Ailsa Henderson
Job Title
Professor of Political Science
Room number
3.09Building (Address)
Chrystal Macmillan BuildingStreet (Address)
15a George SquareCity (Address)
EdinburghCountry (Address)
UKPost code (Address)
EH8 9LDResearch interests
Research interests
Political behaviour, Political culture, Regionalism, Voting and elections, Comparative territorial politics, UK, Scotland, Quebec-Scotland comparisons, European values, Public opinion and political attitudes
PhD Supervision
Professor Henderson is able to offer PhD supervision on comparative as well as UK and Canadian topics covering 4 themes:
- electoral and referendum behaviour (voters and parties), electoral systems and electoral reform
- territorial politics and federalism, nationalism and devolution
- political culture, political attitudes and public opinion
- civic engagement, especially among young people, and mandated participation (eg compulsory voting and compulsory community service)
Current and recent PhD/ MSc by Research supervision includes:
FINISHED:
- Alia Middleton, Constituency campaigning in UK elections
- Ibrahim Sani, Electoral governance in Nigeria
- Charlotte Snelling, Youth turnout in UK Elections
- Mor Kandlik Eltanani, Social movement organisations
- Alexandra Remond, Secession referendums in comparative perspective
- Shirley Pat Chamberlain, Social citizenship in First Nations communities in Canada
- Yazmin Morlet Corti, Political culture and attitudes to privacy
STILL WORKING AWAY AT THINGS:
- Aafiyah Shaikh, First Nations environmental activism in Canada
- Isabella Gabrovsky, The experiences of Syrian refugees in Scotland and England
- Javier Carbonell, Regionalism, nationalism and political party manifestos
- Camilo Jara Villalobos, Freedom of information and corruption
If you are interested in being supervised by Ailsa Henderson, please see the link below (open in new windows) for more information:
Background
Qualifications
- Baccalauréat ès sciences sociales, science politique (Université d'Ottawa)
- MSc Social Research (Edinburgh)
- PhD Politics (Edinburgh)
Current Teaching and Research Interests
Professor Ailsa Henderson FRSE FAcSS CStat is Associate Dean of Research Impact for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Professor Henderson conducts research on political culture(s) and political behaviour in federal and multi-national states, and focuses in particular on variations in political culture at the sub-state level. Her publications explore how national identity, federalism, devolution or institutional design can affect regional variations in political attitudes and behaviours. She is the Principal Investigator for the ESRC-funded Scottish Election Study, and co-directs the Future of England Survey/State of the Union survey, a 360 degree review of attitudes to the union in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Recent international grants cover political parties and voting behaviour in Scotland and Quebec (SSHRCC) and the Provincial Diversity Project, a study of attitudinal variation across the ten Canadian provinces (SSHRCC).
Professor Henderson teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in quantitative methods, research methods and research design, British/Scottish and comparative politics.
A member of the 2021 UK REF sub-panel (Politics and International Studies), Henderson is currently Chair of Boundaries Scotland, which sets electoral and ward boundaries for local and Holyrood elections, and is a commissioner on the Boundary Commission for Scotland (for Westminster elections). She was recently an expert witness for the UK's COVID inquiry, on multi-level governance, devolution and public opinion, and an exert advisor to the Welsh Senedd finance committee on electoral reform.
Professor Henderson is a member of the Elections, Public Opinion and Parties research group, the Territorial Politics research group, Centre on Constitutional Change and Q-Step group.
Edinburgh Research Explorer profile can be accessed here:
Publications
Books (2021-)
Ailsa Henderson, Robert Johns, Jac M Larner and Christopher J Carman (2022) The Referendum That Changed a Nation: Scottish Voting Behaviour 2014-2019 (Palgrave)
Ailsa Henderson and Richard Wyn Jones (2021) Englishness: The Political Force Transforming Britain (Oxford University Press) Pick of the summer New Statesman, Telegraph. Wall St Journal: Seven books to understand the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The book also appears in the 2023 Grayson Perry painting 'Vote for Me!'
