RESEARCH PAPERS

If, by chance, you come across the research interests detailed on this blog and would like to continue reading about the topics mentioned, please let me know! The following are a brief list of some research papers I've written for my first Political Science degree. Although they're very research-based, I'd be glad to share if anyone wishes to read up on these topics!

1. My Fourth-year Major Paper:
Contemplating A Federal Political System: The Philippine Story & Lambino vs. COMELEC

Rather than providing a summary of this paper, let me leave you all with a quote by Filipino human rights advocate Jose W. Diokno, which sums up the themes of the political problems outlined in my thesis:

“The Philippines today is a plural society. One could almost call it a fragmented society: its people are divided by extremes of poverty and wealth; split by conflicts between Christianity and Islam, and within Christianity, by rivalries among different sects.”

2. In The Midst Of Difficulties: A Study on the Independence and Empowerment of Israel’s Judiciary

Excerpt:
"Since its establishment, the judicial system of Israel has been characterized as professional and unpolitical, respecting government while adjudicating fairly but firmly. The Supreme Court has been dubbed a “bastion of Israeli democracy” and the “major guardian of justice and civil rights in Israel.” But does the Israeli judiciary hold as much power as scholars claim?"

3. Two Levels of Authoritarianism: The Cases of Singapore and Burma/Myanmar

Excerpt:
"A democractic state does not necessarily provide the absolute freedoms its leaders claim. Certain states actively use a façade of equality to cover up aspects of repression—in other words, these are illiberal democracies. Regimes founded to advance a state’s interests with the pretense of freedom."

4. Canadian Constitutional Tensions: The Problems of Foreign Accreditation and Immigrant Employment

Excerpt:
"While Canada’s immigration selection process emphasizes a preference towards skilled university graduates, the system to employ them is replete with defects. These deficiencies find its roots back to the beginnings of our nation. The writers of the British North America Act (BNA) of 1867 did not anticipate the waves of immigration that would flood Canadian soil a hundred years after its conception."

5. A Legalistic Approach: Contemplating The Effectiveness of the World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement System

Excerpt:
"Dispute settlement resolution systems under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) have been known to be ineffective. Does the WTO exemplify the same faults? How has it improved its mechanisms and learned from the problems inherent in previous systems? Ultimately, does its dispute settlement mechanism make the WTO the world’s most effective multilateral organization?"


NOTE: This blog page is still under construction. Check back for a more extended research essay list to come!