One of the hardest days of the internship: the IAEA board of governors
I am entering my last year at 91ºÚÁÏÍø, where I study Political Science, Gender and Feminist Studies, and Philosophy. In my degree, I have taken an interest in political, feminist and legal philosophy. This means that I interact with theories of power and domination at the abstract level, without always having a clear idea of how to make sense of contemporary politics or legislation through theory. I was interested in this internship in part due to questions I had on practical
state accountability: how do international organizations exert power on states in the form of soft international law (i.e. what impact do multilateral agreements
really have?). Furthermore, I was curious about the
politics of the production of normative ideals: how are normative principles (which constitute soft international law) negotiated (i.e. do the most powerful states determine and define international normative principles?). Working directly with the Canadian mission would allow me to begin to answer these questions, bridging my theoretical interest in internationalism and international law with the practical realities of how power dynamics shape international institutions and multilateral negotiations. I would get to see how Canada exercises its power and influence to shape a more just international order, and in turn how international law may create a more just Canada. I could think through these questions in a city lived in by prominent thinkers like Ludwig Wittgenstein and Sigmund Freud, and enjoy Vienna’s high quality of life, and share ideas with passionate students from countries across the world!
Madison’s first day on the job
In Vienna, due to the generous funding of Mrs. Gael Eakin, I was able to begin to answer these difficult political and philosophical questions. In representing Canada in a variety of informal and formal negotiations at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), I got to develop a sense of how power is distributed among diverse states, and between states, civil society and relevant stakeholders in the international Arena. In attending and reporting back to Ottawa on some of the major intergovernmental negotiations (incl. 34th Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) Implementation Review Group, the Intergovernmental Expert Group Meeting on Crimes that Affect the Environment and the IAEA Board of Governors), I got to utilize and strengthen my research and public speaking skills.
A challenging part of the internship was watching intergovernmental decisions take place that I didn’t agree with — an inevitable part of working for the foreign service (especially on the non-partisan side). While those moments were certainly challenging, they allowed me to renew my interest in international politics, to gain self-knowledge and perspective, and to think through creative solutions to some internal contradictions within internationalism. Most importantly, these were moments for reflection on how to create a more just Canada and a more just world.
Mrs. Gael Eakin, thank you for most generously supporting my internship with the Permanent Mission of Canada to the International Organizations in Vienna. I am honoured to have received the Gael Eakin Canada Internship Award — meant to support a student advancing the cause of a more just Canada — and it is with great pleasure that I report my internship highlights.
Krka National Park!
I am so excited to explore the contradictions and potentials of Internationalism in a research project to be completed in the Fall and supervised by Prof. Tania Weinstein. This internship would not have been possible without the generous support of Mrs. Gael Eakin, as it paid for my living expenses and travels in Vienna. It also covered a couple of books, and some very important museum visits — and for that I am so grateful! Thank you to the arts internship as well for your generous support, and to Ilia and Abi for your friendship and support.
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