Ailsa Henderson and Mike Medeiros, Eds (2021) Identities and attitudes to decentralization in multi-level states: Understanding the territorial scales of political life (special issue of Comparative European Politics)
Books (2007-2018)
Éric Bélanger, Richard Nadeau, Ailsa Henderson and Eve Hepburn (2018) The National Question and Electoral Politics in Quebec and Scotland (McGill-Queen's University Press) UK nominee, International Council of Canadian Studies Pierre Savard Award 2020
Ailsa Henderson, Charlie Jeffery and Daniel Wincott, Eds (2013) Citizenship After the Nation State (Palgrave)
Ailsa Henderson, Ed, (2011) Why Regions Matter: Small Worlds in Comparative Perspective (Routledge)
Ailsa Henderson, Ed, (2009) Nunavut at Ten (special issue of the Journal of Canadian Studies 43(2)
Ailsa Henderson (2007) Hierarchies of Belonging: national identity and political culture in Scotland and Quebec (McGill-Queen's University Press)
Ailsa Henderson (2007) Nunavut: Rethinking Political Culture (UBC Press). Shortlisted, CPSA Donald Smiley Prize. Best book in Canadian political science 2008
Colin Coates and Ailsa Henderson, Eds, (2005) Scotland-Quebec: An Evolving Comparison (special issue of British Journal of Canadian Studies 18 (1/2).
Articles (2019-2024)
Stephen White, Antoine Bilodeau, Luc Turgeon and Ailsa Henderson (2023) "Residential Concentration and Political Engagement among Racialized Canadians: The Moderating Role of Intragroup Contact" Political Geography 107
James Griffiths, Richard Wyn Jones, Ed Gareth Poole, Jac Larner, Ailsa Henderson, Fraser McMillan (2023) "Diverging Electoral Fortunes in Scotland and Wales: national identities, national interests and voting behaviour" Regional and Federal Studies 33(4): 487-510
Antoine Bilodeau, Stephen White, Luc Turgeon and Ailsa Henderson (2022) “Ethnic minority belonging in a multilevel political community: The role of exclusionary experiences and welcoming provincial contexts in Canada” Territory, Politics, Governance Online first https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2080758
Karlo Basta and Ailsa Henderson (2021) “Multinationalism, constitutional asymmetry and COVID: UK responses to the pandemic” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 27(3): 293-310
Ailsa Henderson and Mike Medeiros (2021) “Identities and attitudes to decentralization in multi-level states: Understanding the territorial scales of political life” Comparative European Politics https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41295-020-00229-y
Ailsa Henderson and Richard Wyn Jones (2021) “Unions of the Mind: the United Kingdom as a subjective state” Comparative European Politics https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41295-020-00231-4
Ailsa Henderson, Ed Gareth Poole, Richard Wyn Jones, Daniel Wincott, Jac Larner and Charlie Jeffery (2020, online first) “Analysing vote choice in a multinational state: national identity and territorial differentiation in the 2016 Brexit vote” Regional Studies
Antoine Bilodeau, Audrey Gagnon, Steve White, Luc Turgeon and Ailsa Henderson (2020) “Attitudes towards ethnocultural diversity in multi-level political communities: comparing the effect of national and subnational attachments in Canada” Publius
Ailsa Henderson, Rob Johns, Jac Larner and Chris Carman (2020) “Scottish Labour as a Case Study in Party Failure: Evidence from the 2019 UK General Election in Scotland” Scottish Affairs 29(2): 127-40
Luc Turgeon, Antoine Bilodeau, Steve White, Ailsa Henderson and Alain-G Gagnon (2019) “Symbolic Predispositions, Interests and Official Languages Legislation: Exploring the Principle-Implementation Gap in Canada” Politics, Groups and Identities
Luc Turgeon, Antoine Bilodeau, Stephen E. White and Ailsa Henderson (2019) “A Tale of Two Liberalisms? Attitudes toward Minority Religious Symbols in Quebec and Canada” Canadian Journal of Political Science 52(2): 247-65. Winner, John McMenemy Prize, best article appearing in CJPS in 2019
Robert Liñeira and Ailsa Henderson (2019) “Risk Attitudes and Independence Vote Choice” Political Behavior
Iain Hardie, Ailsa Henderson and Charlotte Rommerskirchen (2019) “The impact of treasury yields on US presidential approval, 1960-2010” New Political Economy 25(6) 1022-40
