Donald E. Abelson, PhD, is the inaugural Academic Director of Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement.

Prior to his appointment at McMaster, Dr. Abelson was Director of the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, the Steven K. Hudson Chair in Canada-US Relations, and Professor, Political Science, St. Francis Xavier University. Before joining StFX, Dr. Abelson served as Director, Canada-US Institute, Director, Centre for American Studies, and Chair, Political Science, University of Western Ontario. He is also Adjunct Professor (Political Science), Dalhousie University and Adjunct Research Professor (Political Science), University of Western Ontario. Dr. Abelson received his MA and PhD (Political Studies) from Queen’s University, an MA (Journalism) from the University of Western Ontario, and a BA Hons. (Political Science) from the University of Toronto. He teaches and conducts research in the fields of Comparative Politics (Canada and the US) and International Relations.

Dr. Abelson is the author of several books, including Do Think Tanks Matter? Assessing the Impact of Public Policy Institutes (3rd ed., McGill-Queen’s University Press [MQUP], 2018); Think Tanks Foreign Policy and Geo-Politics: Pathways to Influence (with Stephen Brooks and Xin Hua, Routledge, 2017); Northern Lights: Exploring Canada’s Think Tank Landscape (MQUP, 2016); and A Capitol Idea: Think Tanks & U.S. Foreign Policy (MQUP, 2006). Each of these books has been translated into Simplified Chinese. Dr. Abelson is also the author of over five-dozen journal articles and book chapters.

His current research, funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant, explores the relationship between three US think tanks and the universities with whom they are or were affiliated. In March 2020, Dr. Abelson and Adam Lajeunesse co-edited a special issue of The American Review of Canadian Studies. The issue explored the impact of the Trump administration on Canada-US relations. He also recently co-edited, with Christopher J. Rastrick, the Handbook on Think Tanks in Public Policy, which was published by Edward Elgar in spring 2021.

Dr. Abelson completed an edited volume with Stephen Brooks entitled History Has Made Us Friends: Rethinking the Special Relationship Between Canada and the United States, forthcoming from McGill-Queen’s University Press, and a third edited volume with Stephen Brooks and Melissa Haussman entitled Understanding American Politics, forthcoming from University of Toronto Press.

Dr. Abelson published his latest op-ed, “The political middle in our country is being compromised,” in the Hamilton Spectator.