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Most wars don’t make states (so what’s a policymaker to do?)
- Analysis
- November 11, 2019
Most modern warfare is intrastate. Most take place in poorer, weaker states and challenge many of our assumptions about the evolution of most states. Foreign policymakers should reevaluate their priorities and focus on ending civil wars rather than building centralised …
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Key Drivers in US-North Korea relations
- Analysis
- November 7, 2019
North Korean and US relations have oscillated between hostility and limited detente for decades. This has only grown more intense in recent years. What are the underlying drivers in US-North Korean relations in the age of Donald Trump and Kim …
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Issues in Repairing U.S.-Russian Strategic Relations
- Analysis
- October 24, 2019
Similar to during the Cold War, the US and Russia are once again nuclear peer competitors. However, the emergence of a range of new nuclear actors hamper traditional understandings and represent a new – more complex – era in nuclear …
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What does a new ambassador mean for Canada-China relations?
- Analysis
- October 17, 2019
By John Gruetzner and Geoffrey Ziebart
The appointment of former McKinsey executive, Domonic Barton, as Canada’s new ambassador to China presents a new opportunity to reset bilateral relations. However, while Barton is well-positioned to further Canadian interests in the world’s …
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Why would anyone trust a British Prime Minister or an American President ever again?
- Analysis
- October 10, 2019
Boris Johnson’s betrayal of the Good Friday agreement and Donald Trump’s abandonment of the US’ Kurdish allies demonstrate not only the capriciousness of populist authoritarianism but also how little both men understand about where their power comes from.
Three years …
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Boris Johnson Goes to China – via Ireland
Boris Johnson’s ‘final offer’ to the EU for a Brexit deal may be effectively dead on arrival, but even if so, does it make a future united Ireland more likely?
Did anyone notice Boris Johnson’s Nixon-in-China move the other …
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Star Wars: Coming soon to a space near you – the diplomatic alternative
- Analysis
- October 3, 2019
Will Outer Space become a new frontier for international conflict? Or can it remain a global commons? As states dither, this question may soon be taken over by other actors.
I confess that I gave this blog its title with …
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MBS admits “full responsibility” for the Khashoggi murder: what this means for the Kingdom’s allies
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince is either behind the assassination of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, or has no control. Either way, the situation begs a serious response
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (the now notorious ‘MBS’) recently admitted his …
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The Remarkable Consistency of Canada’s Foreign Policy
…READ MORECanada’s foreign policy is driven primarily by geopolitics, and its overriding concern is to remain close – but not too close – to its southern neighbour.
At the victory rally on election night 2015 the leader of Canada’s federal Liberal
History, memory, and politics in post-communist Eastern Europe
- Analysis
- September 19, 2019
The fact that East European trauma under communism is not adequately understood and appreciated in the West is the central grievance of these movements, and this feeds into new cycles of victimization
In October 2017, a commemorative plaque “In Memory …
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CAR’s Peace Accords and Rebel Warlords
- Analysis
- May 17, 2019
By Gino Vlavonou
After ten years in power, in 2013, Séléka rebels ousted the Central African Republic’s (CAR) President François Bozizé, after which Anti-Balaka militia groups rose up in response. The country has since been searching for peace, and seven …
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Is the Sky the Limit? Risk, Uncertainty, and Nature
- Analysis
- May 11, 2019
By Sylvain Maechler
The Living Planet Report 2018, published by the World Wild Fund for Nature in collaboration with the research division of the Zoological Society of London, recently valued nature at an estimated US$125 trillion.
The International Organization …
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What Makes a Market Economy?
- Analysis
- May 11, 2019
By Alice Chessé
What makes a market economy? To many, the answer is simple: they are countries where the market is the main mechanism of resource allocation. Yet, this intuitive definition is at odds with the political impact of the …
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China, State Capitalism, and the Global Financial Order
- Analysis
- May 11, 2019
By Johannes Petry
In 1989, capital markets did not exist in China. Fast forward to 2018, China’s capital markets have become the second largest equity markets, second largest futures markets, and third largest bond markets in the world. More …
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What Canada Can Do About the Rohingya Genocide
- Analysis
- May 1, 2019
By Payam Akhavan and John Packer
Twenty-five years ago, as young UN human rights officers working together in Geneva, we witnessed how the world watched and did nothing as close to a million Rwandan Tutsis were exterminated. Brimming with idealism …
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Transforming the Global Refugee System
- Report
- April 2, 2019
In a recent CIPS blog — New Partnerships for Minister Monsef? — John Sinclair asks why supporting refugees is not a central goal of development co-operation when development issues have so much impact on refugees. Here, CIPS presents a short …
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“Nothing to Lose”: The Daily Struggles of Venezuelans
- Analysis
- February 5, 2019
By Rosana Lezama Sanchez
Venezuelan emigrants always talk about how much they miss the country they left behind. I returned to Caracas in August of 2018, but I too miss Venezuela. The Venezuela that I grew up in was certainly …
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Canada Can’t Put Human Rights on the Back Burner in 2019
- Analysis
- December 19, 2018
By Stéphanie Bacher
Over the past year, Canada has taken some important steps to promote and protect human rights abroad. However, the picture is not as rosy as often presented by the government, and Canada still has a long way …
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Facing the Biggest Challenges of Our Generation
- Analysis
- December 18, 2018
By Gabriel Bichet, Eve Cassavoy, Maddie Hunt, Jasmine Sebastian, and Emma Turner (ENG1100Q), edited by Ruth Bradley-St-Cyr
In September, I took on teaching three sections of ENG1100: Workshop in Essay Writing, a required course for first-year students at the University …
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Competitive Financing: An Alternative Solution for Doing Business in China
- Analysis
- December 12, 2018
By John Gruetzner
Canada is currently exploring the parameters permitted under USMCA Article 32.10 for realistic mechanisms to improve its commercial position in the Chinese market.