Ailsa Henderson, Steven D. Brown and S. Mark Pancer (2019) “Curriculum Requirements and Subsequent Civic Engagement: Is there a difference between ‘forced’ and ‘free’ community service?” British Journal of Sociology 70(4): 1297-1322
Chapters (2019-2024)
Ailsa Henderson, Roger Awan-Scully and Jonathan Tonge (2021) ‘The Devolved Nations’ in Robert Ford, Tim Bale, Will Jennings and Paula Surridge, Eds, The British General Election of 2019. Palgrave Macmillan
James Mitchell and Ailsa Henderson (2021) “Tribes and Turbulence: The 2019 General Election in Scotland” in Jonathan Tonge, Cristina Leston-Bandeira and Stuart Wilks-Heeg, Eds, Britain Votes 2019. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Ailsa Henderson, Rob Johns, Christopher Carman and James Mitchell (2020) “Political Behaviour” in Michael Keating, Ed, Oxford Handbook of Scottish Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press
James Mitchell and Ailsa Henderson (2020) “Elections and Electoral Systems” in Michael Keating, Ed, Oxford Handbook of Scottish Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Ailsa Henderson (2019) “The Myth of Meritocratic Scotland” in Philip Cowley and Rob Ford, Eds Sex, Lies and Politics. London: Biteback Press, 197-202
Ailsa Henderson (2019) “Attitudes to Constitutional Change” in Gerry Hassan, Ed, The Story of the Scottish Parliament: the first two decades explained. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, 45-51
Staff Hours and Guidance
Meetings by appointment.
Publications by user content
Publication | Research Explorer link |
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Henderson A, Bilodeau A, Turgeon L, White SE. Subjective perceptions of difference: Regional values, embeddedness and bias in Canadian provinces . Publius: The Journal of Federalism. 2024 Feb 21. |
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Bilodeau A, White SE, Ma C, Turgeon L, Henderson A. Marginalized, but not demobilized: Ethnic minority protest activity when facing discrimination. International Political Science Review. 2023 Nov;44(5):627-644. Epub 2023 Sept 30. doi: 10.1177/01925121231156633 |
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White SE, Bilodeau A, Turgeon L, Henderson A. Residential concentration and political engagement among racialized Canadians: The moderating role of intragroup contact. Political Geography. 2023 Nov;107:102971. Epub 2023 Sept 13. doi: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102971 |
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Griffiths J, Wyn Jones R, Poole EG, Larner JM, Henderson A, McMillan F. Diverging electoral fortunes in Scotland and Wales: National identities, national interests, and voting behavior. Regional and Federal Studies. 2023;33(4):487-510. Epub 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1080/13597566.2023.2227952 |
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Bilodeau A, White S, Turgeon L, Henderson A. Ethnic minority belonging in a multilevel political community: The role of exclusionary experiences and welcoming provincial contexts in Canada. Territory, Politics, Governance. 2022 Jun 30. Epub 2022 Jun 30. doi: 10.1080/21622671.2022.2080758 |
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Elstub S, Escobar O, Henderson A, Thorne T, Bland N, Bowes E. Citizens' Assembly of Scotland: Research Report. Edinburgh: Scottish Government Social Research, 2022. 110 p. |
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Liñeira R, Henderson A. Risk attitudes and independence vote choice. Political Behavior. 2021 Jun;43(2):541-560. Epub 2019 Aug 1. doi: 10.1007/s11109-019-09560-x |
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Henderson A, Jones RW. Unions of the mind: The UK as a subjective state. Comparative European Politics. 2021 Feb 17. Epub 2021 Feb 17. doi: 10.1057/s41295-020-00231-4 |
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Henderson A, Medeiros M. Identities and attitudes to decentralization in multi-level states: Understanding the territorial scales of political life. Comparative European Politics. 2021 Feb 9. Epub 2021 Feb 9. doi: 10.1057/s41295-020-00229-y |
