Canada's leading centre for analysis and debate of international affairs.
- Home
- CIPS
CIPS
-
-
Articles
-
Views
-
Author's Posts
On 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) …
READ MORE20th Century Laws Meet 21st Century Surveillance: Why Metadata Surveillance is a Serious Concern
- Analysis
- June 11, 2013
by Michael Geist
Published on www.michaelgeist.ca, June 11, 2013.
The concerns about telephone and Internet surveillance moved north yesterday as the Globe revealed that Canada has its own metadata surveillance program. The program was discontinued in 2008 after concerns …
READ MOREIn Defense of Academic ‘Fiddling’
- Analysis
- June 10, 2013
Published in the Ottawa Citizen, June 5, 2013
Are political scientists failing to play their part as critics of the government in Canada? Lawrence Martin thinks so. Writing in the Globe and Mail last week, he lamented that academics …
READ MOREThe ICTY at 20: Mission Accomplished?
- Analysis
- May 29, 2013
by Rachel Kerr
On May 25, 2013, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia celebrated its twentieth anniversary. After 20 years and $2.2 billion, what has this extraordinary experiment in international criminal justice achieved? In The Hague, an exhibition …
READ MOREMaking Disability Visible: Inclusive Reconstruction in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States
Guest blog post by Deborah Stienstra, Professor in Disability Studies, University of Manitoba
Policy makers, researchers and activists may be skeptical about including disability in discussions about fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS). There are so many urgent and competing …
READ MOREIn Confronting Iran, John Baird Stands in the Way of Real Solutions
- Analysis
- May 21, 2013
by John Mundy
Published in the Globe and Mail, May 21, 2013
Imagine if U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had delivered the speech that Foreign Minister John Baird gave to the Global Dialogue on Iran’s Future last week …
READ MORECall for Papers — International Conference on Promoting Democracy: What Role for the Emerging Powers?
Conference to be held on 15-16 October 2013 in Ottawa, Canada
Co-sponsored by:
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and
Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS), University of OttawaDeadline for submission
…READ MOREA High-Water Mark in Canadian Diplomacy
Guest post by John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In this post, Mr. Baird responds to Bob Rae’s commentary on Canadian foreign policy. CIPS is pleased to provide a venue for this debate. To receive notification of future blogposts, …
READ MOREAdapting to a Newly Fragile Environment: Lessons from Mali
By guest-bloggers Steve Mason, Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC), and Katie McGregor, University of Ottawa.
Renowned as a place of rich history, diverse cultures and world-famous musicians, Mali has been making headlines for very different reasons over the …
READ MOREThe High Price of Harper’s Foreign Policy
Guest post by Bob Rae, MP
John Baird’s recent trip to the Middle East—and seemingly incoherent announcements before and after—give us a chance to re-assess the Conservative government’s foreign policy.
The Reform Party’s reverse takeover of the Progressive Conservative Party, …
READ MORELearning the Tricks of the Trade: Canada in South Sudan
By guest-bloggers Jennifer Erin Salahub, Senior Researcher and Team Leader at the North-South Institute, and Margaret Capelazo, Gender Advisor at CARE Canada.
As part of the global aid effectiveness agenda, the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States…
READ MOREWill it be a ‘New Deal’ or a ‘Raw Deal’ for FCAS?
Based purely on need, enhancing our focus (and resources) on fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) …
READ MOREIran’s Nuclear Gamble, Canada and Obama’s Second Term
CIPS Policy Brief No. 21, March 2013.
By JOHN MUNDY, Visiting Associate, CIPS.- War with Iran is closer than we may think, but is not inevitable.
- If war with Iran does occur, the likely tactical victory of the U.S.
The Queen of Canada is Dead; Long Live the British Queen
- Analysis
- February 4, 2013
by Philippe Lagassé
Published in Macleans.ca, February 3, 2012
Canada’s most monarchist government in decades has just dealt a serious blow to the Canadian Crown. In an effort to quickly enact changes regarding royal succession, the government has introduced …
READ MOREDefence Procurement Problems Run Deeper Than the F-35
- Analysis
- December 10, 2012
by Philippe Lagassé
Published in the Ottawa Citizen, December 6, 2012
It’s been a rough year for Canadian defence procurement.
This past spring, the Auditor General lambasted the defence department’s lack of due diligence in selecting the F-35 to …
READ MORESucceeding to the Canadian Throne
- Analysis
- December 5, 2012
By James W.J. Bowden and Philippe Lagassé
The full article was published in the Ottawa Citizen, December 4, 2012
We learned this week that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their first child. The news was greeted …
READ MOREThe F-35 is Down but Not Out as Canada’s Next Fighter
- Analysis
- November 30, 2012
by Philippe Lagassé
The Harper government recently announced that the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat (NFPS) will be looking at various options to replace Canada’s aging CF-18s. This comes at a time when the news about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, …
READ MORE
War with Iran: Real, Horrific Costs, but What Benefits?