In the Joint Outcomes of the First Canada–China Economic and Strategic Dialogue, the Government …
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How Do You Make Donald Trump Laugh? Democrats Should Think About It.
- Analysis
- November 23, 2018
By Jeremy Kinsman
Many times in the past two years, people have told me they’ve never seen Donald Trump laugh.
So, what would it take?
A sure bet would be if — after the mid-term elections that bore very ominous …
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Bulldozing Human Rights in Tanzania
- Analysis
- November 16, 2018
by Dane Degenstein
Tanzania has recently started a campaign to identify, track down, and arrest gay people, an unprecedented move in a previously more tolerant country. The regional governor of Dar es Salaam, Paul Makonda, announced a task force to …
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Sectoral Free Trade with China: Harder than it Looks
- Analysis
- November 12, 2018
by Philip Calvert
Canada has announced a change of tack in its pursuit of free trade with China. Instead of pursuing a broad free trade agreement, Canada will seek reductions in Chinese tariffs through bilateral sectoral agreements. The agriculture sector …
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Lest We Forget Why We Fought World War I
- Analysis
- November 7, 2018
Lauchlan T. Munro
School of International Development and Global Studies
On Remembrance Day, I think of my two grandfathers and my two great uncles who served in the Canadian army in World War I. I remember their sacrifice. But I …
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Thinking with Maps: Geospatial Reasoning in War
- Analysis
- October 31, 2018
by Antoine Bousquet
Visual representations of space have long served a role in military affairs, assisting the strategic planning of campaigns, the design and placement of defensive fortifications, and navigation in unfamiliar territory. Yet it is only in the past …
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Decisive Action is Overdue to Protect the Rohingyas
- Analysis
- September 15, 2018
By John Packer
Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre at the University of Ottawa and Neuberger-Jesin Professor of International Conflict Resolution
Finally, the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar has stated the obvious: the Rohingya …
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Treason or Good Management? How Officials React When the Boss Goes Rogue
- Analysis
- September 12, 2018
Lauchlan T. Munro
School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa
Should we be surprised that a senior official in the Trump administration has admitted to thwarting the president’s expressed wishes and intentions? I for one am not. …
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Moving On: The West Adjusts to a Rogue US President, Part 1
- Analysis
- August 27, 2018
By Jeremy Kinsman
The summer of 2018 has shaken the rules-based world order that emerged from the devastation of the Second World War. A rogue president of the United States has apparently chosen unilateralism and nationalist competition over the multilateral …
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Moving On: The West Adjusts to a Rogue US President, Part 2
- Analysis
- August 27, 2018
By Jeremy Kinsman
Part 1 of this article appears here.
Though Trump’s electoral victory was a shock, allies hoped it was hyperbole when Trump declared in his inaugural address in January, 2017, that he placed the interests of America …
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Germany: Yet Another Migration Debate?
- Analysis
- August 1, 2018
Asli Ilgit, Cukurova University
Audie Klotz, Syracuse University
Once again, pundits predict the downfall of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Why? Her migration policies appear to fuel the rise of the nationalist …
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Making the United Nations Fit for Purpose in an Illiberal Era
- Analysis
- July 15, 2018
Louise Riis Andersen, Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies
The return of geopolitics and the rise of populism have reinforced crude and divisive distinctions between “us” and “them.” As a result, the notions of collective security and the …
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How History Helps Us Uncover the Real Successes of Middle Power Internationalism
- Analysis
- July 15, 2018
Heidi Tworek, Assistant Professor in International History, University of British Columbia, and Visiting Fellow, Center for History and Economics, Harvard University
Over 15 years ago, Barry Buzan and Richard Little lamented that international relations had long sustained “a dominant …
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Small States vs. Middle Powers — What’s the Difference?
- Analysis
- July 15, 2018
Njord Wegge, Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)
In early June 2018, Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide expressed in an interview with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that Norway, as a “middle-sized economy,” benefited from …
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Opioids and Capitalism
- Analysis
- July 10, 2018
by Paulo Pereira
In recent years, tens of thousands of Americans have died of opioid related overdoses, and millions of Americans are classified by the country’s health agency standards as having some sort of problematic opioid use. Canada is facing …
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Mona Mahmudnizhad, 10 September 1965–18 June 1983
- Analysis
- June 19, 2018
by Ruth Bradley-St-Cyr
The 35th anniversary of the death of Mona Mahmudnizhad seems to have passed without world notice yesterday. On 18 June 1983, she was executed in Iran for being Baha’i and for teaching that faith to the …
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Need More Proof of Genocide in Myanmar? It’s Being Born Right Now
- Analysis
- June 3, 2018
by John Packer
Nine months since the violent attacks of August 25, 2017, and thereafter forced 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, the first of thousands of pregnancies as a result of rape are coming to term.
For these …
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The G7: Hard Talk or a Sleepwalk?
- Analysis
- May 24, 2018
by Jeremy Kinsman
As the Charlevoix G7 approaches, there is some question as to how the June 8–9 summit could play out as a Trumpian disaster. As veteran diplomat Jeremy Kinsman writes, if the disruptive president plays skunk at the …
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Is Facebook Just a “Tool”?
