if more people take notice and we get enough interest, we can continue the project going forward and build it into something bigger.”
For more information, visit: www.iaffairscanada.com.
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