“Uncertainty Complex” follows how mistrust, politics, and fear can spread faster than any virus, but so can hope, solidarity, and science-driven cooperation. It shows that our health is inseparable from others, and argues that protecting each other begins when we accept a simple truth: everyone matters.

Description

The global health security theme compares how countries manage health threats to identify best practices, failures, and the roles of states and international institutions in preparedness and response. Rosalind Warner is a political science scholar at Okanagan College and was co-director of the theme, with background in international/security studies, environmental governance, and teaching on global politics and development. Andy Knight is a professor of international relations at the University of Alberta whose research includes global health governance, global health security, the UN, and responsibility to protect.

Past Events

  • Rosalind Warner May 28 2026 “From 'Never Again' to 'Normalization: The Decline of Human Rights in the World” for SLR Kelowna

  • Rosalind Warner November 2025 “The Politics of Capitalism in the Trump Era” for SLR Kelowna

  • Warner, R. and Andy Knight “A Human Security Lens on Global Health Governance” Human Security in Global Health Webinar for Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Virtual Global Health Week December, 2025

  • April 25-26 Human Security in Southeast Asia Roundtable, University of Victoria Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives, in partnership with Canada Asia Pacific Policy Project, Thompson Rivers University April 26th, 2024 Moderator and Convener, “Gender, Health and Development” Panel Panellists: Luna KC, (University of Northern British Columbia), Sean Burke (Hope International) and Jason Nickerson (Medecins sans Frontieres)

  • March 1, 2024 The Pursuit of Peace During a Time of Polycrisis Public Talk, Rosalind Warner LINK to slides

  • January 2024 Rosalind Warner “Planetary Health Systems” Introduction to Earth System Governance special issue on Planetary Health Governance (with AnnaBelle Workman) (forthcoming)

  • November 10th, 2023 Rosalind Warner “Unrest To Uprising: The Past, Present And Future Of Political Protest” talk for the Society for Learning in Retirement

  • BlackTalk Podcast Special Episode - Pan-African Symposium with Adekeye Adebajo and Lula Adam 

    BlackTalk host Dr. Andy Knight talks with Dr. Adekeye Adebajo of the University of Pretoria, and Lula Adam of the University of Alberta, discussing their experiences at the Pan-African Symposium held at the University of Alberta in February 2024. All three speakers reflect on the ideas presented in the symposium, especially ideas of intellectual reparations, African scholarship, the publishing gap between Euro-North American and African journals, and practical, constructive paths forward for working to decolonize the University curriculum.

  • BlackTalk PodCast with Brandon Wint and Dr. Andy Knight

    BlackTalk producer Nicolás Arnáez chats with Dr. Andy Knight, creator and usual host of the BlackTalk podcast, and with multidisciplinary storyteller Brandon Wint, about the new Black Studies microcourse they have developed, "Black Canadians: History, Presence, and Anti-Racist Futures", soon to be available for the public to attend through Coursera.

  • March 15th, 2023 Roundtable International Studies Association Annual Meeting WD54-Roundtable: “Transforming our Common Crisis: Climate Change and the Humanitarian- Development-Peace Nexus” Rosalind Warner, Participant

  • Model NATO Okanagan College delegation of 4 undergraduate students February 23rd-26th, 2023 Carleton University, Ottawa. Led by Rosalind Warner

  • February 10th, 2023 “A New World of Untruths” Presentation for Society for Learning in Retirement, Kelowna Rosalind Warner, Presenter

  • The End of Impunity: Making Human Rights Work in the World, November 18th, 2022 and November 14th, Public Address as part of Okanagan College Speaker Series and Society for Teaching and Learning Talks. Rosalind Warner, Speaker. LINK to slides

  • Disaster Risk Governance as a Guide to Canadian Policy Responses to a Global Health Emergency, November 4th as part of the Climate Change and Society Section of the 2022 Western-ICLR Multi-hazard Risk and Resilience Workshop. Rosalind Warner, Speaker

  • Pandemics and International Security Workshop June 15, 2022 with Keynote Speaker Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, in partnership with World Universities Network

  • Talk on Canada and Global Health Security as part of Okanagan College’s Research Innovation Partnerships Expo on May 10, 2022, Dr. Rosalind Warner

  • The Role Of Women-Led Global Co-Op Networks In Addressing Gender Equality amid Covid-19 and Beyond United Nations Multi-Stakeholder Forum Science Technology and Innovation Summit 2022 Side event (pre-summit) May 4, 2022 Crowdcast Event, Dr. Rosalind Warner, panelist (https://www.crowdcast.io/e/women-led-coop-leadership) (Panel Discussion)

Co-Directors

Andy Knight

Rosalind Warner

Publications

  • Warner, Rosalind with Will Greaves and Peter Stoett Canadian Ecopolitics University of Toronto Press, 2025

  • Krause, K., & Knight, W. A. (2025). State, society, and the UN System: changing perspectives on multilateralism/edited by Keith Krause and Andy Knight.

  • Knight, A. (2024). DDR and Post Conflict Peacebuilding in Africa. Journal of African Security, 1, 24-52.

  • Yusuf, J. E., Apatinga, G., Hamilton-Hinch, B.-A., Bailey, A., Knight, W. A., Maina, G., Maduforo, A. N., & Salami, B. (2026). Insidious systems: A scoping review of Black youth and the criminal justice system in Canada. Health & Justice, 14(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-026-00396-2

  • Warner, R. “Securing a Just and Healthy Future for All: Bringing A Planetary Health Lens to the Earth System Governance Research Framework” with Annabelle Workman, et. al. Earth System Governance Journal vol. 24 (April 2025) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2025.100250

  • Knight, W. A. (2025). The UN Human Rights Paradox During the Interregnum: Yemen and Myanmar as Case Studies. In Human Rights and the United Nations. Routledge.

  • Warner, R. “Ecological/Planetary Integrity”, “the Brundtland Commission” and “Indigenous Views” Entries for collected work Essential Concepts for Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: An A-Z Guide Routledge, 2025

  • Warner, R. (2022). Disaster Risk Governance as a Guide to Canadian Policy Responses to a Global Health Emergency. In D. Carment, L. Macdonald, & J. Paltiel (Eds.), Canada Among Nations 2021: Canada and Great Power Competition. MacMillan Palgrave. 

  • Chattu, V. K., Peruski, L., & Knight, W. A. (2022). Health Diplomacy in the CARICOM Region. In V. K. Chattu, L. Peruski, & W. A. Knight (Eds.), Managing New Security Threats in the Caribbean(pp. 153–180). Springer International Publishing.  

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