- Analysis
- April 14, 2018
by Nolen Gertz
This past week, Facebook CEO, chairman, and founder Mark Zuckerberg testified before members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives to answer to the growing scandal surrounding Facebook’s role in helping Cambridge Analytica (and, by …
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Russian Expulsions: “If there was ever a time for diplomacy, this is it”
- Analysis
- April 5, 2018
By Jeremy Kinsman
About 50 years ago, Swedish writers Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo created addictive detective stories rooted in sociology. The reader knew who was murdered and often learned early on who did it. The mystery to be solved …
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “I Have a Dream”
- Analysis
- April 4, 2018
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand …
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Why Deleting Facebook Isn’t Enough
- Analysis
- April 4, 2018
By Taylor Owen and Ben Scott
While being pessimistic about the depressing tableau of Silicon Valley malfeasance is easy, let us not forget that the internet has brought tremendous value to our society. Therefore, the answer is not to lock …
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Drug Dealers on Death Row?
- Analysis
- March 25, 2018
By Dane Degenstein
Donald Trump has suggested the death penalty for drug dealers.
It has been difficult to pin down President Trump’s policies on anything and the opioid crisis is no different. The fact that he uses language similar …
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Russia: Foreign Policy of a Country In-Between
- Analysis
- January 21, 2018
by Viatcheslav Morozov
University of Tartu, Estonia
How much do we know about the driving forces behind Russia’s foreign policy? Despite our repeated failures to predict the Kremlin’s actions, we actually do understand a lot. Probably the most important thing …
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The Central African Republic: Forgotten by the World?
- Analysis
- December 18, 2017
By Gino Vlavonou
International news headlines move quickly from one disaster to another. A political crisis in one country is forgotten as turmoil unfolds in the next: Mugabe’s fall from power; a mass shooting in the US; sub-Saharan African …
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How Rational are Capitalists in the Developing World?
- Analysis
- December 13, 2017
By Thomas Chiasson-LeBel
A questionable fundamental assumption underpins a great deal of the literature in International Development studies. It suggests that given the proper incentives, a “national bourgeoisie” will adequately reinvest its profits and provoke a virtuous cycle of reinvestment …
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Mapping Out a North Korean Peace Process
- Analysis
- December 11, 2017
By John Gruetzner
There are ultimately four critical components to a peace process:
The first component is to submit and then finalize a draft of a document acceptable to the original signatories that converts the armistice agreement signed on 27 …
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Canada Doubling Down on Diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula
- Analysis
- December 11, 2017
By John Gruetzner
Canada has announced that it is co-hosting a 16-nation summit with the United States early next year to explore options to engage North Korea. Prime Minister Trudeau is also likely to meet this month with US Secretary …
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Canada Needs a Wait-and-See Approach on Afghanistan
- Analysis
- September 1, 2017
By Lindsay Rodman
Will US President Donald Trump’s new plan for Afghanistan pull Canada back into a war that many deem a “lost cause”? Mr. Trump explicitly invited other nations to contribute in support of his new plan. Although Prime …
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CETA after Opinion 2/15: Legal Clarity or Confusion?
- Analysis
- July 13, 2017
By Jens Ladefoged Mortensen
Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen
The EU’s trading partners must wonder what goes on inside Europe. What does it take to get a trade deal done? True, trade negotiations are notoriously complex. The CETA …
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After Abdication
- Analysis
- July 9, 2017
By Peter Marcus Kristensen
University of Copenhagen
American observers of international affairs are currently enmeshed in a debate on the uncertain future of the “US-led liberal international order.” This is, of course, spurred by the election of President Trump and …
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Liberal Interventionism: The Crisis Within
- Analysis
- July 9, 2017
By Katja Lindskov Jacobsen
Center for Military Studies, University of Copenhagen
Liberal interventionism today not only responds to crises in countries experiencing violent conflicts, distress, and disaster. It also responds to a crisis within. This crisis is not simply about …
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What to Watch for this Summer
- Analysis
- June 14, 2017
We asked our CIPS experts to give us a heads-up on what to watch for this summer. No one can predict the next coup or terrorist attack, of course, but we can be certain of some things. Donald Trump will …
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The Politics of Border Security in the Sahel
- Analysis
- May 9, 2017
By Philippe M. Frowd
A casual observer of the Sahel could be forgiven for understanding this region of West Africa as a space of threat: radicalization, terrorism, massive population growth, and irregular migration all grab the headlines. …
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A Treaty to Protect the Rights of Older People is Long Overdue!
