Research Description

I have a diverse range of research interests within the very broad field of international relations (IR). I have conducted at the University of Manitoba which range from sanctions, to NORAD, to the Arctic – all published in key IR journals and published edited volumes.

I have provided testimony to the House of Commons and to the Senate of Canada on numerous occasions, interviewed by the media in all formats and regularly provide guest lectures at Canadian Forces College and Barker College at 17 Wing Winnipeg. While they are also examples of service, these activities require some of the most challenging research opportunities given the particularly sensitive and emotional topics under discussion and the requirement to avoid the pressure that comes with bending to popular opinion at the time. I have been invited to observe a number of military exercises including Operation Nanook in the Arctic in Resolute and I brought students with me on a Hercules to witness SAREX and a tour of the Great Lakes on HMCS Goose Bay (707). They are experiences the students will never forget. It provides them learning opportunities far beyond the textbook and takes them of the classroom and into the community.

Teaching Description

To achieve my ultimate goal of practically-based pedagogy, I have an “anything but textbook” approach to teaching. Rather than reading about the world, I invite subject matter experts to share their experiences with my students. In my graduate seminar course on Contemporary Strategic Studies (POLS7850) I invite members of the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP and Canadian Coast Guard to engage in a panel discussion about “security” in the world. The invitations serve two, related purposes. First, it is an opportunity for students to see uniformed officers in person and ask them questions – an opportunity rarely afforded the general population. Second, these subject matter experts have very different perspectives on what “security” entails, who or what agency is responsible for establishing/maintaining it, by what methods and to what ends. Often, the literature suggests security is an either/or proposition: a state is either secure or under threat. However, the very lively panel discussion demonstrates that there are a myriad of factors and perspectives to consider and that security prognoses are but one of many examples of international relations as both an art and science.

Public/Media (Non-Technical) Description

Dr. Andrea Charron holds a PhD from the Royal Military College of Canada (Department of War Studies). She obtained a Masters in International Relations from Webster University, Leiden, The Netherlands, a Master’s of Public Administration from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Queen’s University. Her research and teaching areas include NORAD, the Arctic, foreign and defence policy and sanctions. She serves on the DND’s Defence Advisory Board and has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Charron worked for various federal departments including the Privy Council Office in the Security and Intelligence Secretariat and Canada’s Revenue Agency. She is now Director of the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies and Associate Professor in Political Studies.