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Basta K, Henderson A. Multinationalism, constitutional asymmetry and COVID: UK responses to the pandemic. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 2021;27(3):293-310. Epub 2021 Oct 18. doi: 10.1080/13537113.2021.1954298 |
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Bowes E, Bland N, Escobar O, King B, Elstub S, Rozenburg M et al. Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland: Data Briefings - Weekends 1-8. Scottish Government, 2020. |
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Henderson A, Poole EG, Jones RW, Wincott D, Larner J, Jeffery C. Analysing vote choice in a multinational state: National identity and territorial differentiation in the 2016 Brexit vote. Regional Studies. 2020 Nov 4;N/A:1-15. Epub 2020 Nov 4. doi: 10.1080/00343404.2020.1813883 |
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Mitchell J, Henderson A. Tribes and turbulence: The 2019 UK general election in Scotland. Parliamentary Affairs. 2020 Sept;73(S1):142-156. Epub 2020 Sept 23. doi: 10.1093/pa/gsaa027 |
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Bilodeau A, Gagnon A, White SE, Turgeon L, Henderson A. Attitudes toward ethnocultural diversity in multilevel political communities: Comparing the effect of national and subnational attachments in Canada. Publius: The Journal of Federalism. 2020 Jul 15. Epub 2020 Jul 15. doi: 10.1093/publius/pjaa020 |
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Mitchell J, Henderson A. Elections and electoral systems. In Keating M, editor, The Oxford Handbook of Scottish Politics. Oxford University Press. 2020 |
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Henderson A, Johns R, Carman C, Mitchell J. Political behaviour in Scotland. In Keating M, editor, The Oxford Handbook of Scottish Politics. Oxford University Press. 2020 |
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Henderson A, Wincott D. After Brexit and Covid‐19: Devolution and policy variation in a dis-United Kingdom. Progressive Review. 2020;27(3):246-255. Epub 2020 Dec 15. doi: 10.1111/newe.12222 |
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Hardie I, Henderson A, Rommerskirchen C. The impact of Treasury yields on US presidential approval, 1960-2010. New Political Economy. 2020;25(6):1022-1040. Epub 2019 Nov 11. doi: 10.1080/13563467.2019.1680962 |
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Henderson A, Brown SD, Pancer SM. Curriculum Requirements and Subsequent Civic Engagement: Is there a difference between ‘forced’ and ‘free’ community service. British Journal of Sociology. 2019 Sept 2;70(4):1297-1322. Epub 2019 Jan 4. doi: 10.1111/1468-4446.12627 |
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Turgeon L, Bilodeau A, White SE, Henderson A. A tale of two liberalisms? Attitudes toward minority religious symbols in Quebec and Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science. 2019 Jun 30;52(2):247-265. Epub 2019 Apr 24. doi: 10.1017/S0008423918000999 |
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Henderson A, Carman C, Johns R, Mitchell J. Migration, Engagement and Constitutional Preferences: Evidence from the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. In Devine T, McCarthy A, editors, New Scots: Scotland's immigrant communities since 1945. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 2018. (Studies in Scottish and Irish Migration). |
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Bilodeau A, Turgeon L, White S, Henderson A. Strange bedfellows? Attitudes toward minority religious symbols in the public sphere. Politics and Religion. 2018 Jun;11(2):309-333. Epub 2018 Mar 8. doi: 10.1017/S1755048317000748 |
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Bélanger É, Nadeau R, Henderson A, Hepburn E. The National Question and Electoral Politics in Quebec and Scotland. Montreal; Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2018. 304 p. (Democracy, Diversity, and Citizen Engagement Series). |
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Henderson A, Mitchell J. Referendums as Critical Junctures: Scottish voting in British elections. In Tonge J, Leston-Bandeira C, Wilks-Heeg S, editors, Britain Votes 2017. Oxford University Press. 2018. p. 109–124. (Hansard Society Series in Politics and Government). |