- Analysis
- April 24, 2017
By Gordon Digiacomo, Martine Lagacé, and Caroline Andrew
“Homelessness, malnutrition, unattended chronic diseases, lack of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, unaffordable medicines and treatments and income insecurity are just a few of the most critical human rights issues …
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In Memoriam: Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique, murdered 23 April 2016
- Analysis
- April 20, 2017
By Ruth Bradley-St-Cyr
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
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Because I was not a …
The New Colossus
- Analysis
- March 30, 2017
by Ruth Bradley-St-Cyr
“Give me your tired, your poor,/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” The words inscribed at the base of the statue of Liberty are famous, and yet hardly anyone knows that they are from a sonnet …
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Canada–China Free Trade Part 2: Forging an Agreement
- Analysis
- March 10, 2017
by John Gruetzner and Phil Calvert
A new free trade agreement with China, in whatever form it takes, should be advanced within the context of a broader strategy for Canada’s engagement with China, particularly (but not exclusively) the strategy of …
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Canada–China Free Trade Part 1: Business before Politics
- Analysis
- March 10, 2017
by John Gruetzner and Phil Calvert
Canada and China have begun exploratory discussions on a possible free trade agreement (FTA). Expanding Canada’s economic ties with China and moving the commercial relationship forward is a positive step. If it is properly …
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#rezist: Protest in Romania
- Analysis
- March 9, 2017
by Teodor Lucian Moga
In the past weeks, Romanians have staged the largest mass protests since the country’s break from Communist rule in 1989. On Sunday, February 27, several thousand protesters gathered in front of the government building in Bucharest’s …
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Humanitarian Action on the Front Lines
- Analysis
- March 1, 2017
by Dominik Stillhart
The ICRC is mandated by the international community to assist and protect those affected by conflict or violence, including promoting international humanitarian law, monitoring respect for that law, and assisting people affected by war. This mandate reflects …
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Community Engagement in Mining: Sharing Experiences and Best Practices
- Report
- January 30, 2017
By Caitlin Sievert and Ainsley Butler
Resource-rich countries are home to 3.5 billion people. When these resources become a source of conflict between communities, corporations, and government, opportunities for community development are often lost.
The immovability of natural resources …
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Syrian Refugees and Canada’s “Defining Moment”: One Year On
- Report
- December 7, 2016
By Elke Winter, Benjamin Zyla, Charlotte Murret-Labarthe
University of Ottawa
Origins of the crisis
In March 2011, three months after the Arab Spring began in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, fifteen Syrian schoolchildren were arrested and tortured for writing on a …
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Gender and Peacebuilding: Trudeau Can Do More to Support Gender Rights in Africa
- Analysis
- December 1, 2016
By Dr. Annie Bunting
With the Canadian government about to confirm the deployment of peacekeepers to Africa (likely to Mali), and Prime Minister Trudeau’s recent visit to Liberia and address to the Francophonie on the centrality of the rights of …
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We Must Not Close the Doors to Spontaneously Arriving Asylum Seekers
- Analysis
- November 8, 2016
By Stephanie J. Silverman
Governments understandably focus on enhancing security, surveillance, and risk management for their citizens, and as we have seen, particularly since 9-11, much of this increased attention is directed at national borders. While every person enjoys the …
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Working Towards a Trinity of Trust: A Few Suggestions on National Security Reform in Canada
- Analysis
- November 3, 2016
by Stephanie Carvin
A year after its election, the Trudeau Government is now taking steps to fulfill its campaign promises to improve intelligence oversight in Canada and reform Bill C-51 — the Harper Government’s controversial terrorism legislation. So far, there …
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The European and Canadian public needs a reasoned debate on CETA
- Analysis
- October 26, 2016
This is an open letter to Europeans and Canadians signed by 16 academics based in Canada who believe in the value for democracy and society in a more reasoned and balanced debate on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) …
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Between Past and Future: Canada’s Next Role in International Democracy Assistance
- Analysis
- July 29, 2016
by Gerald J. Schmitz
Where can Canada go from here in re-establishing its role as a partner in promoting democracy? Let us focus on four main areas: Parliament’s role, research capacity, stable funding, and healthy democracy at home.
- Parliament’s Role
A New Era for Persons with Disabilities and International Development?
- Analysis
- May 13, 2016
by Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo
Momentum behind the disability-inclusive development agenda is at an all-time high — and growing. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the key international document, now has 163 States-Parties. Additionally, the Addis Ababa …
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Intersectionality and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Global Development
- Analysis
- April 28, 2016
by Julianne Acker-Verney, Pamela Johnson, and Susan Manning
Intersectionality is a tool that can guide researchers, policy makers, and practitioners to learn about and respond to the diverse experiences of women and men, girls and boys with disabilities and the …
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Disability and Development in Africa: What Role for Canada?
- Analysis
- April 21, 2016
by David Black
It has become widely accepted that the previous Conservative government sharply diminished Canada’s focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Against this backdrop, the new Liberal government has signalled its intent to re-engage.
There are several problems with …
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W.E.B. Du Bois: From Global to Transnational Justice
- Analysis
- April 7, 2016
By Inés Valdez
Theories of global justice spring from a genealogy of internationalism that includes the Parliament at The Hague, the League of Nations, and the United Nations. These theories rely on a conceptualization of the West as homogeneously affluent, …
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Bringing Canada “Back” for the Long Haul
- Analysis
- March 10, 2016
By Margaret Biggs and John McArthur
This week Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will lead a delegation to Washington with great fanfare. Like many of our fellow Canadians, we are excited to see the outcomes of the country’s first White …
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Slow and Costly: The Crisis Confronting Internationalized Criminal Justice
- Analysis
- March 6, 2016
By William Wiley
Internationalized criminal justice is in crisis — a crisis laid bare by the limited criminal-justice response to the conflict in Syria and, more widely, the struggles endured by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International …
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It Had to Happen: China Finally Gets Tough on North Korea
- Analysis
- March 4, 2016
By David Slinn
China was always going to get tough with Kim Jong-Un’s North Korea. It wasn’t a question of whether, but when.
North Korea is supposed to be China’s buffer against South Korea and the US. Until DPRK started …
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Ending Poverty by 2030: Sharing Prosperity with the Bottom 40%
- Analysis
- March 1, 2016
By Christopher Lakner, Mario Negre, and Espen Beer Prydz
While the world has seen a rapid reduction in extreme poverty in recent decades, the goal of “ending poverty” by 2030 remains ambitious. The latest estimates show that in 2012 almost …
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Information Might be the Key to Dealing with North Korea’s Nuclear Threat
- Analysis
- February 18, 2016
By David Slinn
Dealing with North Korea is not easy. Dealing with a dictatorship never is. It took the West 45 years to overcome the challenges posed by the Soviet Union.
