Research Networks

The Institute of the Americas has established a number of research networks and gives its support to other scholarly groups by co-organising and hosting events, as well as assisting with publications.

Canada-UK Research Network

The Canada-UK Research Network (CAN-NET) was established by Dr Tony McCulloch in order to formalise contacts between the UCL Institute of the Americas and universities and other organisations in Canada as well as with Canadian institutions and centres in the UK and elsewhere. The focus of the network is Canada-UK relations broadly defined, including not only governmental relations but also transnational relations across a wide spectrum of politics, economics, literature, science, culture and society. It is open to Canadians and Canadianists with an interest in some aspect of Canada-UK relations and its central aim is to encourage research and teaching in Canada-UK relations - a field that tends to be overshadowed by the attention devoted to the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and the USA .

CAN-NET has five main objectives. Firstly to keep an open register of expertise in Canada-UK relations; secondly, to foster links with UK-based organisations such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Canadian High Commission, the Quebec Delegation in London, the Canada-UK Council, etc; thirdly, to develop partnerships between UCL and appropriate universities and organisations in Canada, such as the University of Toronto. Fourthly, to attract funding for scholarships and activities in the area of Canada-UK relations. And fifthly, to organise significant events, especially conferences, that lead to publications on Canada-UK relations, broadly defined. Future events will be advertised through the Institute's communication and social media channels.

A themed issue of the London Journal of Canadian Studies on Canada-UK relations is also at the planning stage. The LJCS – now in its 35^th year – is currently edited by Tony McCulloch and published by UCL Press.

Westminster in the Caribbean: History, Legacies, Challenges.

The Westminster in the Caribbean network seeks to address the urgent need for an expanded and updated analysis of the experience of Westminster in the Caribbean. The network will consider how the political model inherited from Britain was adapted to the conditions of the Caribbean, its impact on Caribbean democracy and the challenges the model has faced over the period of independence. The network encourages dialogue across a number of borders to bring new insights to critical debates about the evolution and perceived decline of democracy in the region. To enquire about participating in the network please contact katherine.quinn@ucl.ac.uk