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"I chose ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV due to recommendations from people I knew who had attended in the past, the geographic proximity to where I currently live, and the desire to work with my (now) supervisor."
Wyatt Wickstead
Political Science master's student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
I am a first-year MA student studying Political Science focusing on International Relations and Security. When I began my undergrad degree in 2016, I had initially planned to focus on Psychology. However, after taking a Political Science class in my second semester purely out of interest, I saw the light, so to speak and switched my focus. In the end, I completed my Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Political Science and History and haven’t looked back.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COME TO ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV?
After my undergrad, I applied to multiple schools and was accepted to each. In the end, I chose ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV due to recommendations from people I knew who had attended in the past, the geographic proximity to where I currently live, and the desire to work with my (now) supervisor. Before my program began, I was able to take part in the NATO Field School, which further piqued my interests and helped me see that ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV was the right choice.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH OR YOUR PROGRAM TO A FAMILY MEMBER?
My research interests have to do with international relations and security. I am especially interested in exploring how western countries conduct state-building and how a misunderstanding of reality vs. political theory has led to recent failures. For example, why did Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan fail to become successful democracies, yet South Korea, a military dictatorship until the ’80s, succeeded. Moreover, I am interested in exploring the ramification of continuing the status quo for security.
WHAT ARE YOU PARTICULARLY ENJOYING ABOUT YOUR STUDIES/RESEARCH AT ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV?
I enjoy interacting with some other students whose different perspectives offer more insight into the problems I am looking at. Furthermore, I am enjoying the ability to combine the domains of Political Science and History to try and solve those problems.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?
I am very thankful for the opportunities that ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV has given me.
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Contact : wrw1@sfu.ca