North Korea has now developed into a serious threat …
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Interview: Margaret Biggs and John McArthur – Welcoming a new era of global development
- News
- February 2, 2016
This post originally appeared on the Open Canada blog.
In the months following the election of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, there has been much debate in academic and public policy circles as to what Canada’s priorities should be when …
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La Turquie, est-elle destinée à durer ?
- Analysis
- January 27, 2016
par Halil Karaveli
La Turquie était censée représenter un « modèle » pour le Moyen-Orient. Pour l’Occident en quête d’un antidote à l’islamisme, le pays a incarné les espoirs de laïcité et de démocratie: La preuve qu’un pays puisse être …
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Turbulent Times: Volatility in Foreign Policy
- Analysis
- January 20, 2016
By Eleonora Mattiacci, Amherst College
In 2015, two momentous rapprochements took place on the international stage. In July, the United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations. In December, Pakistan hosted a surprise visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, …
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‘Are there any women here?’ Gender Representations in Hyena Road.
Pete (Paul Gross), Ryan (Rossif Sutherland), and Jennifer (Christine Horne) in Hyena Road
By David Mutimer
In 2010 Christopher Dornan argued that “Alone among G8 nations, Canada apparently has no great appetite for making war movies.” While that observation is …
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Welcoming Syrians, detaining others
- Analysis
- December 8, 2015
By Philippe Bourbeau
The newly elected Trudeau government seems to be moving quickly on one of its promises made during the federal election campaign: to accept 25,000 Syrians by January 1, 2016.
On November 9, while announcing the formation of …
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Back To Tehran: Strategies for Success
- Analysis
- November 27, 2015
By John Mundy
It won’t be easy for Canada to re-establish diplomatic relations with Iran, but it’s worth the trouble.
In September 2012, the Harper government suspended diplomatic relations with Iran, closed the Canadian embassy in Tehran and expelled Iran’s …
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Working group on International Trade and Commerce
What are the principal international trade and commerce challenges facing Canada—and how should Canada respond? CIPS convened a working group of seasoned policy experts and asked them to answer these questions. Their report, based on months of deliberation and consultation, …
READ MOREWorking Group on International Development
The world is in the midst of a complex and dramatic set of transformations. The traditional view of “international development” as solely a matter of charity and moral importance, secondary to Canada’s hard interests, is long outdated. The complex, inter-related …
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Working Group Report on Human Rights in Canadian Foreign Policy
A new Canadian government has been elected. What should it do to promote human rights in its foreign policy? How can Canada best contribute to global efforts to protect human rights? CIPS convened a working group of seasoned policy experts …
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Working Group Report on Canada’s International Security and National Defence Policy
What are the principal security and defence challenges facing Canada, and how should Canada respond? CIPS asked two former senior officials, one recently retired general, and two academic security policy experts to answer these questions. Their report, based on months …
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CIPS Working Groups: Canada and the World Policy Reports
New Directions for Canadian International Policy
…READ MOREIn Fall 2014, CIPS convened four working groups of academics and policy practitioners to explore new thinking and policy options in four areas: International Security and Defence, International Development, International Trade and Commerce, and
What Are ‘Hotspots’? The Inevitable Rise of Detention in the Quest for Asylum Solutions in the EU
Mstyslav Chernov/Creative Commons
By Stephanie J. Silverman
The Syrian refugee crisis has finally grabbed the world’s attention and is testing the sustainability of the European Union and its common asylum adjudication procedures. Policymakers are struggling to find solutions from under …
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Why Does the Reconciliation between Israel and Military Intellectuals Matter?
By Philippe Beaulieu-Brossard
Appointing a new Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner rarely stirs up controversy, but in Israel it can easily turn into a media storm. This might not come as a surprise. Israel has an assault rate of …
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Clarifying the Caretaker Convention
- Analysis
- October 13, 2015
by Philippe Lagassé
What is the caretaker convention? When does a period of caretaker government begin? When does it end?
These questions should be pretty simple to answer. Shortly after the federal election began, the Privy Council Office (PCO) released …
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Making Peace in a Divided World: New Roles for the United Nations?
© Crown Copyright 2013
By Richard Gowan
There is no more annoying phrase in discussions of international affairs than “If the United Nations did not exist, we would have to invent it!” It is certainly true that the world urgently …
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Low-Fee Private Schools and Development: What Do We Really Know?
