Adrienne Davidson is an Assistant Professor of Political Science, specializing in comparative public policy and Canadian politics. Her work focuses on the political dynamics of federal systems, investigating the conditions that favour periods of significant policy change. Her research also explores the relationship between political institutions and group identity, including the ways in which institutions shape, reinforce, or undermine minority nations (including Indigenous nations) in federal systems. Her work has spanned questions of regionalism, Indigenous politics, environmental policy and child care policy.

Adrienne was the Skelton-Clark Postdoctoral Fellow at Queen’s University from 2018-2020. From 2016-2017, Dr. Davidson was a Fulbright Visiting Researcher at the Center for Canadian Studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. Her research has appeared in several national and international journals including Public Policy & Administration, Canadian Journal of Political Science, Journal of Risk Research, and Policy Sciences.

Research interests

Canadian and Comparative Public Policy
Federalism and Intergovernmental Relation
Indigenous Politics
Social Policy – Child Care and Education
Institutions and Identity

Awards and distinctions

Winner (with Dr. Christopher Alcantara) of the John McMenemy Prize, for the best article in Volume 48 of the Canadian Journal of Political Science, for “Negotiating Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada: An Analysis of the Inuvialuit Experience”

Shortlisted (top 4) for best article in Volume 27 of Regional and Federal Studies for “Advancing the Study of Political Cleavages through Experimentation: Revisiting Regionalism and Redistributive Preferences in Canada,” (with Matthew Lesch, Maxime Héroux-Legault, Tanya Whyte, Alesha Porisky, Karol Czuba, and Zain Asaf).

In the news

Dr. Davidson recently published an article on policy responsiveness and citizen trust during COVID-19: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/april-2020/building-trust-means-letting-the-public-be-part-of-covid-19-decisions/

See Dr. Davidson’s article (with Drs. Linda White and Michal Perlman) in The Conversation, on the policy rationales present in the Ontario government’s failure to adequately regulate early childhood education and care:  https://theconversation.com/will-ontario-child-care-dollars-come-with-a-commitment-to-quality-and-safety-91465

Recent publications

“Puzzling Publics: The Role of Reflexive Learning in Universal Pre-Kindergarten Policy Innovation in Canada and the US,” (with Heather Millar and Linda White). Public Policy and Administration (2020)

“Politics and Religion: Identifying the Correlates of Support for Merging the Public and Separate School Systems in Ontario,” (with Jack Lucas and Michael McGregor). Canadian Journal of Education (2020)

“Incomplete Sovereigns: Explaining Variation in Indigenous Self-Governance in the United States and Canada.” American Review of Canadian Studies (2019)