Hi there! My name is Ethan.

I am a PhD student in Political Science at the University of Guelph. I received my MA in Political Studies from Queen's University and my BA(hons) in Political Science from the University of Alberta. 

My research interests primarily focus on nationalism, religion and politics, kin-state politics, and the politics of identity and placemaking. 

My proposed doctoral research explores how right-wing nationalist actors are positioned both ideologically and structurally within transnational religious networks, and how they derive legitimacy from these networks. 

Previously, my MA research focused on kin-state relations, particularly how kinship narratives are constructed reciprocally by kin-state elites, kin-minority elites, and kin-minority publics. This project examined Russian kinship narratives in Transnistria, Crimea, and the Donbas, revealing patterns of narrative mirroring and convergence among kin-state and minority elites, as well as varying levels of elite-minority disjuncture in each case. These results advocate for further scholarship of kin-state relations to approach Rogers Brubaker's Triadic Nexus relationship from both micro and macro levels, examining the perspectives of both grassroots and elite actors. 

Prior to this, my undergraduate honours thesis explored the politics of NIMBY-ism and placemaking in opposition to safe consumption sites in Edmonton, Alberta. 

Currently, I am engaged in research projects concerning religion and politics, nationalism, and the far-right. Specifically, I am working on a project that interrogates why certain religious groups claim indigeneity; another that investigates the rise of online ethno-nationalism; and a third that explores religion, disability ethics, and Edward Said’s Orientalism. Additionally, I have published on environmental politics. 

Outside of academia, you'll often find me cheering on my Edmonton Oilers and my Toronto Blue Jays.