- Analysis
- September 8, 2015
by Prachi Srivastava
I have been researching low-fee private schooling for nearly a decade and a half. No one could be happier that the issue is finally receiving the high-level attention it deserves, with discussions in development circles and an …
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The Charter Strikes Back: A Step Forward for Refugee Rights in Canada
By Stephanie J. Silverman
Almost a year after the Federal Court of Canada struck down the ban on refugee claimants’ denial of health care, a new judicial review finds that a pernicious aspect of the Conservatives’ overhaul of refugee rights …
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Shining a Light on Canada’s Deteriorating Human Rights Record
- Analysis
- July 15, 2015
By Leilani Farha
Published in the Toronto Star, July 13, 2015 Last May I was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing. The goal of this position is to advance the rights of marginalized communities around the world …
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The Final Push: Canada and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal
By Arne Ruckert, Ronald Labonté and Ashley Schram
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is nearing the end game of negotiations, creating a market of 800 million people with a combined economic clout of US$28-trillion annually. After the U.S. Congress granted fast-track authority …
READ MOREAt Any Cost: The Injustice of the ‘4 and 4’ Rule in Canada
By Stephanie J. Silverman
Published on openDemocracy, May 29, 2015
Tens of thousands of law-abiding foreign workers residing in Canada became deportable last April. This sudden vulnerability to deportation resulted from the Parliamentary passage of a small legislative change …
READ MOREReflections on Gender in the DFATD Evaluation of Canada’s Afghanistan Development Program
By Sarah Tuckey
In March 2015, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development released the Synthesis Report: Summative Evaluation of Canada’s Afghanistan Development Program. On April 14, CIPS and its Fragile States Research Network (FSRN) held a panel…
READ MOREL’émergence de l’Union européenne comme puissance militaire au XXIème siècle
Par Michael E. Lambert, chercheur invité au Centre d’études en politiques internationales
Published on the CDA Security and Defence Blog, April 21, 2015
L’Europe apparait aujourd’hui comme la principale promotrice du dialogue pour solutionner les conflits, en témoigne le …
READ MOREL’émergence du smart power transatlantique
Par Michael E. Lambert, chercheur invité au Centre d’études en politiques internationales
L’année 2015 s’impose comme celle des négociations sur la mise en place du TTIP et du rapprochement entre les États-Unis et l’Union européenne. Dans les faits, le Traité …
READ MOREMilitary Deployments and a ‘Political Convention’ of Commons Support
- Analysis
- March 24, 2015
by Philippe Lagassé
Published on Policy Options, March 24, 2015
Prime Minister Harper has presented a motion to the House of Commons announcing an extension and expansion of Canada’s mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant …
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How Dangerous is C-51? You Might Be Surprised
- Analysis
- March 22, 2015
by Michael Geist
Published in the Toronto Star, March 13, 2015
As witnesses line up to warn about the dangers associated with Bill C-51, Canada’s anti-terrorism bill, it’s increasingly clear that the proposed legislation is an unprecedented undermining of …
READ MOREIntellectual Property, Industrial Espionage and the Future of Military Diffusion
By Robert Farley, Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, University of Kentucky
What do intellectual property law, industrial espionage, and cyber-warfare have to do with one another?
Industrial espionage is, by definition, a violation of most existing schemes …
READ MOREInternational Aid Transparency: Cui Bono?
By Catherine Weaver (University of Texas at Austin and Innovations for Peace and Development) and Josh Powell (Development Gateway and AidData, Washington, DC)
Over the past decade, the international aid transparency movement has made considerable progress in opening the information …
READ MORETo Understand International Security, Consider Social Relations
By Jarrod Hayes, School of International Affairs, Georgia Tech
The world is a complex place. Social tides ebb and flow, diverse social systems interacting with agency to produce an ever-shifting mix of international challenges. This is all the more …
READ MOREShould Parliament ‘Oversee’ National Security Affairs?
- Analysis
- February 26, 2015
by Philippe Lagassé
Published on the Policy Options Blog, February 25, 2015
Bill C-51, the Conservative government’s anti-terrorism legislation, has sparked renewed debate about Parliament’s role in overseeing Canada’s intelligence services. Opposition parties and former prime ministers have …
READ MOREAn International Election That Canada Can Help to Fix
By David Petrasek and Allan Rock
Published in the Toronto Star, February 24, 2015
The emergence of potential candidates reminds us that the 2016 race for the White House has already begun. Canadians will watch the American contest in …
READ MORESending Lethal Weapons to Ukraine May Not Be the Answer
Roland Paris appeared on the Sunday morning broadcast The West Block with Tom Clark to discuss the question on whether Western countries should send lethal weapons to help the Ukrainian government.
Paris noted that there were no good policy options …
READ MOREBaird Improved Over Time, But Ultimately Fell Short
By Colin Robertson
This is one of a series of CIPS Blog posts examining the legacy of John Baird as Canada’s foreign minister. See also the posts by Peter Jones, Ferry de Kerckhove and David Petrasek.
John Baird …
READ MORECanadian Mission Creep in Iraq? A CIPS Debate – Part 3
- Analysis
- January 30, 2015
by Philippe Lagassé
For Parts 1 and 2 of this CIPS debate, see the posts by Roland Paris and Thomas Juneau.
Published on Canadian Defense Politics, January 29, 2015
Did the Prime Minister mislead the House of Commons …
READ MORECanada’s F-35 Rumour Mill
- Analysis
- November 10, 2014
by Philippe Lagassé
The replacement of Canada’s CF-18s is back in the news. Last week, Murray Brewster reported on a leaked PowerPoint presentation indicating that Canada will acquire four F-35s in 2017. Since this would require swapping with aircraft slated …
READ MORES’élever dans l’adversité
- Analysis
- October 23, 2014
par Robert Asselin
Pour quiconque qui y a travaillé, l’endroit est impressionnant. Quand on marche dans le grand hall qui mène à la bibliothèque, là même où les coups de feu d’hier ont été perpétrés, on comprend que le Parlement …
READ MOREMexico’s Abducted Students: Where Does the Country Go From Here?
- Analysis
- October 20, 2014
by Claude Denis
How does one write about Mexico today?
The country is in full crisis mode after 43 students from the Ayotzinpa teachers’ college in rural Guerrero were kidnapped by the police on September 26, and six other people …
READ MORESpring Into Summer? The Tunisian Elections
- Analysis
- October 12, 2014
by Bruce Montador
Tunisia will soon complete the transition begun when President Ben Ali fled in January 2011. Under a new constitution, it will elect a parliament (via regional lists) this month, and then a president.
