Robert Schertzer

Biography

Robert Schertzer researches and teaches on the intersections of three areas: federalism, judicial politics and ethno-national diversity, with a tendency to look at Canada from a broadly comparative perspective.

He is the author of The Judicial Role in a Diverse Federation: Lessons from the Supreme Court of Canada (University of Toronto Press, 2016, short-listed for the Donald Smiley Prize) and co-editor of Nationalism and Conflict Management (Routledge, 2012). His work has been published in Nations and Nationalism, Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, the Canadian Journal of Political Science, Publius, and the International Journal of Constitutional Law. He is also the founding co-editor of The State of Nationalism, an open-access portal for review articles on the study of nationalism.

Before joining UofT, Robert spent a decade working for the Government of Canada, mainly in the areas of social policy and intergovernmental relations.

Interview with Robert Schertzer

Research Interests

• Federalism
• Constitutional and Judicial politics
• Ethno-national diversity and conflict management
• Canadian politics, from a comparative perspective

Awards and Grants

•    Short-listed for Donald Smiley Prize (CPSA best book in Canadian politics) (2017)
•    SSHRC Insight Development Grant (2016 – 2018) ($46,000)
•    Connaught New Researcher Award, Connaught Fund (2016 – 2018) ($10,000)
•    Nations and Nationalism Article Prize for ‘Recognition or Imposition? Federalism, national minorities and Supreme Court of Canada’ ASEN/Nations and Nationalism (2007)

Publications

The Judicial Role in a Diverse Federation: Lessons from the Supreme Court of Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press) (2016) [short-listed for the Donald Smiley Prize, for the best book in Canadian politics]

“Federal Arbiters as Facilitators: Towards an integrated federal and judicial theory” International Journal of Constitutional Law 15(1) (2017) 

“Collaboration and Unilateral Action: recent intergovernmental relations in Canada” IRPP Study No. 62 (2016) (with Andrew McDougall and Grace Skogstad)

“Quebec Justices as Quebec Representatives: National minority representation and the Supreme Court of Canada” Publius: The Journal of Federalism 46(4) (2016)

“Intergovernmental Relations in Canada’s Immigration System: From bilateralism towards multilateral collaboration” Canadian Journal of Political Science 48(2) (2015)

Nationalism and Conflict Management (London: Routledge) (2012) (editor, with Eric Taylor Woods and Erick Kaufmann)

“Ethno-national Conflict and its Management” Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 49(2) (2011) (with Eric Taylor Woods and Eric Kaufmann)

“Beyond Multinational Canada” Commonwealth and Comparative Politics 49(2) (2011) (with Eric Taylor Woods)

“Recognition or Imposition? Federalism, national minorities and Supreme Court of Canada” Nations and Nationalism 14(1) (2008) [Awarded the Nations and Nationalism Article Prize]

Teaching Interests

• POLC54: Intergovernmental Relations in Canada
• POLC58: The Politics of National Identity and Diversity
• POL491/2103: Federalism and Diversity in Canada and Beyond