Portrait of Étienne Sinotte

Étienne Sinotte

PhD Candidate in Political Science at McGill University

About

I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at McGill University. I primarily work in comparative politics, with a regional focus on Latin America. I hold an MSc in Political Science from the Université de Montréal and a BA in Applied Political Studies from the Université de Sherbrooke.

My research examines the relationship between displacement, extractivism, criminal governance, and democratic citizenship in Latin America. In particular, I investigate how the presence or absence of the state shapes who is governed, and by whom, at its extractive and criminal margins. This project grows out of earlier fieldwork in Peru on collaborative governance, which first drew my attention to who steps in where the state withdraws.

I am affiliated with the Research Team on Governance and Inclusion in Latin America (ÉRIGAL), the McGill Refugee Research Group (MRRG), and the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship (CSDC).

Publications

Articles

Sustaining Coproduction Despite Intermittent State Disengagement: Peru’s Indigenous COVID Commands, in Latin American Politics and Society, in production.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Peru’s Indigenous COVID Commands (ICCs) coordinated emergency responses in Amazonian communities, with territorially uneven outcomes. This article dives into the functioning of the La Convención ICC (Cusco), which was more effective than others because of prior health collaboration and embedded, resource-rich NGOs that sustained coproduction where the state’s engagement was intermittent, and it shows how non-state actors can improve health policy implementation in low-capacity states.

Chapters

Definitions of northern/rural/remote/peripheric communities in Canada, in the Research Companion to the Periphery and Peripheral Regions: Concepts, Diagnosis, Dilemmas, edited by Jerzy Bański, 2025.

(with François Brouard, Natalya Brown, and Manuel Litalien)

Inconsistent definitions for northern, rural, and remote Canadian communities lead to oversimplified classifications that ignore regional diversity and result in poorly tailored public policies and a philanthropic sector which neglects smaller communities in favor of urban centers. A nuanced, multi-factor approach is essential to accurately identify community needs and ensure the equitable delivery of social programs.

Book Reviews

Climate Displacement by Jamie Draper, in the Journal of Refugee Studies, 2025.

Recognition Politics: Indigenous Rights and Ethnic Conflict in the Andes by Lorenza Fontana, in the Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 2024.

Voice and Inequality: Poverty and Political Participation in Latin American Democracies by Carew Boulding and Claudio Holzner, in Politique et Sociétés, 2023.

Public Writing

Ousting of Peru’s president points to a deeper crisis, in The Conversation Canada, March 5, 2026.

Selected Grants

Doctoral Research Fellowship from the Research Team on Governance and Inclusion in Latin America (ÉRIGAL) (2025-2026)

Canada Graduate Scholarship (Ph.D.; CGS-D) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) (2024-2027)

Canada Graduate Scholarship (M.A.; CGS-M) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) (2022-2023)

Discovery Scholarship from the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Université de Montréal

Teaching & Coordination

I have been a guest lecturer and teaching assistant in a variety of Political Science courses at McGill and the Université de Montréal, on diverse topics such as Latin American Politics, Canadian Politics, and Research Methods (both qualitative and mixed).

I have also coordinated a number of large-scale events. Recently, I have organized the annual conferences of McGill’s Diamond-Brown Chair on Democratic Studies (headed by Prof. Juan Pablo Luna; 2025 and 2026 editions). In the past, I have also contributed to the organization of the Human Rights in Latin America Conference of the Canada Research Chair in Participation and Citizenship(s) (Université de Montréal, 2023), the (In)visibilités, genre et luttes en Amérique latine Film Festival (Université de Montréal, 2022), and the Québec Society of Political Science (SQSP) annual conferences (2021 and 2022 editions).