Although the constitution gives …
READ MOREThe Death of the North-South Institute
- Analysis
- September 16, 2014
by Lauchlan Munro
Canada’s only independent think tank on international development and foreign policy, the North-South Institute, will soon close its doors. According to media reports, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) communicated its decision not to …
READ MORECanada Should Prepare for a Long Fight Against IS
- Analysis
- September 12, 2014
By George Petrolekas and Ferry de Kerckhove
Published in the Globe and Mail, September 12, 2014
In 1938, Neville Chamberlain returned to a hero’s welcome in London having given away parts of Czechoslovakia to Hitler at Munich. He announced …
READ MOREThe Scottish Independence Referendum: How Did It Come About?
…READ MOREBy Richard Wyn Jones, Cardiff University.
On the 18th of September, the Scottish electorate will go to the polls to vote on the proposition “Should Scotland be an independent country?” Remarkably, it’s only now that the rest of the
Russia Sanctions: Could Sports Have an Impact?
- Analysis
- September 8, 2014
by Robert Hage
In a month’s time, the roar of Formula 1 engines will replace the clatter of downhill skies in Sochi as the Russian Grand Prix gets underway. The names of the competing teams will sound familiar in the …
READ MOREWhen Does Parliament Get to Vote on Military Deployments?
- Analysis
- September 8, 2014
by Philippe Lagassé
Canada’s deployment of military advisors to Iraq has raised questions about Parliament’s role in deployment decisions. The Conservative government has decided that a parliamentary committee will be briefed about the operation. The New Democratic Party (NDP) deems …
READ MORESocial Media and the Rise of Scholar-Blogging
By Mira Sucharov, Department of Political Science, Carleton University
As the prominence of social media in society intensifies, the question of how scholars can most effectively engage in the public sphere has taken on new significance. In a piece …
READ MORECanada Needs to Reconnect with its Diplomatic Tradition
The Harper government’s neglect of diplomacy has resulted in a largely ineffective foreign policy that has not served Canada’s interests, argues CIPS director Roland Paris in this video clip. His remarks were part of a panel discussion organized by Canadian …
READ MORECanada’s Iran Policy: ‘Reckless Rhetoric’ and More Out of Step Than Ever
- Analysis
- June 19, 2014
by John Mundy
Published in the Globe and Mail, June 19, 2014
Canada has a dysfunctional relationship with Iran and our government is proud of it. That is the underlying message of Foreign Minister John Baird’s latest statements about …
READ MOREPrinciples and Prejudice: Foreign Policy Under the Harper Government
- Analysis
- June 19, 2014
by Gerd Schönwälder
Values have been critical drivers behind the foreign policy making of Canada’s current and past governments, both Conservative and Liberal. However, the Harper government’s use of values-based foreign policymaking does not meet three criteria that would ensure …
READ MOREPolicy Experts Submit Report to NATO Secretary General
In March 2014, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, appointed ten independent policy experts to a panel and asked them to provide advice on the future of the transatlantic bond. The panel included a …
READ MOREParliament Neglects its Duty to Debate Military Deployments
- Analysis
- May 7, 2014
by Philippe Lagassé
Published in the Ottawa Citizen, May 6, 2014
It is easy to blame Parliament’s failings on an excess of executive power in our system of government. In certain cases, however, the legislature is the source of …
READ MOREQuick Take: What’s the Significance of Ukraine/Russia So Far?
What’s the most significant outcome to date of developments in Ukraine/Russia?
CIPS faculty were invited to give brief responses to this question—still very much a development in progress, as many of them point out. Here’s a range of strikingly disparate …
READ MOREThe Ottawa Forum: Rethinking Canada’s International Strategy
It’s been almost a decade since Canada conducted a foreign policy review.
The Ottawa Forum on May 23-24, co-organized by CIPS and the Canadian International Council, will bring together some of Canada’s most insightful “next generation” policy thinkers and most …
READ MORENATO, China and Afghanistan at the Security-Development Nexus
- Analysis
- February 24, 2014
By Kirsten Van Houten and Benjamin Zyla
Since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban in 2001, NATO has provided extensive security and development assistance to Afghanistan. While NATO is slated to withdraw from Afghanistan later this year, the international …
READ MOREShale Gale or Shale Fail? Will North America’s Leaders Miss the Boat on Energy?
- Analysis
- February 21, 2014
by Monica Gattinger
At the North American Leaders Summit in Mexico this week, Prime Minister Harper, President Obama and President Pena Nieto committed to tasking their respective energy ministers to meet in 2014 to “discuss opportunities to promote common strategies …
READ MOREDiplomatic Prospects for Supporting Democracy Development
By Jeremy Kinsman, University of California and Ryerson University
Jeremy Kinsman will be speaking at the CIPS panel ‘Is Democracy Rising or Receding?’ on February 14, 2014.
From its inception in 2007, the international project A Diplomat’s Handbook for …
READ MORERefugee Protection and Human Rights: Nothing Bogus About It
By Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada
Watch the video of Alex Neve’s CIPS talk: Protecting Refugees: It’s a human rights issue
The lambasting that Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews received from federal Immigration Minister Chris Alexander last …
READ MOREIronic or Apt? Experiencing NATO
By Stephen Saideman, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University
Stephen Saideman will be giving a talk at CIPS about his newly-released book on January 28, 2014
I am not sure whether it was ironic or just especially …
READ MOREBangladesh: The Future of Development Partnerships
By Syed Sajjadur Rahman, Visiting Professor, School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa
This essay, along with the ones by Yiagadeesen (Teddy) Samy and by Stephen Baranyi and Alicia Dobson, arose out of the Bangladesh: Out …
READ MOREBangladesh: Out of Fragility?
