Table of Contents
1.) Dead End: The Political Rituals of Grief in Israel as Tools for Militarization — 1
Aviya Krauss
2.) Unveiling State Terrorism: Walter Benjamin’s Critique of Legal Violence and the Fallacy of Terrorism — 11
Nuala O’Connell
3.) Success and Stalemate: Understanding Civil Conflict Resolution through Northern Ireland and Israel-Palestine — 19
Sofia Gobin
4.) Who Holds the North? Indigenous Sovereignty and the Politics of Presence in Canada’s Arctic — 29
Arianne Fouse
5.) Scars of the Past: A Comparative Analysis of Chile, Colombia, Transitional Justice, and the Threat of Past Abuses on Democratic Development — 37
Pablo Puerto Villegas
6.) Frozen Order, Hidden Chaos: Rentier States and the Moral Failure of Stability — 49
Dena Ojaghi
7.) The Coalition of the Willing: a Neoclassical Realist Analysis — 63
Loris Sabot
8.) From Power Politics and Regime Ideology to Differing Leadership: Understanding the Roots of the Saudi-Iran Rivalry — 77
Ronak Yazdi Moghaddam
9.) The Speculation Arms Race: How Venture Capital is Creating Security Dilemmas Before Weapons Exist — 89
Spencer Clark
10.) In the Digital Age, is Freedom an Illusion? — 97
Anyue Zhang
11.) Examining Democratic Erosion: Can the United States Learn From Germany? — 103
Victoria Varsamis
12.) The Gap Between Intent and Impact: A Theoretical and Practical Analysis of Texas’ Senate Bill 8 and Canada’s Bill C-36 — 111
Nicole Pinto & Ramatou Moussa Yaya
13.) Aristotle & Citizenship: the Question of Status In Modern “Democracies” — 123
John Yaw Bollinger
14.) The Anti-Bureaucratic Bureaucracy of Donald Trump’s ICE Era — 131
Sean Martin
MJPS-2026-PRINT-for-online-no-bleed-compresseWords from the Managing Editors
There is a particular urgency to political inquiry in moments when the taken-for-granted foundations of democratic life seem to shake beneath the weight of anti-intellectual sentiment. MJPS, like most other political science journals, seeks to amplify the voice of scholars interested in rigorously and critically engaging with power and justice. MJPS, unlike many other journals, holds that the scholars most essential to the defense of rationalism and democracy are the young people who stand to inherit the consequences of its failure. In compiling this print edition, MJPS hopes to further the tradition of critical pedagogy—challenging power wherever it exists, understanding that political phenomena are nothing more than a manifestation of an argument. Who better to write the next argument than us?
– John Yaw Bollinger
In an era of increasing anti-intellectualism, the most radical act of defiance is the pursuit of rigorous inquiry. As the world continues to spiral into endless war, genocide, and climate catastrophe, MJPS offers a space for young thinkers to make sense of our past, our present, and how to conceptualize our future. Never shying away from the arguments that have the capacity to reshape our world as we know it, MJPS offers a conduit to resist; to resist the epistemic and hegemonic forces seeking to shatter the foundations of democratic life and reject the production of new knowledge. Today, the need for journals like MJPS is more pressing than ever. Throughout the past year, it has been my pleasure to serve as a Managing Editor for the Journal, alongside my colleague John Bollinger. Thank you to our Editor-in-Chief, Margaux Zani, for truly allowing this Journal to flourish in an age of ruthless censorship and political chaos. And finally, thank you to my writers and editors, who have shown me time and time again, through their commitment to intellectualism, that there remains hope for our collective future.
– Nuala O’ Connell
Words from the Editor In Chief
For two years now, I have had the chance to work and learn alongside brilliant people – all more interested than the other, and to oversee the creation of the Print edition of the McGill Journal of Political Science.
In this edition, readers will encounter a variety of works addressing contemporary political challenges. Opinionated, these contributions defend, sometimes provocatively, original perspectives, prompting us to question the intellectual comfort of our own analytical frameworks. This print edition was conceived as a reflection of the current political climate, particularly the uncertainties and debates it provokes, encouraging questioning what we mean by “order.” From debates over normativity and domestic and international hierarchy, to transitional justice and bureaucratic politics, this edition explores the concerns of young Political Science scholars who seek to interrogate the premises that underlie contemporary political governance.
I would like to express my gratitude and admiration to the entire MJPS team and all those who have helped transform this “good idea” into a material reality. They have expanded my intellectual curiosity beyond the bounds of what I might have imagined. This project is the result of their work, which only ever transmits passion, curiosity, and a genuine desire to know more. To the editorial board and contributors, I offer my deepest congratulations for the amazing work you have done on your pieces. I am sincerely touched by your dedication to advancing well-structured arguments that reflect the care you invested in them. I wish to thank the journal’s two managing editors, Nuala O’Connell and John Bollinger; your initiatives, dedication, and patience were invaluable to the realization of this project. To Liad Wolch, the Logistics Director of MJPS, the journal is thankful for the many hours you devoted to managing this print edition. To the PSSA, thank you for fostering an environment that grants students the opportunity to pursue their passions outside of class.
Finally, to our readers: in a climate of increasing polarization, I hope the journal will spark the same vision our team had when reviving this project, one that pushes to question more and to know more, hopefully, leaving you more curious and passionate for the year ahead.
Thank you.
– Margaux Zani