The Centre was previously known as the Research Group on International Security (REGIS), a joint program in security studies between UdeM and McGill Faculty. REGIS was founded by T.V. Paul (McGill University) and Michel Fortmann (UdeM) in 1996. Currently, Juliet Johnson and Fernando Nunez-Mietz are the co-directors of the McGill branch. CEPSI/CIPSS now has 28 member researchers at the two universities, and each year, it welcomes numerous graduate students at McGill and at Université de Montréal.
T.V. Paul
Distinguished James McGill Professor, McGill University
T.V. Paul was the founding co-director of CIPSS, together with Michel Fortmann. Paul specializes and teaches courses in international relations, especially international security, regional security and South Asia. Paul is Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He served as the President of International Studies Association (ISA) for 2016-17. He is the Founding Director of the Global Research Network on Peaceful Change (GRENPEC). The several awards he has received include: the inaugural Kim Dae-jung Award by the International Political Science Association (IPSA), 2025; the 2024 International Studies Association (ISA)-Canada Distinguished Scholar Award and the 2025 International Security Studies Section Distinguished Scholar Award.
Vincent Pouliot
Professor and Chair of International Studies, Université de Montréal
Vincent Pouliot was the director of CIPSS and is now the Professor and Chair of International Studies at UdeM. His research focuses on global governance, in particular the role and functioning of international organizations, multilateralism, diplomacy and new forms of global public action. Vincent Pouliot is also a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada. He has published six books, nearly 30 scientific papers, and 20 or so chapters in collective works.
Jennifer M. Welsh
The Director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy, McGill University
Jennifer M. Welsh is the Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security at McGill University (Montreal, Canada). From 2013-2016, she served as the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, on the Responsibility to Protect. Welsh is the author, co-author, and editor of several books and articles on humanitarian intervention, the evolution of the notion of the ‘responsibility to protect’ in international society, the UN Security Council, and Canadian foreign policy.