By Yiagadeesen (Teddy) Samy, Associate Professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University
This essay, along with the ones by Sajjad Rahman and by Stephen Baranyi and Alicia Dobson, arose out of the Bangladesh: Out …
READ MOREAuthorizing U.S. Warfare: Domestic Critics, Global Constituencies and the Renewal of the AUMF
By Mariah Zeisberg, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan. She will be giving a lecture at CIPS on January 23, 2014.
The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), which the United States Congress enacted after …
READ MOREWhy is Ottawa Accelerating its International Aid Budget Cuts by Stealth?
- Analysis
- January 14, 2014
by Bruce Montador
The Harper government started two years ago to cut back on official development assistance (ODA), announcing in 2012 a three-year series of cuts (even if Canada is among the donor countries least under fiscal pressure to cut …
READ MOREDemocracy or the “Almighty Dollar” – Do We Need to Choose?
- Analysis
- January 1, 2014
by Gerd Schönwälder
When the Harper government made the interests of Canada’s business community its top foreign policy priority last month, effectively sidelining traditional Canadian concerns such as democratic development, good governance, or human security, some observers were quick to …
READ MOREDemocratic Emerging Powers and Democracy Promotion
- Analysis
- December 16, 2013
by Gerd Schönwälder
CIPS has just received the report on a conference it helped facilitate in October 2013 on the role of democratic emerging powers (DEPs)—such as India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, and Turkey—in supporting democracy beyond their own borders. …
READ MOREStephen Harper and a ‘Rising’ Canada
By Colin Robertson, Vice President, Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute
Stephen Harper aims to position Canada as a ‘rising power’. While protecting our privileged access to the USA, Canada under Harper’s leadership actively seeks new markets for our goods …
READ MOREA Dignified Warrior for Peace: Nelson Mandela
By Joanne St. Lewis, Professor of Law at the University of Ottawa
My heart is heavy. The braided life of pain, joy, courage, strength and love – indeed, all that was the brilliant complex persona of Nelson Mandela is …
READ MOREIs Canada a Responsible Global Partner?
In anticipation of the December 5th book launch of the Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy, CIPS posed the following question to former Prime Minister Paul Martin (who will be speaking at the event): “What does the recently announced DFATD …
READ MOREHow Canada Goes to War
- Analysis
- December 3, 2013
by Philippe Lagassé
Canada’s military training mission in Afghanistan will end in 2014. When the Canadian Forces are next sent overseas, members of Parliament will likely vote on the mission. The Conservative government has made it a point to consult …
READ MOREAs Iran Opens to the World, Canada is Left Behind
- Analysis
- November 25, 2013
by John Mundy
Published in The Globe and Mail, November 25, 2013
The earth moved Sunday in Geneva when the United States, its P5 plus 1 negotiating partners and Iran came to an interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. …
READ MORESexy Vanilla: Canada-EU Free Trade
- Analysis
- November 14, 2013
by Robert Hage
The same week that celebrity British street artist Banksy upset New Yorkers by saying the new World Trade Center is “vanilla…and looks like something they would build in Canada”, an Economist headline stated, “Canada doesn’t get any …
READ MORECanada and Sub-Saharan Africa: Beyond Consistent Inconsistency?
By David Black, Dalhousie University
A preview of David Black’s CIPS lecture on October 22, 2013
Among the various criticisms of the Harper government’s foreign policy, its presumed neglect or even abandonment of sub-Saharan Africa is among the most frequently …
READ MORERegional Innovation Policies in a Globally Connected Environment: Lessons from Europe
By Michele Mastroeni, University of Edinburgh
A preview of Michele Mastroeni’s CIPS lecture on October 18, 2013
Industry leaders and governments have pursued innovation as a source of economic growth for the last two decades. While firms have been striving …
READ MOREDemocracy Promotion and the Role of the ‘Democratic Emerging Powers’
- Analysis
- October 9, 2013
by Gerd Schönwälder
A preview of the conference on ‘Promoting Democracy: What Role for the Emerging Powers?’ to take place at the University of Ottawa on October 15-16, 2013.
Millions around the world continue to name democracy as their preferred …
READ MOREIran’s Diplomatic Opening is a Test of Intentions
- Analysis
- September 30, 2013
by John Mundy
Published in the Globe and Mail, September 30, 2013
For the first time in many years there are hopeful signs that Iran is prepared to negotiate a comprehensive deal on its nuclear program with the United …
READ MORETerror 2.0: Kenya’s #Westgate and a New Face of Terrorism
- Analysis
- September 26, 2013
by Joshua Ramisch
The harrowing images from Nairobi’s burning and blood-soaked Westgate Mall have come not just from journalists but from the cellphones nearly everyone in the building was carrying. Twitter has been alive with updates from all sides: from …
READ MORER2P Down But Not Out After Libya and Syria
By Gareth Evans
Published on the openDemocracy blog, September 9, 2013. This essay is part of a symposium on R2P and the human rights crisis in Syria, guest edited by David Petrasek.
The lack of consensus in the …
READ MOREOn Law, Policy, and (Not) Bombing Syria
Ian Hurd is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University
The debate sparked by Syria’s chemical weapons attack includes at least three separate controversies: 1) which (if any) international legal instruments govern Syria’s use of chemical weapons; 2) …
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