Nicole De Silva

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

Biography    Teaching activities    Research Activities    Selected Publications    Affiliations    Selected Media Engagement   

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 486 Advanced Seminar in International Relations
• POLI 603/802 International Relations Theory
• POLI 687/812 Special Topics in International Politics ("Human Rights in International Politics")

Supervision Interests

I am interested in supervising any MA or PhD students whose research interests focus on international cooperation, international institutions, human rights, and international criminal justice.

Research Interests

My interdisciplinary research broadly concerns how institutions and laws promote human rights and legal accountability. Within this focus, I mainly explore the role of international institutions (e.g., international courts) in global and regional governance, especially in Africa. I also research Canada’s human rights engagement through international institutions and domestic human rights commissions. 

For more information on my academic research, please see my website.

Selected Awards

• International Studies Association Stephen C. Poe Award (2017)
• British International Studies Association African Affairs Prize (2016)
• International Studies Association Lawrence R. Finkelstein Award (2014)

Selected Research Grants

• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Engage Grant (2021-22)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Development Grant (2019-22)

De Silva, Nicole. “A Human Rights Approach to Emergency Response? The Advocacy of Canada's Human Rights Commissions during the COVID-19 Crisis.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 53, no. 2 (2020): 265–71. doi:10.1017/S0008423920000438.

De Silva, Nicole, and Misha Plagis. “A Court in Crisis: African States’ Increasing Resistance to Africa’s Human Rights Court,” Opinio Juris, May 19, 2020, http://opiniojuris.org/2020/05/19/a-court-in-crisis-african-states-increasing-resistance-to-africas-human-rights-court/.

De Silva, Nicole. “Individual and NGO Access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights: The Latest Blow from Tanzania,” EJIL: Talk! (Blog of the European Journal of International Law), December 16, 2019, https://www.ejiltalk.org/individual-and-ngo-access-to-the-african-court-on-human-and-peoples-rights-the-latest-blow-from-tanzania/.

De Silva, Nicole. “African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.” In International Law’s Objects, edited by Jessie Hohmann and Daniel Joyce, 95–105. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198798200.003.0007.

De Silva, Nicole. “International Courts’ Socialization Strategies for Actual and Perceived Performance.” In The Performance of International Courts and Tribunals, edited by Theresa Squatrito, Oran R. Young, Andreas Follesdal, and Geir Ulfstein, 288–323. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. doi:10.1017/9781108348768.010.

De Silva, Nicole. “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 670, no. 1 (March 2017): 170–88. doi:10.1177/0002716217696085.

Concordia Affiliations

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

Television/Radio

• The World (CBC / NPR):
• COVID-19 racial stats: A ‘double-edged sword’ for some marginalized groups in Canada
• CTV News: 
• In-depth: Human Rights During a Pandemic
• CityTV News: 
• Researchers and Advocates Ask for More Diverse Data on COVID-19 Cases

Print

• Joel Barde, “Faculty on the Front Lines: How Concordia-Led Research Can Serve a Post-COVID World,” Concordia University Magazine, Fall 2020, pp. 29-35, https://www.concordia.ca/content/dam/concordia/aar/docs/magazine/2020-Fall-Concordia_University_Magazine.pdf.
• Patrick Lejtenyi, “Combatting discrimination is a prominent pandemic issue, according to Concordia researcher,” Concordia News, May 13, 2020, https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2020/05/13/combatting-discrimination-is-a-prominent-pandemic-issue-according-to-concordia-researcher.html. 
• Lian Buan, “Conviction of Kian's killers won't weaken ICC examination of drug war – experts,” Rappler, November 30, 2018, https://www.rappler.com/nation/217925-conviction-kian-delos-santos-killers-not-weaken-icc-examination-drug-war.