- Analysis
- November 26, 2012
by John Mundy
Published in the Globe and Mail, November 26, 2012
The Munk Debate on the question of war with Iran, to be held on Monday night in Toronto, could not be more timely. With elections finally decided …
READ MOREFédéralisme et relations internationales : le rôle des provinces
Par Stéphane Paquin, Professeur agrégé à l’École nationale d’administration publique
Lorsque le gouvernement du Québec, sous Jean Charest, a exigé une plus grande participation des provinces canadiennes aux négociations et organisations internationales dont le Canada est membre, de nombreux …
READ MOREThe Iranians We Left Behind
- Analysis
- October 26, 2012
by John Mundy
Published in the Globe and Mail, October 25, 2012
When Canada closed its embassy in Tehran last month, it wasn’t just Canadian diplomats who were affected. We left behind a small number of local staff, and …
READ MOREUne diplomatie verbeuse
- Analysis
- October 7, 2012
par Justin Massie
Published in La Presse, October 5, 2012
Lors de son dernier discours aux Nations unies, le ministre John Baird a exposé les fondements de la politique internationale de son gouvernement. Elle repose sur deux piliers: une …
READ MOREShould Canada Promote Religious Freedom?
Guest contributor: ELIZABETH SHAKMAN HURD, Associate Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University.
In the United States, religious freedom is described as the ‘first freedom’: a fundamental human right and a sine qua non of democratic politics. Americans, we are …
READ MORETeaching Hobbes
- Analysis
- October 2, 2012
by Philippe Lagassé
After a month of lectures on Plato and Machiavelli, today I’m starting to teach Hobbes in my second-year undergraduate course on philosophical perspectives on conflict and rights. Personally, I find that this is the most interesting part …
READ MORERealizing the Potential of Unarmed Civilians in Reducing Violent Conflict
Guest contributor: LIAM MAHONY, Director of Fieldview Solutions and a pioneer in the theory and practice of international protection
When the international community struggles today with decisions about how to address the terrible civilian costs of armed conflict, the …
READ MORECanada’s Abandonment of the Responsibility to Protect
Guest contributor: KYLE MATTHEWS, Senior Deputy Director of the Will to Intervene Project at the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (Concordia University)
The Responsibility to Protect doctrine has many enemies. States that will not or cannot …
READ MOREAbandoning Diplomacy with Iran: Why, and Why Now?
- Analysis
- September 10, 2012
by John Mundy
Published in the Globe and Mail, September 10, 2012
No country suspends diplomatic relations with an adversary lightly. It signals that the possibility for future dialogue is over. While it is true that Canada has not …
READ MOREThe Measure of a CDS
- Analysis
- September 3, 2012
by Philippe Lagassé
First published on the Canadian International Council website.
A new Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) was appointed by the Governor-in-Council last week. Following a few months of speculation about who would be named, Cabinet decided on …
READ MOREIntelligence, Policy, and the War in Iraq
CIPS Policy Brief No.18, June 2012.
By JOSHUA ROVNER, U.S. Naval War College.- Some amount of friction is normal in relations between intelligence agencies and policymakers.
- However, intelligence-policy relations become pathological when policymakers neglect intelligence or politicize it.
- The
John Mundy, CIPS Visiting Associate in 2012-13
CIPS is pleased to announce the appointment of John Mundy as Visiting Associate for the 2012-13 academic year.
Mr. Mundy is a former Canadian diplomat. Before retiring in 2008, he held senior diplomatic appointments in Trinidad and Tobago, Iran and …
READ MOREMultiple Crises and Global Health: The Maps and the Rules are Changing
- Analysis
- June 11, 2012
by Ted Schrecker
In a recent Foreign Affairs article, Laurie Garrett argues that the current economic crisis represents “a watershed moment for global public health” because of the probable stagnation of development assistance for health. In fact, the situation …
READ MOREA Good Day for International Criminal Justice?
- Analysis
- May 17, 2012
by Rachel Kerr
May 16, 2012 was an auspicious day for international criminal justice for two reasons. First, the Special Court for Sierra Leone heard statements from the Prosecutor and from former Liberian President Charles Taylor at his sentencing hearing. …
READ MOREArchive of CSIS Inspector General Reports
The Office of the Inspector General of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was established through legislation in 1984, in the same Act that created CSIS. The model was the U.S. practice of Inspector Generals, with a review and compliance …
READ MOREAfghan President Hamid Karzai Endorses Ottawa Dialogue
The Ottawa Dialogue is a Track Two process involving a distinguished group of retired senior officials and military officers from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is led by Peter Jones, Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School …
READ MORECrash or Burn? The Conservatives’ F-35 Dilemma
- Analysis
- April 3, 2012
by Philippe Lagassé
Published in the Globe and Mail, April 3, 2012.
In the wake of Tuesday’s expected report by the Auditor-General, the Conservative government’s hedging about the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is likely to accelerate. After nearly two …
READ MORE
Quels chasseurs pour le Canada?
- Analysis
- March 29, 2012
par Justin Massie
A shortened version of this article appeared in La Presse on March 27, 2012.
Le recul du gouvernement Harper à l’égard de l’acquisition de 65 F-35 témoigne des malheurs entourant le développement du programme multinational d’avions de …
READ MOREForward — to the Past? Re-thinking a Human Rights Museum
CIPS Policy Brief No.17, March 2012.
By DAVID PETRASEK, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.- The Canadian Museum of Human Rights has set itself a sound objective: to challenge and equip visitors actively to promote human freedom and
The KONY2012 Campaign and Its Critics
Guest contributor: REX BRYNEN
Professor of Political Science, McGill UniversityIn recent days, a social media-based campaign called KONY2012 has gone viral with worldwide calls for the arrest of Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). …
READ MORECan NATO Rethink its Exit Strategy from Afghanistan?
CIPS Policy Brief No.16, March 2012.
By STEVE COLL, New America Foundation.- The NATO transition plan for Afghanistan is based on faulty assumptions and must be rethought before time runs out.
- The international community must invest in a successful
Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran and the 2009 Election Scandal
CIPS Policy Brief No. 14 (February 2012).
By TRITA PARSI.- Barack Obama’s presidency began with a diplomatic outreach to Iran.
- However, the space for diplomacy turned out to be limited, due in part to the effects of Iran’s fraudulent 2009
Surprise en Inde : le Rafale remporte la compétition
- Analysis
- February 8, 2012
par Justin Massie
Le mardi, 31 janvier 2012, le titre de Dassault Aviation s’est envolé rapidement à la bourse de Paris. Avant 17 heures, le constructeur aéronautique français gagnait près de 22% en valeur boursière. Cette hausse tient pour l’essentiel …
READ MORELa révolution conservatrice
- Analysis
- January 10, 2012
par Justin Massie
Quel bilan annuel peut-on dresser de la politique étrangère du gouvernement Harper ? Grâce à la majorité parlementaire obtenue en mai dernier, le premier ministre bénéficie d’une immense autonomie politique – une « dictature bienveillante » selon …
READ MOREThe Queen is the Canadian Crown
- Analysis
- January 10, 2012
by Philippe Lagassé
The full article was published in the Ottawa Citizen on January 9, 2012
Should Canada abandon its constitutional monarchy and become a republic? Several commentators and notable politicians think so.
Accustomed to seeing the monarchy as a …
READ MOREUn énoncé conservateur de politique étrangère
- Analysis
- November 28, 2011
par Justin Massie
Suite aux élections de mai, le ministre des Affaires étrangères, John Baird, s’est vu confier la tâche de réviser la politique actuelle et d’élaborer un nouveau document avec l’espoir de permettre à Ottawa de mieux anticiper l’environnement …
READ MOREAlmost One Year On: Lessons from the Arab Spring
Guest contributor: STEFAN WOLFF
Professor of International Security at the University of Birmingham, UKWhen Mohamed Bouazizi, a jobless graduate in the provincial city of Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia, about 200km southwest of the capital Tunis, set himself …
READ MOREScience Diplomacy: What’s It All About?
CIPS Policy Brief No. 13 (November 2011).
By Daryl Copeland.- Science diplomacy can play a critical role in addressing the complex transnational issues which feed underdevelopment and insecurity.
- Foreign ministries, multilateral organizations and science-based institutions are unprepared and ill-equipped to
Honing Canada’s Approach to Interventions
- Analysis
- November 16, 2011
By Roméo Dallaire and Philippe Lagassé
Published in Embassy Magazine, November 16, 2011.
Canada and its NATO allies performed admirably during their recent intervention in Libya. They acted to prevent a predatory regime from potentially committing a mass atrocity; …
READ MORELe règne du On the Cheap pour les F-35
- Analysis
- November 4, 2011
par David Grondin
Cela fait plusieurs années que les Forces canadiennes sont passées maîtres du faire beaucoup avec peu; le Canada fait peu d’envieux, mais son personnel est qualifié et réputé pour savoir tirer le maximum d’un matériel qui n’est …
READ MORELibya and Canada’s Political Influence: A Different Perspective
- Analysis
- October 28, 2011
by Philippe Lagassé
Did Canada play a critical political role in relation to the Libya intervention? My colleague Roland Paris is skeptical. In an earlier post on this blog, he points out that Canada’s political influence was secondary at best, …
READ MOREMission incomplète
- Analysis
- October 28, 2011
par Justin Massie
Published in La Presse.ca, October 27, 2011
La guerre en Libye est maintenant terminée, du moins celle dans laquelle sont engagés les Occidentaux, avec la mort du dictateur Mouammar Kadhafi. Selon le ministre des Affaires étrangères, …
READ MOREA Democratic or Technocratic Civil Service?
- Analysis
- October 21, 2011
by Philippe Lagassé
Forum: DND and Academic Policy Advice.
READ MORE
In this forum, CIPS blog contributors respond to a report written by Douglas Bland and Richard Shimooka of Queen’s University, who argue that the Department of National Defense pays little attention …Il n’y a pas péril en la demeure
- Analysis
- October 21, 2011
par Justin Massie
Forum: DND and Academic Policy Advice.
READ MORE
In this forum, CIPS blog contributors respond to a report written by Douglas Bland and Richard Shimooka of Queen’s University, who argue that the Department of National Defense pays little attention …