International Studies

Shiva is a Peter Allard School of Law alumni with a doctoral degree from UBC. Prior to joining Alexander College, she taught at the department of political science as an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University. Shiva also serves her community as a certified life and leadership coach and as an accredited judicial translator and interpreter.

Shiva enjoys teaching in academia and proudly translates enthusiasm for the subjects she teaches into the skills that can be portable across disciplines and careers for her students.

Ali Riza Gungen received his PhD from the Middle East Technical University. He taught international studies, comparative politics and political economy courses over the last decade. Ali Riza published extensively on the political economy of emerging economies, and his research inquires about the limits and possibilities of the uses of public banks in the global South and the intertwining of authoritarianism with specific growth models. Ali Riza is the editor-in-chief of the social sciences journal Praksis and is currently a Middle East Studies Association Global Academy Fellow.

Colter Louwerse is a researcher and lecturer focusing on the transnational history and politics of Palestine and the Middle East. A graduate of the University of Exeter’s European Centre for Palestine Studies and the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies in the United Kingdom, he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in Middle East and Islamic Studies at Exeter in 2018, and in 2022 was awarded a doctorate in Palestine Studies.

Louwerse’s ongoing research addresses the diplomatic history of Canadian, American, and British foreign policy in the Middle East, Palestinian nationalism on the global stage, the role of the United Nations in negotiating self-determination, sovereignty and human rights claims in the context of the Palestine Question, and the interrelationship between asymmetrical warfare, political violence and conflict resolution in Israel/Palestine and the broader Middle East region.

Grace Miura-Wong received her B.A. from UBC and M.A. from SFU in Political Science. She is a current PhD student at Ottawa’s Carleton University, conducting research on East Asian-Canadian voting behaviour.

Grace has taught and assisted in the teaching of courses related to Canadian Politics, International Relations, and Human Rights.

Richard holds a Master of Development Studies from the Geneva Graduate Institute, a Master of Public Policy from the KDI School of Public Policy & Management, an MA International Affairs – Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD), and a BA Political Science with Sociology, University of Ghana.

He has worked with multiple organizations, including the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), GAN-Global and the Government of Ghana. Richard is currently pursuing his PhD at the Simon Fraser University.

His research centers around Security Sector Reform and Governance (SSR/G). He has taught multiple courses in Political Science and International Studies.

Rochelle, a Canadian with Fijian heritage, is an Education Rights and Youth Engagement Activist. Recognized by the UN, Diana Award, and the Globe and Mail, she advocates for quality education worldwide. She’s an author, educator, and social entrepreneur. Rochelle holds a BA in Political Science & BEd from Simon Fraser University, and a MEd in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto. Her hobbies include writing/playing music, and currently completing her private pilot license program.

Cornel Turdeanu holds a Master of Arts in Political Science from Simon Fraser University (SFU). Cornel has co-authored articles which have been published by think tanks such as the Macdonald Laurier Institute, and Latvian Institute of International Affairs, and a peer-reviewed academic paper in the French academic journal Canadian Studies / Etudes Canadiennes.

Cornel is co-founder and former manager of Canada’s largest NATO-focused educational program, the SFU NATO Field School and Simulation Program, and has several years experience working in the fields of government policy and public affairs.