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Gholami, Siavash

Gholami Siavash

Siavash Gholami

Doctoral Student

MA Political Science, University of Toronto and Honours BSc Psychology (major) and Philosophy (minor), York University

Political Studies

Doctoral Student

22gs4@queensu.ca

Mackintosh-Corry Hall, B300

Supervisors: Dr. Oded Haklai, Dr. David Haglund

Biography

Siavash's research focuses on Middle Eastern security and diplomacy, with a particular focus on Israeli national security, the Islamic Republic (of Iran) nuclear and missile program, Iranian restoration, and the evolving regional alignments shaped by the Abraham Accords.

Teaching

POLS 242 Comparative Politics: Contemporary Regimes (Teaching Assistant)

Selected Publications

 Providence, 18 April 2023.

 The National Interest, 9 November 2022 (co-authored with Farhad Rezaei).

 The Jerusalem Post, 27 March 2022. 

 The Jerusalem post, 28 November 2023.

Political Studies Graduate Student receives Dean’s Excellence Award in Global Sustainability

Tehya Blake (PhD), a graduate student from the Department of Political Studies, received the Dean's Award for their work on Global Sustainability. 

The award was presented by Interim Dean Bob Lemieux at the recent annual Dean's Awards Reception, which honours graduate students from each department in the Faculty of Arts and Science for their academic excellence. 

Congratulations, Tehya! 

Article Category
Student Awards

7th Annual John Meisel Lecture in Contemporary Political Controversies

Date

Friday October 17, 2025
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Location

Kinesiology 100

2025: Canada's Economic and Fiscal Challenges in an Era of Trump

with Don Drummond, OOnt, and Kyle Hanniman

- space is limited!

Established in 2017, The John Meisel Lecture Series celebrates Professor Emeritus John Meisel (1923 – 2025), one of Canada’s leading and influential political scientists, by providing a forum for addressing controversial major political issues facing scholars, policy-makers, and the public.

This year, the Faculty of Arts and Science is hosting a special Homecoming edition of the Meisel Lecture Series to honour the life and legacy of Dr. John Meisel, not only in the political landscape but as a member of the Queen’s community.

The Dr. John Meisel Lecture in Contemporary Political Controversies will feature two mini-lectures followed by a moderated Q&A discussion panel.

Headshot of noted Canadian economist Don Drummond

Don Drummond, OOnt

Adjunct Professor and Stauffer-Dunning Fellow at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, is a leading economist whose career spans Finance Canada, TD Bank and Ontario's public service reform commission.
Head shot of Kyle Hanniman, Director, Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Unviersity

Kyle Hanniman

Director for the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ is a political scientist specializing in fiscal federalism, subnational finance, and the political economy of policy.

Olaitan, Zainab

Headshot of Zainab Olaitan

Zainab Olaitan

Post-Doctoral Fellow

She/Her

PhD (Pretoria); MA (Pretoria); BSocSci(Cape Town), BSc (Lagos)

Political Studies

International Relations

Post-Doctoral Fellow

zainab.olaitan@queensu.ca

Robert Sutherland Hall, 409

Brief Biography

Dr. Zainab Monisola Olaitan is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for International and Defence Policy. Her research focuses on Afrofeminist thought, gender and representation, and the women, peace and security agenda in Africa. She holds a PhD and MA from the University of Pretoria, a BSocSci (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Cape Town, and a BSc (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Lagos. She is a Research Associate at the Institute for Pan-African Thought and Conversation (IPATC) at the University of Johannesburg. Dr. Olaitan is the author of Women’s Representation in African Politics: Beyond Numbers (2024) and the lead editor of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women in Africa and the Caribbean: Linking the Two Regions (2025), both published by Palgrave Macmillan. She is a 2022 Margaret McNamara Education Grants (MMEG) recipient in recognition of her impactful research on women, a 2021-2023 University of Pretoria Doctoral Research Scholarship recipient, a 2019 Mastercard Foundation Scholar and 2018 Mandela Rhodes Scholar. 

