Reza Hasmath Joins CPD as 2025 Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chair

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy and USC Annenberg Master in Public Diplomacy program is pleased to welcome Reza Hasmath as the 2025 Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Public Diplomacy.  

Hasmath is a Trinidadian-Canadian academic, and a Full Professor in Political Science at the University of Alberta. He has previously held faculty positions in management, sociology, and political science at the Universities of Toronto, Melbourne, and Oxford. He has also worked for and advised global think tanks, consultancies, development agencies, and social organizations. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, and was formally trained in philosophy, public policy, international studies and diplomacy, social and political sciences, as well as various East Asian and European languages.

His award-winning research can be summarized in five major themes: (1) examining the life course experiences and public management of ethnic minorities in global contexts; (2) analyzing state-society relationships in China and how the activities of emerging state and non-state actors potentially affect salient theories, practices, and assumptions in international development and global affairs; (3) assessing the evolving behavior of policy actors and citizens and their subsequent impact on advanced authoritarian regimes; (4) evaluating global social and economic sustainability and the development of environmental, social, and corporate governance principles and practices; and (5) probing into the essential qualities of the self, community, and state through their performative interplay in the public domain.

He has authored and edited nine books, with over forty journal articles in leading outlets across various disciplines, many translated into multiple languages. He has also delivered numerous talks and policy speeches globally, and is regularly sought for advice by government agencies, non-profits, and multinational enterprises. Additionally, he is a frequent contributor to national and international media, with over three hundred interviews on television, radio, and print. Hasmath is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Civil Society and the Founding Editor of the Routledge Research on the Politics and Sociology of China book series.

See a list of previous Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chairs in Public Diplomacy here.

About the Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. Government's flagship educational and cultural exchange program signed into law by U.S. President Harry S. Truman on August 1, 1946. For 75 years, Fulbright has been a mainstay of U.S. public diplomacy, strengthening binational relationships, enhancing mutual understanding and forging lasting connections. Today, Fulbright is a global public sector—private sector partnership dedicated to supporting the best and the brightest by offering exchange opportunities for dynamic and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds. Learn how Fulbright is celebrating its legacy of global connections and alumni impact here.

About the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Public Diplomacy

Supported by Foreign Affairs Canada and the United States Department of State since 2005, the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Program promotes a deeper and more nuanced knowledge of Canada-U.S. relations and builds mutual understanding between the two countries through high-level academic exchange. The Canada-U.S. Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at CPD is designed to strengthen binational collaborative research on issues relevant to Canada, the United States, and the relationship between the two countries. For more information, visit the Fulbright Canada website here.