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Henderson A, Tierney S. Can referendums foster citizen deliberation? The experience of Canada and the United Kingdom. In Keating M, Laforest G, editors, Constitutional Politics and the Territorial Question in Canada and the United Kingdom: Federalism and Devolution Compared. 1 ed. Palgrave Macmillan. 2018. p. 159-177. (Comparative Territorial Politics ). Epub 2017 Aug 18. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-58074-6 |
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Henderson A, Jeffery C, Wincott D, Wyn Jones R. How Brexit was made in England. British Journal of Politics and International Relations. 2017 Nov 1;19(4):631-646. Epub 2017 Oct 4. doi: 10.1177/1369148117730542 |
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Lineira R, Henderson A, Delaney L. Voters’ response to the campaign. In Keating M, editor, Debating Scotland: Issues of Independence and Union in the 2014 Referendum. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2017 |
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Henderson A. Scotland. In Turp D, Sanjaume-Calvet M, editors, The Emergence of a Democratic Right to Self Determination in Europe. Vol. 12. Brussels: Centre Maurits Coppieters. 2016. p. 182-191 |
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Henderson A. The Freedom to Make Identical Decisions: The Devolution Paradox. In Cowley P, Ford R, editors, More Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box: fifty things you need to know about british elections. Vol. 2. London: Biteback Press. 2016 |
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Jeffery C, Henderson A, Scully R, Wyn Jones R. England’s dissatisfactions and the conservative dilemma. Political Studies Review. 2016 Aug 31;14(3):335-348. Epub 2016 Jul 21. doi: 10.1177/1478929916649617 |
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Henderson A, Jeffery C, Lineira R, Scully R, Wincott D, Jones RW. England, Englishness and Brexit. The Political Quarterly. 2016 Jun 2;87(2):187-199. Epub 2016 May 25. doi: 10.1111/1467-923X.12262 |
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Henderson A. Différenciation institutionnelle: La perception de la différence et les multiples communautés politiques à l'intérieur de l'État. In Caron JF, editor, Les conditions de l'unité politique et de la séecession dans les sociétés multinationales. Quebec City: Presses de l'Universite Laval. 2016. p. 41-59 |
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Henderson A, Romanova V. Multi-level voting and party competition in vertically simultaneous elections: the case of Ukraine. Post-Soviet Affairs. 2016;32(3):201-236. Epub 2015 May 21. doi: 10.1080/1060586X.2015.1016283 |
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Henderson A, McEwen N. Regions as primary political communities: A multi-level comparative analysis of turnout in regional elections. Publius: The Journal of Federalism. 2015 Apr 1;45(2):189-215. Epub 2014 Oct 30. doi: 10.1093/publius/pju040 |
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Henderson A, White G. Managing the Moraine: Political Economy and Political Culture Approaches to Assessing the Success of Nunavut. In Evans B, Smith C, editors, The End of Expansion: The Political Economy of Canadian Provinces. Buffalo, USA: University of Toronto Press. 2015. p. 315-346. 11. (Studies in Comparative Political Economy and Public Policy). |
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Henderson A, Jeffery C, Liñeira R. National Identity or National Interest? Scottish, English and Welsh Attitudes to the Constitutional Debate. The Political Quarterly. 2015;86(2):265–274. Epub 2015 Apr 29. doi: 10.1111/1467-923X.12163 |
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Henderson A, Pancer SM, Brown SD. Creating Effective Civic Engagement Policy for Adolescents: Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluations of Compulsory Community Service. Journal of Adolescent Research. 2014 Jan 1;29(1):120-154. Epub 2013 Sept 24. doi: 10.1177/0743558413502532 |
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Jeffery C, Wyn Jones R, Henderson A, Scully R, Lodge G. Taking England Seriously: The New English Politics. ESRC Scottish Centre on Constitutional Change, 2014. 34 p. |
