Canadian Excellence Research Chair in Comparative Democratic Resilience in the Global South

Memorial University - Department of Political Science

Department of Political Science, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Memorial University

The Department of Political Science at Memorial University invites applications to the highly prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) Program with a specialization in Comparative Democratic Resilience in the Global South. The CERC 2026 competition aims to attract world-leading research talent to Canada with the high potential to generate social and economic benefits for Canadians via their research aligned with priority areas of Canadian science, technology and innovation (ST&I). Contingent upon the successful CERC nomination, the allocation to this non-renewable position will be $500K/year for 8 years, for a total of $4M, with the CERC recipient appointed to a full-time faculty position.

Research Focus

The CERC recipient will address one of the defining global challenges of our time: the erosion of democratic institutions under pressures of polarization, authoritarianism, disinformation, and deep structural inequality. Focusing on Africa and Latin America—regions where innovative civic responses to democratic crisis are emerging—the Chair will examine how democratic institutions survive, adapt, or falter under pressure, particularly in contexts shaped by colonial legacies, economic inequality, and racialized exclusion. The Chair’s research program will explore how grassroots movements, Indigenous sovereignties, and racial justice campaigns are contesting and transforming public institutions. While grounded in the Global South, the Chair’s work will inform democratic innovation globally—including in Canada—as societies grapple with political polarization, technological disruption, and declining trust in public institutions.

The Chair will build on and critically augment Memorial’s Political Science Department’s nationally and internationally recognized strengths in the study of democratic politics and theory, innovative democratic practices, and comparative politics. Current faculty members are embedded in strong national and international research networks on democracy, including SSHRC Partnership Grants (Participedia, The Consortium on Electoral Democracy, and the Canadian Municipal Barometer).

Further details on the post and where to apply can be found by clicking the 'Apply' button