The first print issue of The McGill International Review (MIR) with its theme of Canada in the World, was published in the Winter of 2000. Led by Toby A.A. Heaps (B.A., 2000) and his team of editors under IRSAM’s Vice President of Internal Operations, the publication provided a new platform for discussion of international relations, catered specifically to the young academia. With the likes of Louise Arbour, the former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and Professor Desmond Morton, historian and former McGill Faculty member specializing in Canadian military and politics, MIR strived to set a precedent in both quality and content among student-run university journals. From its founding year in 2000 up until 2004, MIR published bi-annually, successfully garnering a strong audience base within and beyond McGill’s academic circles.
Following a temporary hiatus, MIR was relaunched in 2010 with a new mandate to better cater to the needs of the publication’s biggest readership. Recognizing that publication opportunities were limited to the graduate and faculty-based academia, MIR modified its submission process to include the undergraduate student body. With its new vision to create a journal made for and by the undergraduate community of McGill, MIR gradually became an accessible outlet for student discourse.
The platform was reformatted in 2013 under the supervision of then Vice President of Internal Operations (Ameya Pendse) to engage wider readership. The executive board included Esther Lee (Editor-in-Chief), Alex Langer (Managing Editor, Online), and Christopher Liu (Managing Editor, Print).
Under Dylan Lamberti (Editor-in-Chief, Online) and Miro Guzzini (Editor-in-Chief, Print), 2016-17 saw an exponential growth in readership, a dramatic increase in high-quality submissions, and the production of more professionalized media projects (teaser videos, short documentaries, dynamic interviews with high-profile figures, podcasts, etc.) This team effort earned MIR its first nomination for Publication of the Year by the Student Society of McGill University (SSMU), as well as numerous academic citations.
In 2017-18, Benjamin Aloi (EIC, Online) and Marie Lemieux (EIC, Print) assumed independent seats on the IRSAM Board of Directors for the first time in the publication’s history, and the two built on last year’s tremendous success in consistently delivering excellent critical analysis in international affairs. The team received its second nomination for SSMU Publication of the Year. The executive board of MIR Online included Sarie Khalid (Senior Editor) and Frankie Wallace (Senior Editor).
In 2018-2019, under Marie Fester (EIC, Print) the MIR Print rebranded, changing its name to Flux: International Relations Review. Now an exclusively online journal, the McGill International Review’s executive board is comprised of four members: Sarie Khalid (EIC), Shirley Wang (Senior Editor), Alec Regino (Senior Editor), David Boot (Media Team Director, Fall 2019), and Camille Point (Media Team Director, Winter 2020). With Laura Millo’s (French Section Editor) direction, the MIR established its French division to provide insightful analysis of international affairs in French. Thanks to the work of its staff of around 100 editors, writers, video producers, podcasters, and designers, the MIR won its first SSMU Publication of the Year award in 2019.
In the 2019-2020 publishing year, the McGill International Review was led by an executive board of six individuals: Alec Regino (EIC), Shirley Wang (Managing Editor), Camille Point (Creative and Media Director), Allegra Mendelson (Senior Editor), Helena Martin (Senior Editor), Salomé Moatti (Senior Editor, Fall 2019), and Charles Lepage (Senior Editor, Winter 2020). 2019-2020 saw MIR experience exponential growth in both viewership and in the variety of content published. In the Fall and Winter semesters, MIR oversaw the production of teams specialized in the 2019 Canadian Federal Elections and the 2020 American Democratic Primaries. In November, MIR hosted Rappler journalist Patricia Evangelista to discuss her experience as a trauma journalist in the Philippines. Over the course of both semesters, the podcasting team, led by Media Editor Bilal Virji, published more podcasts this year than any of the other years combined, while the creative team, led by Creative Director Camille Point, published MIR’s first-ever print magazine. For its efforts, MIR won its second SSMU Publication of the Year award in 2020.