Pascal Lupien

Pascal Lupien is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean. He received his PhD in Political Science and his M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Guelph, and holds a Master’s in Information Studies from the Université de Montréal and a B.A. in Politics from McGill University. Dr. Lupien’s research interests revolve around democratic innovation, civil society, political communication and technology, and the factors that enhance or diminish the capacity of marginalized communities to participate in politics. His book, Citizens’ Power in Latin America: Theory and Practice (SUNY Press, 2018), looks at how local communities in Venezuela, Ecuador and Chile use participatory democracy mechanisms to pursue collective social development goals. His previous research examined the impact of Indigenous social movements on integrating the concept of plurinacionalidad into the constitutional reform processes in Bolivia and Ecuador.  Dr. Lupien’s current research considers the impact of information and communications technologies (ICTs) on the capacity of organizations representing Indigenous and Black minorities in Latin America to pursue their interests and to engage in effective political communication.