York experts available to comment on Davos 2026 and shifting geopolitical alliances
Beyond the speeches: scholars offer analysis on trade wars, rising populism, and the evolving role of the U.S. and EU within the international arena
As global leaders gather in Davos amid escalating tensions over trade, territorial sovereignty, NATO and the future of the rules-based international order, York University experts are available to provide historical context, policy analysis and grounded insight into what these developments mean for Canada and the world.
The role of the EU in trade, alliances and global governance
Burkard Eberlein is a professor of public policy and sustainability at the Schulich School of Business and director of the BBA/iBBA programs. He is available speak on:
- the European Union’s capacity to respond collectively to U.S. tariff threats
- the EU’s role as a counterweight in global trade and investment disputes
- Canada’s prospects for trade diversification and deeper alignment with Europe
- why policy responses differ across jurisdictions facing similar geopolitical shocks
Eberlein’s research focuses on business-government relations and comparative public policy, with particular expertise on Canada and the European Union.
American expansionism, military history and a challenged world order
As a professor of U.S. and global history, Boyd Cothran is available to offer insight on:
- the historical roots of U.S. strategic interest in the Arctic and North American security
- historical precedents for U.S. territorial expansion and imperial rhetoric
- the erosion of Pax Americana and what history suggests about transitions between global orders
Cothran is the author of Remembering the Modoc War: Redemptive Violence and the Making of American Innocence, which received the 2015 Robert M. Utley Prize for the best book in military history from the Western History Association, and The Edwin Fox: How an Ordinary Sailing Ship Connected the World in the Age of Globalization, 1850-1914. He has written for The New York Times and Aeon and Indian Country Today, among other publications.
Globalization, populism and the strain on liberal democracy
Professor emeritus and senior scholar in the department of politics Daniel Drache is available to comment on:Â
- the rise of populism and its effects on liberal democratic institutions
- the international political economy and global governance institutions, including the WTO
- NAFTA, free trade, tariffs and North American economic integration
- borders as policy tools in an era of economic nationalism
Drache is a research fellow at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and the co-author of Has Populism Won? The Assault on Liberal Democracy, which examines how and why global populism has taken root across different national contexts. He has also written numerous articles mapping and tracking populism for The Conversation.
Immigration, mass deportation and the politics of exclusion
Yvonne Su is an associate professor in the department of Equity Studies and a visiting scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School for Public Health. She is available to provide insight on:
- colonial legacies, semi-sovereignty and how great powers exploit unresolved decolonization processes in strategically significant territories like Greenland
- immigration policy, undocumented migrants and mass deportation rhetoric
- how domestic immigration policy intersects with global instability and geopolitics
- the impacts of immigration crackdowns on marginalized and racialized communities
Su is a leading expert on forced migration. Her writing has been published widely in academic journals and major media outlets, including The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times.