Teaching

POLS 261 International Politics (Fall 2025)

For detailed information about political studies courses and instructors, please refer to the Undergraduate and Graduate pages. 

Transnational capital and the scramble for land and profit: financialization, agrarian development, and resource conflict in Africa

Dr. Andrew Grant, Professor and Dr. Surulola Eke, Post Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Political Studies recently published an article in the journal, World Development, with research collaborators from McMaster and Carleton.

Abstract

Article Category
Faculty News

2025 Honours Thesis Colloquium

Date

Friday April 4, 2025
10:00 am - 3:20 pm

Location

Staff Learning Room at Stauffer Library

Please join us for the Department of Political Studies 2025 Honours Thesis Colloquium!

Friday, April 4, 2025

10:00am - 3:20pm

Staff Learning Room at Stauffer Library

Light lunch served

AGENDA

Opening Remarks – Rachel Laforest, Undergraduate Chair | 10 AM

Panel 1 | 10:05-11:05 AM

• Sydney Robinson: Stakeholder Influence and Policy Outcomes of Climate Legislation: A Case Study of Bill C-12

• Santiago Palacios: NATO’s Burden Sharing Dilemma: What Can Canada Learn from a Latvian Defence Doctrine

• Hugo Savoeda:  New Chains, Same Hands: The reshaping of the world system and South – South relations of dependence

Panel 2 | 11:05-12:05 PM

• Lauren Hood:  Sex: An Object of Desire and Mankind’s Greatest Weapon

• Julian King:  The Chicken or the Egg?: Strategic Culture under Authoritarianism Examined Through the Lens of Vladimir Putin and the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

• Cordelia Jamieson:  Roadblocks for Civic Involvement: Gender-Based Geographic Barriers to State-Level Political Candidacy in the Contiguous United States

12:05-12:30 Lunch Break (light lunch will be served)

Panel 3 | 12:30-1:30 PM

• Rachel Starkman:  The evolution of political debates in the United States

• Cara Mackenzie: Democratic Backsliding in India

• Ariana Wilson-Mcdermid: The Influence of Indigenous Cultural Practices on Marine Biodiversity Conservation: A Comparison Between Canada and New Zealand

• Rachel McNeil: HIV/AIDS and Climate Crisis in Africa: Disparities in Governmental Response Between the Global North and the Global South

Panel 4 | 1:30-2:30 PM

• Roan Szucs: A Debate Between Democracy and Her Alternatives

• Janica Arevalo: Combatting Violence Against Women in Canadian Politics

• Cameron Christie: Balancing Act: Canada’s Arctic Strategy and Responding to Great Power Competition

• Gaoxiang Fan: The discourse on Canadian skills: the process of middle-class nation-building and the social and political consequences of rapid immigration policies

Panel 5 | 2:30-3:15 PM

• Yamna Asim:  The Treatment of Hijras Before and After British Colonialization

• Pauli Jacobs: Evolution, Disparities and Service Delivery in Youth Mental Health: A Comparative Case Study of Urban and Rural Ontario

• Lizzie Liteplo: Canada’s Involvement in Overseas Conflict: Navigating International Engagement

3:15-3:20 - Closing remarks – Rachel Laforest

Honouring Black Histories, Shaping Black Futures

Dr. Yolande Bouka is using the power of storytelling to amplify Black women’s voices and their impact on policy, while continuing to advance Black scholarship at Queen’s.

By Mitchell Fox, Senior Communications Coordinator

February 25, 2025

From global politics to personal narratives, Dr.Bouka examines how Black women’s voices shape history.

Article Category
Faculty News
Queen's in the News

Two Political Studies Professors Receive King Charles III Coronation Medals

Introduced to mark the ascension of King Charles III on May 6, 2023, the recognizes significant contributions, whether in public service, arts, education, science, or other areas that have advanced Canadian society or brought international recognition to the country. The recipients exemplify the spirit of dedication and commitment to both their communities and broader Canadian society.

Article Category
Faculty News
Queen's in the News
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