Episode 4.20: The Politics of Defence and Security

Welcome to a new episode of Battle Rhythm with co-host Thomas Hughes, Assistant Professor at Mount Allison University. Steve and Thomas discuss UK politics and the upcoming NATO Summit along with submarine procurement and the progress on a Defence, Security and Resilience Bank in Canada (or elsewhere). Today’s feature interview is with CDSN Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr. Sanjida Amin. Sanjida Amin is the CDSN Postdoctoral Fellow (2025–2026) at the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP) at Queen’s University. She is currently completing her PhD in Political Science at the University of Toronto, where her research focuses on foreign sponsorship of insurgent groups, insurgent-state relations, and the international dimensions of civil war. Her book project examines how external support from foreign states shapes internal conflict dynamics, particularly by driving insurgent fragmentation during peace negotiations. Her broader research interests include international peacebuilding, alliance politics, and Canadian foreign and defense policy. Her current postdoctoral project investigates how U.S.-Canada security relations influence Canada’s evolving engagement with UN peacekeeping, situating this within the broader context of multilateralism and shifting global security priorities. Sanjida’s research has been supported by Fulbright Canada, the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC), and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. She aims to contribute to more effective peacebuilding and mediation strategies in protracted conflicts, as well as to informed debates on Canadian international security policy.