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Henderson A, Jeffery C, Wincott D. Citizenship After the Nation State. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. 256 p. |
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Henderson A. Citizenship in Europe: A comparative examination of the rescaling of political life. In Henderson A, Jeffery C, Wincott D, editors, Citizenship After the Nation State. Palgrave Macmillan. 2013 |
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Henderson A, Jeffery C, Wincott D, Wyn Jones R. Reflections on the ‘Devolution Paradox’: A Comparative Examination of Multilevel Citizenship. Regional Studies. 2013;47(3):303-322. doi: 10.1080/00343404.2013.768764 |
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Wyn Jones R, Lodge G, Jeffery C, Gottfried G, Scully R, Henderson A et al. England and its Two Unions: The Anatomy of a Nation and its Discontents. Institute for Public Policy Research, 2013. 42 p. |
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Henderson A, Brown SD, Pancer SM. Political and Social Dimensions of Civic Engagement: The Impact of Compulsory Community Service. Politics & Policy (P&P). 2012 Feb;40(1):93-130. doi: 10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00341.x |
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Wyn Jones R, Lodge G, Henderson A, Wincott D. The Dog that Finally Barked: England as an Emerging Political Community. Institute for Public Policy Research, 2012. 36 p. |
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Henderson A. Why Regions Matter: Small Worlds in Comparative Perspective. Routledge, 2011. |
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Henderson A. 'Small Worlds' as Predictors of General Political Attitudes. Regional & Federal Studies. 2010 Oct;20(4-5):469-85. doi: 10.1080/13597566.2010.523621 |
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Henderson A. Why Regions Matter: Sub-state Polities in Comparative Perspective. Regional & Federal Studies. 2010 Oct;20(4-5):439-45. doi: 10.1080/13597566.2010.523619 |
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Henderson A, (ed.). Why Regions Matter: Sub-state Polities as Small Worlds. Regional & Federal Studies. 2010 Oct;20(4-5). |
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Henderson A, McEwen N. A Comparative Analysis of Voter Turnout in Regional Elections. Electoral Studies. 2010 Sept;29(3):405-416. doi: 10.1016/j.electstud.2010.03.012 |
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Padanyi P, Baetz M, Brown SD, Henderson A. Mandatory High School Community Service in Ontario: Assessing and Improving its Impact. In Mook L, Quarter J, Ryan S, editors, Researching the Social Economy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 2010. p. 176-200 |
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Henderson A. Greater than the sum of its parts: political cultures and regions in Canada. In McIvor H, editor, Election. Toronto: Emond Montgomery. 2010. p. 285-310 |
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Henderson A. Lessons for Social Science in the Study of New Polities: Nunavut at Ten. Journal of Canadian Studies. 2009;43(2):5-22. |
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Henderson A. Institutional Boundaries and Regionalism: Social, Economic and Political Regions in the Canadian Arctic. Journal of Canadian Studies. 2009;43(2):109-36. |
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Henderson A. Satisfaction with democracy: The Impact of Winning and Losing in Westminster Systems. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties. 2008;18(1):3-26. doi: 10.1080/17457280701858581 |
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Henderson A. Self-government in Nunavut. In Belanger Y, editor, Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada. Saskatoon: Purich. 2008. p. 222-239 |
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Henderson A. Hierarchies of Belonging: National Identity and Political Culture in Scotland and Quebec. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007. 264 p. |
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Henderson A. Nunavut: Rethinking Political Culture. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2007. 272 p. |
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