Assistant Professor, Political Science
Academic Director, Political Science Co-op Program

Biography    Teaching activities    Research Activities    Selected Publications    Affiliations   

Education

DPhil in International Relations, University of Oxford
MPhil in International Relations, University of Oxford
BSocSc in International Development & Globalization, University of Ottawa

Courses Taught

• POLI 214 Human Rights: An Overview
• POLI 396 Honours Tutorial in Political Science
• POLI 486 Advanced Seminar in International Relations
• POLI 495 Honours Thesis in Political Science 
• POLI 687 Special Topics in International Politics ("Human Rights in International Politics")

My interdisciplinary research draws on political science and law to address questions broadly relating to international cooperation, and regional and global governance. I am currently focusing on the politics of international courts, particularly in the areas of human rights and and international criminal justice. I have explored how international courts are strategic actors that use various activities "outside the courtroom" to promote greater compliance with international law, and lately I have studied African states' opposition to the International Criminal Court and efforts to create alternative mechanisms for international criminal justice in Africa. For this research, I have received awards from the International Studies Association-International Organization Section (2014), British International Studies Association (2016), and the International Studies Association-Human Rights Section (2017).

For more information on my academic research, teaching, and policy work, please see my website.

Nicole De Silva, “The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights” in Jessie Hohmann and Daniel Joyce (eds), International Law’s Objects (Oxford University Press, 2019).

Nicole De Silva, “International Courts’ Socialization Strategies for Actual and Perceived Performance” in Theresa Squatrito, Oran Young, Geir Ulfstein, and Andreas Føllesdal (eds), The Performance of International Courts and Tribunals (Cambridge University Press, 2018).

Nicole De Silva, “Intermediary Complexity in Regulatory Governance: The International Criminal Court’s Use of NGOs in Regulating International Crimes,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 670, no. 1, 2017.

Concordia Affiliations

• Co-organizer, African Studies Working Group
• Faculty Affiliate, Social Justice Centre

External Affiliations

• Visiting Lecturer, Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford