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  • Philip Leech

Philip Leech




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    Philip Leech

Author's Posts

  • How about a Supply and Confidence “Human Rights” Addendum?

    How about a Supply and Confidence “Human Rights” Addendum?

    • Analysis
    • April 22, 2022

    In March, the federal Liberals and NDP entered into a Supply and Confidence Agreement, Delivering for Canadians Now. The NDP has pledged support for the Liberal minority government through to 2025 in return for promised progress on several important …

    READ MORE
  • Expedience over Justice: Implications of the Fate of the Khashoggi Trial for Activists-in-Exile

    Expedience over Justice: Implications of the Fate of the Khashoggi Trial for Activists-in-Exile

    • Analysis
    • April 19, 2022

    On 7 April, a Turkish court ordered that the murder trial of those accused of killing and dismembering Jamal Khashoggi be transferred to Saudi Arabia. This will effectively end the case and put pay to any chance of achieving …

    READ MORE
  • 1500 Kilometres: The Distance between War and Refuge

    1500 Kilometres: The Distance between War and Refuge

    • Analysis
    • March 29, 2022

    One thousand five hundred kilometres is roughly the distance between Hamburg and Kyiv. A week after Putin started his invasion of Ukraine, the city government of Hamburg proclaimed proudly that it had prepared 750 beds for refugees from Ukraine. As …

    READ MORE
  • What was Behind the Indian Farmers’ Protests?

    What was Behind the Indian Farmers’ Protests?

    • Analysis
    • March 28, 2022

    Extreme nationalism and anti-Muslim hatred are mounting in India, all at the expense of its democracy. It is being led or coddled by the sitting Government of Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But the Indian …

    READ MORE
  • Putin is Waging War on Eastern Ukraine

    Putin is Waging War on Eastern Ukraine

    • Analysis
    • March 7, 2022

    Historians have known for a long time that the idea that Ukrainians form a different nation than Russians, and therefore decide of their own destiny, is seen by Moscow, and a large segment of the Russian population, as artificial, as …

    READ MORE
  • A New Approach is Needed to Blunt the Appeal of Far-Right Movements

    A New Approach is Needed to Blunt the Appeal of Far-Right Movements

    • Analysis
    • February 18, 2022

    The trucker convoy that rolled onto the streets of Ottawa late last month has become an unlikely cause célèbre for far-right movements and anti-vaxxers around the world. The scenario that has unfolded is not how Canada sees itself, and it …

    READ MORE
  • Obfuscation and Ventriloquy: Does Canada Speak for the World’s Poor?

    Obfuscation and Ventriloquy: Does Canada Speak for the World’s Poor?

    • Analysis
    • February 9, 2022

    The tweet from Cooperation Canada after the webinar said it all: ‘“We want to be a voice for the low-income countries”, explains @HarjitSajjan of Canada’s response to the pandemic #COVID19 around the world’. Funny thing, we thought the low-income countries …

    READ MORE
  • Being Critical about Intelligence Studies: a New Research Agenda

    Being Critical about Intelligence Studies: a New Research Agenda

    • Analysis
    • February 7, 2022

    In a recent CIPS podcast, Srdjan Vucetic, David Murakami Wood and myself discussed criticality in Intelligence Studies and Surveillance Studies. The question was simple enough: what does ‘critique’ mean in the context of both fields of scholarship?


    To respond …

    READ MORE
  • What should Canada do for Afghanistan?

    What should Canada do for Afghanistan?

    • Analysis
    • December 8, 2021

    Despite no longer making the headlines, the situation in Afghanistan is a lot worse now than it was in August, when the world watched in horror as people fell off a military airplane leaving Kabul Airport.


    What should Canada do …

    READ MORE
  • Global Migration, Activists-in-Exile, and Canada

    Global Migration, Activists-in-Exile, and Canada

    • Analysis
    • November 8, 2021

    Alongside the global existential challenge of Climate Change and the Coronavirus pandemic, which have come to dominate news headlines worldwide, there are the old but growing challenges of involuntary migration.  


    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports 82.4 …

    READ MORE
  • An Audacious Suggestion for the new Minister of Foreign Affairs: Help Canadians

    An Audacious Suggestion for the new Minister of Foreign Affairs: Help Canadians

    • Analysis
    • November 8, 2021

    Canada’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, has promised a combination of “humility and audacity” for Canadian foreign policy.  She will inevitably face a barrage of questions relating to important issues critical to Canadian foreign policy – from …

    READ MORE
  • Remembering the Happy 90s and the Hope for Europe’s Return

    Remembering the Happy 90s and the Hope for Europe’s Return

    • Analysis
    • October 27, 2021

    While Europe had grown accustomed to the idea that catastrophes happen elsewhere, at least since the end of the Second World War, the Covid-19 pandemic was a humbling event. Its blatant socio-economic consequences have added more stress to the cycle …

    READ MORE
  • Every Conversation About the Threat Environment is Important

    Every Conversation About the Threat Environment is Important

    • Analysis
    • October 26, 2021

    The COVID19 pandemic is the greatest single human tragedy of the internet era. We cannot be certain the end is in sight.


    The pandemic danger will not end if COVID is finally controlled. Other currently known diseases could surge into …

    READ MORE
  • CIPS Best Blog Award 2021: Public Voting Now Open

    CIPS Best Blog Award 2021: Public Voting Now Open

    • Analysis
    • October 13, 2021

    Last year we launched our first ‘Best Blog Award’ competition. While the principal motivations behind the competition were to (a) offer up an engaging experience for you, dear reader and (b) draw some more attention the expertise and hard work …

    READ MORE
  • Retrotopian Desires and Gender in Right-Wing Populism

    Retrotopian Desires and Gender in Right-Wing Populism

    • Analysis
    • October 10, 2021

    Former US President Donald Trump in 2016 justified his plan to build a wall at the United States’ Southern Border to keep out Mexicans (many of whom implied he were rapists). This motif forms part of Trump’s strategy to “Make …

    READ MORE
  • We Must Avoid An Isolated, Impoverished, Unstable Afghanistan

    We Must Avoid An Isolated, Impoverished, Unstable Afghanistan

    • Analysis
    • October 6, 2021

    After the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, I consistently argued for a comprehensive, UN-facilitated peace process, encompassing all the internal Afghan parties to the conflict, including the Taliban and the regional and other actors implicated in the conflict, …

    READ MORE
  • What’s next for Germany after Merkel

    What’s next for Germany after Merkel

    • Analysis
    • October 4, 2021

    Just days after Canadians took to the polls, Germans, too, elected a new parliament. Having lead Germany for sixteen years, Angela Merkel was not on the ballot again: the end of an era in German politics and the arrival of something …

    READ MORE
  • UN Peacekeeping and the Kindleberger Trap

    UN Peacekeeping and the Kindleberger Trap

    • Analysis
    • September 27, 2021

    For close to a decade, the UN has been under the double pressure of a high number of fatalities and pressure from member states to cut costs, particularly from the United States. Since 2013, the UN has not launched a …

    READ MORE
  • How Individuals Matter in UN Peacekeeping Human Rights Policy

    How Individuals Matter in UN Peacekeeping Human Rights Policy

    • Analysis
    • September 23, 2021

    Debates about UN peacekeeping have increasingly come to revolve around the ‘protection of civilians’ (POC) in both policy and academic spheres. These debates are undoubtedly crucial and have important real-life consequences. At the same time, the focus on …

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  • Federal election: How the next government can build a stronger foreign service

    Federal election: How the next government can build a stronger foreign service

    • Analysis
    • September 17, 2021

    In the current federal election, foreign policy is getting very little attention, despite Canada’s implication in many global crises and long-standing concern from all directions about Canada’s place in the world, its image and whether or not it …

    READ MORE
  • New Opportunities for Local Engagement at the Human Rights and Peacebuilding Nexus

    New Opportunities for Local Engagement at the Human Rights and Peacebuilding Nexus

    • Analysis
    • September 15, 2021

    Despite ongoing calls from academics, activists, and peacebuilders globally, United Nations and other international peace operations remain largely top-down, directed by the interests of funders rather than based on the needs and knowledge of conflict-affected communities. Yet, while often significantly …

    READ MORE
  • Vingt ans après, qu’est-ce que le renseignement aujourd’hui?

    Vingt ans après, qu’est-ce que le renseignement aujourd’hui?

    • Analysis
    • September 14, 2021

    Au fil des années, la lutte contre le terrorisme s’est imposée comme un enjeu opérationnel et politique en Europe comme en Amérique du Nord. Le renseignement y joue un rôle important, permettant aux professionnels de la sécurité de revendiquer une …

    READ MORE
  • Middle Powers Reengaging in UN Peace Operations: Strategic Policy Recommendations

    Middle Powers Reengaging in UN Peace Operations: Strategic Policy Recommendations

    • Analysis
    • September 13, 2021

    Though a debated category, “middle power” countries use multilateralism and peacekeeping to pursue their interests, build relationships and exert influence globally. Recently, however, commitments have shifted toward regional military alliances and “smart”, technical engagements, reducing …

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  • Action for Peacekeeping? Middle Powers, Liberal Internationalism, and the Future of UN Peace Operations

    Action for Peacekeeping? Middle Powers, Liberal Internationalism, and the Future of UN Peace Operations

    • Analysis
    • September 13, 2021

    In late May 2021, CIPS scholars hosted a virtual workshop on the topic of middle powers, liberal internationalism, and the changing geopolitical environment around UN peace operations. Workshop participants joined us from six different countries to present original research papers. …

    READ MORE
  • The Fate of Unwanted Art: Poland’s Symbolic Dealing with the Communist Past

    The Fate of Unwanted Art: Poland’s Symbolic Dealing with the Communist Past

    • Analysis
    • September 7, 2021

    Ever since the regime changes in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, communist-era monumental art has become a controversial subject. Post-communist states, both the pre-existing ones and those which emerged after the Soviet …

    READ MORE
  • Re-imagining the future: Is UNESCO on to something?

    Re-imagining the future: Is UNESCO on to something?

    • Analysis
    • August 26, 2021

    Most famous for its World Heritage Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has in recent years championed the idea of futures literacy – the skill and practice of diversifying why and how we imagine the future. …

    READ MORE
  • What Canada Owes its Afghan Workers

    What Canada Owes its Afghan Workers

    • Analysis
    • August 21, 2021

    As dark clouds piled on the horizon and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis looms over Afghanistan, the Canadian government promised a special resettlement program for approximately 20,000 Afghans who fear reprisals from the Taliban for collaborating with the international community.  The …

    READ MORE
  • ‘We Managed to Participate, but We Had to Fight for It’: Collective Reparation and Women in Colombia

    ‘We Managed to Participate, but We Had to Fight for It’: Collective Reparation and Women in Colombia

    • Analysis
    • July 24, 2021

    Collective reparations emerged in Colombia within the legal framework of the peace process of the Government of Álvaro Uribe Vélez with the United Self-defense Forces of Colombia (AUC in Spanish) of 2005. The legal framework focused on the rights of …

    READ MORE
  • Transitional Justice in Colombia, Five Years After Signing the Peace Agreement

    Transitional Justice in Colombia, Five Years After Signing the Peace Agreement

    • Analysis
    • July 22, 2021

    Societies that have suffered massive violence require transitional institutions to manage injustices related to grave violations of human rights, document the truth of infringements and hold perpetrators accountable. The 2016 peace agreement in Colombia instituted the Truth Commission and the …

    READ MORE
  • Peace with Justice in Colombia?

    Peace with Justice in Colombia?

    • Analysis
    • July 21, 2021

    The national strike that erupted on 28 April 2021, following a proposed tax reform by the current administration, was met with state repression of protests. That repression and the impasse of dialogue since late April have revealed deep grievances and …

    READ MORE
  • Swazi Youth-Led Democratic Protests in Kingdom of Eswatini in Southern Africa Need Canadian Support

    Swazi Youth-Led Democratic Protests in Kingdom of Eswatini in Southern Africa Need Canadian Support

    • Analysis
    • July 20, 2021

    This past week the international community has received detailed information about the turmoil currently ongoing in South Africa. The former President Jacob Zuma was found guilty of contempt of the Constitutional Court, the highest Court in South Africa, for …

    READ MORE
  • L’assassinat du Président Moise, son contexte et les scénarios pour Haïti

    L’assassinat du Président Moise, son contexte et les scénarios pour Haïti

    • Analysis
    • July 10, 2021

    Dans la nuit du mardi 6 au mercredi 7 juillet 2021, un groupe d’hommes armés attaque le domicile du Président d’Haïti Jovenel Moise, l’assassine et laisse la Première Dame avec de graves blessures.  Les premières informations venant du Premier Ministre …

    READ MORE
  • Authoritarianism has Changed, and so Should our Approach to it

    Authoritarianism has Changed, and so Should our Approach to it

    • Analysis
    • June 4, 2021

    Authoritarianism is on the rise globally and democratic governments need to be better equipped to meet the challenges it represents, or at a minimum smarter about how they manage relations with authoritarian states.


    For all the talk around a global …

    READ MORE
  • Pour une politique étrangère féministe cohérente

    Pour une politique étrangère féministe cohérente

    • Analysis
    • June 4, 2021


    La politique d’aide internationale féministe (PAIF) du Canada, initiée en 2017, vise à promouvoir l’égalité des genres, le renforcement du pouvoir des femmes à l’étranger et le rôle de celles-ci dans les initiatives en matière de paix et sécurité. …

    READ MORE
  • What will Russia do as Arctic Council Chair?

    What will Russia do as Arctic Council Chair?

    • Analysis
    • June 3, 2021

    On May 20, 2021, Iceland convened the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council (AC) in Reykjavik. Upon concluding its 2-year term at the helm of the AC, the host handed over the AC’s gavel to Russia. 


    Russia’s assumption …

    READ MORE
  • New Challenges Threaten Zimbabwean Democracy

    New Challenges Threaten Zimbabwean Democracy

    • Analysis
    • May 11, 2021

    Zimbabwe has been gripped by political controversy over the past six weeks, as opposition parties and activists objected to the passing of two bills amending the country’s constitution, threatening to erode Zimbabwe’s ailing democracy further. The bills pushed through several …

    READ MORE
  • The Bank of Canada Must Seize the Pandemic Moment and Do More for Canadians

    The Bank of Canada Must Seize the Pandemic Moment and Do More for Canadians

    • Analysis
    • May 5, 2021

    The Bank of Canada, like central banks around the world, is currently facing enormous upheaval and uncertainty due to the enduring COVID-19 pandemic.

    Will its leadership seize the moment as an opportunity to innovate and respond to the challenges …

    READ MORE
  • The Green Wave and a Historic Win for Abortion Rights in Argentina

    The Green Wave and a Historic Win for Abortion Rights in Argentina

    • Analysis
    • April 21, 2021


    In mid-2018, one million people took to the streets of Argentina to urge Congress to pass a bill that would legalize abortion. It wasn’t the first time, and it would not be the last. The Green Wave, as the …

    READ MORE
  • The Rollback of Autonomy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Hong Kong

    The Rollback of Autonomy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Hong Kong

    • Analysis
    • April 12, 2021

    The world has watched in horror as Hong Kong is transformed from an open society with a liberal constitutional order into a repressive authoritarian regime.


    Last year a new Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL) targeted freedom of expression with the …

    READ MORE
  • The Pandemic, Borders and Refugees

    The Pandemic, Borders and Refugees

    • Analysis
    • March 18, 2021

    The global response to the spread of COVID-19 teaches us that, although border closures may be critical to fighting the spread of disease, they cause harm, often irrevocable damage, to many of the world’s most vulnerable, namely refugees and asylum …

    READ MORE
  • The Forgotten History of Militant Conservatism in IR

    The Forgotten History of Militant Conservatism in IR

    • Analysis
    • March 16, 2021

    Even for those not listening, it is almost impossible not to hear the collective sigh of relief emanating from foreign policy elites across the globe. “Well,” they mutter (or cheer), “thank goodness that is over.” “That”, it hardly needs saying, …

    READ MORE
  • Armed Conflict in the CAR: Religion, Identity, and Political Dialogue

    Armed Conflict in the CAR: Religion, Identity, and Political Dialogue

    • Analysis
    • March 4, 2021


    The Central African Republic is again engulfed by conflict. This time, the conflict centred on the Presidential election of December 2020. As the country prepared for the elections, the Constitutional Court rejected former President Bozizé’s candidacy. There were disagreements over …

    READ MORE
  • Peace in Afghanistan: Deeper Level Dialogue Needed

    Peace in Afghanistan: Deeper Level Dialogue Needed

    • Analysis
    • February 23, 2021

    The sustainability of any peace agreement is, to no small extent, a function of the inclusivity of the peace process that led to it. It also dependent on a widely shared notion that the status quo must be replaced in …

    READ MORE
  • The National Security Community’s Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

    The National Security Community’s Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

    • Analysis
    • February 18, 2021

    We have completed almost a full year under severe restrictions required to limit the spread of COVID19, and the tunnel ahead is still dark. A global shutdown of this magnitude has few parallels in history. What will this do to …

    READ MORE
  • The coup turns Myanmar’s fallen angel back into a freedom fighter

    The coup turns Myanmar’s fallen angel back into a freedom fighter

    • Analysis
    • February 9, 2021

    It was with a great sense of déjà vu that I heard of this week’s military coup in Myanmar, with early-morning arrests of the President and cabinet ministers, including national icon Aung San Suu Kyi.


    Myanmar’s generals are following a …

    READ MORE
  • Time for Donors to Drop President Museveni

    Time for Donors to Drop President Museveni

    • Analysis
    • January 26, 2021

    As the results from the Ugandan elections were announced, there was an overwhelming sense of dejà-vu. President Yoweri Museveni, in power for nearly 35 years, won with 58.6 percent of the vote.  His main rival, the musician and Member of Parliament Bobi …

    READ MORE
  • Trump-Inspired mob at U.S. Capitol Follows a Familiar Path of Election Violence

    Trump-Inspired mob at U.S. Capitol Follows a Familiar Path of Election Violence

    • Analysis
    • January 11, 2021

    The siege of the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters follows identifiable paths and patterns of election violence seen around the world.

    Election violence is rarely spontaneous. It is intentionally organized in order to influence the process and outcome …

    READ MORE
  • The Rise of African Philanthropy and International Development

    The Rise of African Philanthropy and International Development

    • Analysis
    • December 16, 2020

    There is a significant change taking place across the global south, as international development agencies are taking a less prominent role in promoting development and democracy.


    Over the past five years, various crises have undermined cooperation and cohesion in the …

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  • Selling Human Rights Due Diligence in Canada

    Selling Human Rights Due Diligence in Canada

    • Analysis
    • December 15, 2020

    On 29 November, Swiss voters gathered for a referendum. They affirmed that the country’s constitution should be amended to impose human rights due diligence (HRDD) requirements on multinational firms headquartered in Switzerland. The proposed amendment, which would require companies to …

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  • Solitary Confinement in Canada’s Prisons: Time for Real Accountability

    Solitary Confinement in Canada’s Prisons: Time for Real Accountability

    • Analysis
    • November 26, 2020

    Canada prides itself on a global image as a human rights champion. Yet, behind high prison walls, rights violations take place with impunity. Canada has a solitary confinement problem, and it needs to get fixed. 


    Solitary confinement was the brainchild …

    READ MORE
  • Réorganisation de la représentation du Québec dans le monde: Jouer la carte nordique

    Réorganisation de la représentation du Québec dans le monde: Jouer la carte nordique

    • Analysis
    • November 23, 2020

    Le Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie du Québec vient d’entrer dans une phase de réflexion pour recalibrer sa présence à l’étranger. Un redéploiement des bureaux et délégations québécoises est un exercice nécessaire afin de s’adapter aux …

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  • What Does the Coup in Mali Mean for UN Peacekeepers in the Country?

    What Does the Coup in Mali Mean for UN Peacekeepers in the Country?

    • Analysis
    • November 19, 2020


    On August 18th, officers from the Malian armed forces led a coup d’état against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and his government. They detained the President, his Prime Minister, and other senior officials, and forced Keïta (known by his …

    READ MORE
  • Unmasking Ignorance Reveals the Exercise of Political Power

    Unmasking Ignorance Reveals the Exercise of Political Power

    • Analysis
    • November 18, 2020

    It’s not the kind of statement that comforts the faithful. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, told a press conference last month that we are “steering in uncertain waters. No one knows exactly what is going …

    READ MORE
  • CIPS Special: Novels we recommend

    CIPS Special: Novels we recommend

    • Analysis, CIPS
    • October 27, 2020

    For reading week this year we asked CIPS‘ distinguished members to recommend a novel to their students (and to all students of good writing).


    Rita Abrahamsen: Director of CIPS and Professor of Public and International Affairs

    For over twenty …

    READ MORE
  • To Understand China’s Aggressive Foreign Policy, Look at Its Domestic Politics

    To Understand China’s Aggressive Foreign Policy, Look at Its Domestic Politics

    • Analysis
    • October 21, 2020

    In the past six months, Chinese foreign policy appears to have taken a dramatic and aggressive turn. China has lashed out at Australia for questioning its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, bolstered its claims in the South China Sea, stepped …

    READ MORE
  • Five Eyes Minus One: Thinking the Unthinkable

    Five Eyes Minus One: Thinking the Unthinkable

    • Analysis
    • October 19, 2020

    The US National Security Agency (NSA) is by far the largest and best-resourced of the Five Eyes SIGINT partners. The four other members of the partnership, the UK’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the Australian Signals …

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  • Should the Five Eyes Alliance be Expanded?

    Should the Five Eyes Alliance be Expanded?

    • Analysis
    • October 19, 2020

    The Five Eyes alliance has served the current partners well by giving them an expanded intelligence base. This benefit is enhanced by the opportunity for professional discussions amongst intelligence partner agencies.  


    All five nations maintain bilateral intelligence relationships with other …

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  • Huawei or Our Way?: Fissures in the Five Eyes Alliance in the Face of a Rising China

    Huawei or Our Way?: Fissures in the Five Eyes Alliance in the Face of a Rising China

    • Analysis
    • October 16, 2020

    After some wrangling, the Five Eyes member states have arrived at a common position on the use of Huawei technology in critical infrastructure.  But the Huawei snafu is likely just the first of many challenges to alliance solidarity as an expansionist …

    READ MORE
  • Selling War and Peace: Syria and the Anglosphere

    Selling War and Peace: Syria and the Anglosphere

    • Analysis
    • October 15, 2020

    I have been researching and writing about the Anglosphere for fifteen years. I just didn’t realize it for the first eight…


    My first book, Selling the War on Terror: Foreign Policy Discourses After  9/11, grew out of my Ph.D.  and analyzed  the …

    READ MORE
  • The Anglosphere or Anglospheres? The English-Speaking World in Flux

    The Anglosphere or Anglospheres? The English-Speaking World in Flux

    • Analysis
    • October 14, 2020


    This short blog seeks to provide a more expansive understanding of the English-speaking world by identifying the complexities – or multiplicities – of the Anglosphere. 


    The Anglosphere has come to international prominence in the wake of the UK’s departure from …

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  • What’s beyond the Five Eyes? Britain’s European Trajectory

    What’s beyond the Five Eyes? Britain’s European Trajectory

    • Analysis
    • October 13, 2020

    Even before Brexit, Britain was often portrayed as reluctant to fully engage with European affairs. One potential reason for this, particularly when it comes to the matters of defence and intelligence, is Britain’s close relationship with the US and its …

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  • The Anglosphere mythscape in Australian prime ministers’ speeches

    The Anglosphere mythscape in Australian prime ministers’ speeches

    • Analysis
    • October 8, 2020

    How Australia’s national identity is or should be constituted has been at the centre of ongoing ‘cultural wars’ that are simultaneously social and political and, as yet, without resolution. Political leaders have been leading figures in these debates, combining retrospectives …

    READ MORE
  • Jan Smuts and the Racial Origins of Five Eyes

    Jan Smuts and the Racial Origins of Five Eyes

    • Analysis
    • October 8, 2020

    Scholars typically place the origins of “Five Eyes” in the high-level cooperation that took place between the United States and the British Commonwealth during the Second World War. Yet the intellectual genesis of this international security partnership can be traced …

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  • New Zealand in the Five Eyes Intelligence Network: Assessing the Challenges and Benefits of Membership

    New Zealand in the Five Eyes Intelligence Network: Assessing the Challenges and Benefits of Membership

    • Analysis
    • October 7, 2020

    New Zealand has been seen as the weakest link in the FVEY as well as the “soft underbelly”  with a population of 5 million people, NZ is a small state functioning within a series of military and economic arrangements dominated by …

    READ MORE
  • L’affaire CryptoLeaks et les implications pour le Canada

    L’affaire CryptoLeaks et les implications pour le Canada

    • Analysis
    • October 6, 2020

    Au cours de la période de la guerre froide, l’opposition entre le capitalisme et le communisme a conçu le nouvel ordre du monde. Les États-Unis ont été à la tête du camp capitaliste soutenus par de nombreux alliés. L’importance …

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  • Transforming the Five Eyes Community: Projecting Power in Cyberspace

    Transforming the Five Eyes Community: Projecting Power in Cyberspace

    • Analysis
    • October 6, 2020

    In the past decade, key events have found the Five Eyes – a largely unknown Anglo-American postwar signals intelligence partnership – navigating a new, prominent global role. These include the Snowden disclosures on US and allied surveillance programs, joint statements …

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  • Why does the US trust Australia with its Secrets? The Five Eyes Alliance, Race, and Loyalty

    Why does the US trust Australia with its Secrets? The Five Eyes Alliance, Race, and Loyalty

    • Analysis
    • October 2, 2020

    In the immediate post-World War II period, Australia was included in the five eyes alliance. Why was this the case given Australia’s marginal importance to the US at the time?


    Two years after fighting side-by-side in WWII, Australia failed to …

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  • From Insularity to Exteriority: How the Anglosphere is Shaping Global Governance

    From Insularity to Exteriority: How the Anglosphere is Shaping Global Governance

    • Analysis
    • October 1, 2020

    Since the beginning of this century, the governments of the five Anglosphere countries, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), have steadily deepened their domestic policy collaboration. 


    Using exclusive and insular transgovernmental networks made …

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  • CIPS Blog Award: Voting Now Open!

    CIPS Blog Award: Voting Now Open!

    • CIPS
    • September 21, 2020

    Last month we launched CIPS’ first annual blog award. In so doing we asked a group of three experienced and impartial experts to assess the more than 50 original blogs, written by 31 of Canada’s leading experts in international affairs, …

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  • Announcing the CIPS Annual Best Blog Award

    Announcing the CIPS Annual Best Blog Award

    • CIPS
    • August 23, 2020

    In the academic year 2019-20, CIPS published more than 50 original blogs, written by 31 of Canada’s leading experts in international affairs. The blogs posts covered a diversity of topics, including Canadian foreign policy, China and the West, war, peace, …

    READ MORE
  • A Genuine Human Rights-based Approach for Our Post-pandemic Future

    A Genuine Human Rights-based Approach for Our Post-pandemic Future

    • Analysis, Report
    • July 29, 2020

    When many governments are still willing to trade the lives of the vulnerable for the economic gains of the wealthiest, we need a human rights-based approach to our post-pandemic world.


    The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world we knew. It …

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  • The West Bank’s Fate Is Unknown as Netanyahu Stalls on Annexation

    The West Bank’s Fate Is Unknown as Netanyahu Stalls on Annexation

    • Analysis, Repost
    • July 16, 2020

    It’s mid-July, two weeks after what many in the international media believed was Israel’s start date for the annexation of large parts of the West Bank. 


    Many commentators, including me, tried to predict the next move by Israeli Prime Minister …

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  • Que faire des amis autoritaires du Canada ?

    Que faire des amis autoritaires du Canada ?

    • Analysis, Repost
    • July 14, 2020

    Peu avant l’élection des nouveaux membres non-permanents du Conseil de sécurité le mois dernier, le Premier ministre Justin Trudeau s’est entretenu avec le Président rwandais Paul Kagame. Le communiqué canadien produit à la suite de cette rencontre décrivait la relation …

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  • Human Rights Are Universal – Except If They Might Offend Someone?

    Human Rights Are Universal – Except If They Might Offend Someone?

    • Analysis, Repost
    • June 24, 2020


    It is shameful enough for a Canadian museum to deliberately hide its LGBTQ2+ content from certain visitors. However, when the museum in question is dedicated to human rights, such a decision is ten times more offensive and actually betrays the …

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  • Canada lost its bid for a UN Security Council seat. That’s a blessing in disguise

    Canada lost its bid for a UN Security Council seat. That’s a blessing in disguise

    • Analysis
    • June 20, 2020

    A cold shower is a good thing. It has the immediate benefit of bringing one to one’s senses.In that way, Canada benefited this week in full view of the United Nations General Assembly as we lost a long-anticipated vote for …

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  • Can Canada Win a UN Security Council Seat?

    Can Canada Win a UN Security Council Seat?

    • Analysis
    • June 15, 2020

    On June 17, 2020, Canada will seek election to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as one of the ten non-permanent members. If successful, Canada will serve as one of five countries elected this year for a two-year term ending …

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  • The Rohingya Genocide Is Far from Just a Dispute between The Gambia and Myanmar: Time for Canada to Join

    The Rohingya Genocide Is Far from Just a Dispute between The Gambia and Myanmar: Time for Canada to Join

    • Analysis
    • June 3, 2020

    While the Rohingya continue to endure an ongoing genocide both inside and outside their homeland, several international legal mechanisms churn slowly in parallel.


    The last two weeks have seen moments of progress. First, an Argentinian court decided to consider an …

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  • Israel-Palestine: Annexation Will Change Everything and Nothing

    Israel-Palestine: Annexation Will Change Everything and Nothing

    • Analysis
    • May 14, 2020


    On 29 April, Israelis celebrated the 72nd anniversary of the foundation of their state, while at the same time, on ‘Land Day,’ Palestinians mourned the Nakbah (catastrophe), which remembers the ethnic cleansing of some 700,000 people from their land in …

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  • Supporting African-Led Responses to COVID-19

    Supporting African-Led Responses to COVID-19

    • Analysis, Repost
    • May 6, 2020

    The virus that causes COVID-19 has now reached Africa, a few weeks after it hit Europe and North America. Many analysts fear that the virus’s impact on the continent is nothing less than a “time bomb”, due to …

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  • Coronavirus Shows Why Canada Must Reduce Its Dependence on the U.S.

    Coronavirus Shows Why Canada Must Reduce Its Dependence on the U.S.

    • Analysis, Repost
    • May 6, 2020

    Canadian foreign policy has long embraced both a deep continental relationship with the United States and a devotion to liberal internationalism. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the time has come to re-evaluate our approach. 


    While Canada has been able …

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  • CIPS Special: What We Are Reading During Lockdown

    CIPS Special: What We Are Reading During Lockdown

    • Other
    • April 16, 2020

    As a break from our normal – more serious – fare we asked CIPS‘ distinguished members to tell us about books they’re currently reading. We asked for one academic book and one novel. Some of our members also included recommendations …

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  • Time to Get the Two Michaels Home

    Time to Get the Two Michaels Home

    • Analysis
    • April 10, 2020


    The advent of the COVID19 pandemic puts fresh pressure on the Canadian government to end the impasse that continues to hold two Canadians imprisoned as hostages in a Chinese jail. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor have now been in prison …

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  • Gaza’s Ongoing and Potential Calamity

    Gaza’s Ongoing and Potential Calamity

    • Analysis
    • April 6, 2020

    The first Palestinian fatality from COVID-19 was on 26 March. A sixty-year-old woman from Biddu, north of Jerusalem passed away as a result of the virus. By the end of March, some 117 people tested positive for the disease, though …

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  • Watching the Watchers: The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians in Action

    Watching the Watchers: The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians in Action

    • Analysis
    • April 1, 2020

    The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) has had a brief and tumultuous life. It was under the gun from the start; once its authorizing legislation was passed in the summer of 2017 it had to get up …

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  • (Viral) Sands in the Wheels of Commerce? COVID-19 and the Future of International Economy Transactions

    (Viral) Sands in the Wheels of Commerce? COVID-19 and the Future of International Economy Transactions

    • Analysis
    • March 30, 2020

    When William Shakespeare coined the phrase ‘Beware the Ides of March’ in 1599, it is unlikely that he was considering how prophetic his words would appear just over 400 years later. When the history of the second decade of the …

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  • The Globality of Community-Based Conservation in Namibia

    The Globality of Community-Based Conservation in Namibia

    • Analysis
    • March 27, 2020

    Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) has emerged as a critical technique of resource governance in Southern Africa. It is intended to give control over specific natural resources such as freshwater, forests and forest products and wildlife populations and their habitat …

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  • China’s Coronavirus Victory?

    China’s Coronavirus Victory?

    • Analysis
    • March 18, 2020

    President Xi Jinping’s surprise visit to Wuhan—the epicentre  of the global COVID-19 pandemic—on March 10 is a clear sign China’s party-state now believes it has the new coronavirus under control.  Moreover, it is a signal China’s leaders believe their political …

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  • Teaching the Field of International Relations in Canada: A Focus on Journals

    Teaching the Field of International Relations in Canada: A Focus on Journals

    • Analysis
    • March 11, 2020

    The comprehensive examination is a rite of passage for those seeking PhDs in North America, laying out an intimidating list of the most important works in one’s field of study. The comprehensive examination process is a formative experience in multiple …

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  • The NPT Turns 50: A Mid-life Crisis?

    The NPT Turns 50: A Mid-life Crisis?

    • Analysis
    • March 4, 2020

    On March 5, the (Nuclear) Non-proliferation Treaty will turn 50-years old. Whether this will be an occasion for celebration or lamentation is an open question. The NPT’s once-in-five-year review conference will take place at UN HQ, April 27-May 22, and …

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  • Understanding Canada’s Middle East Policy in a Tumultuous 2020

    Understanding Canada’s Middle East Policy in a Tumultuous 2020

    • Analysis
    • March 3, 2020

    The new year began with two major crises in the Middle East, both of which have impacted Canadian policy and interests. First, the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani by the US in Iraq precipitating the downing of Ukraine Airlines …

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  • Quelle nouvelle structure de gouvernance pour l’Arctique?

    Quelle nouvelle structure de gouvernance pour l’Arctique?

    • Analysis
    • February 13, 2020

    At the end of January, the Arctic Frontiers conference, held in Norway, organized a discussion on the future of governance in the Arctic region. Some voices were raised to demand new regional structures of decision-making; these echo the wishes of …

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  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly at Global Affairs Canada

    The Good, the Bad and the Ugly at Global Affairs Canada

    • Analysis
    • February 12, 2020

    Justin Trudeau’s government starts its second mandate with a new look:  slightly more subdued;  more engaged on pressing national issues;  seemingly less prone to putting communications ahead of policy, and more inclined to political realism rather than the naïve sloganeering …

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  • Disarmament Diplomacy in the Age of Putin and Trump

    Disarmament Diplomacy in the Age of Putin and Trump

    • Analysis
    • February 11, 2020

    UN officials are not usually given to overstatement, which makes the recent assessment by the UN’s top disarmament diplomat that “the barriers to the use of nuclear weapons are lower than they’ve been since the darkest days of the Cold …

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  • The Double-Edged Sword of Trafficking in Niger

    The Double-Edged Sword of Trafficking in Niger

    • Analysis
    • February 4, 2020

    As African migrants continue to endure deadly voyages across the Mediterranean, efforts to curb this flow have centred on countries like Niger through which they transit.


    Along with irregular migration, Niger is a trafficking hub for a range of substances …

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  • What Are the Benefits and Pitfalls of ‘Data-Driven’ Peacekeeping?

    What Are the Benefits and Pitfalls of ‘Data-Driven’ Peacekeeping?

    • Analysis
    • January 9, 2020

    The UN is committed to improving peace operations by making them more ‘data-driven,’ but the move toward systematic data analysis comes with practical, ethical, and political challenges.


    UN peace operations face a variety of problems, but one of the most …

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  • Killing Suleimani: The Tricky Business of Predicting What Comes Next

    Killing Suleimani: The Tricky Business of Predicting What Comes Next

    • Analysis
    • January 6, 2020

    The killing of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani has triggered the writing of a plethora of op-eds and think-pieces. Many of these make bold predictions without, in fact, providing a great deal of factual basis to support them. In reality, it …

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  • What Do Canadians Think of China and the US?

    What Do Canadians Think of China and the US?

    • Analysis
    • December 18, 2019

    There’s support for contact with China despite worries and uncertainties and a lack of trust in the US, a University of British Columbia survey finds.


    Amidst the diplomatic crisis affecting Canada-China relations that has followed the arrests of Huawei chief …

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  • Tunisie: Élection de Kais Saïed. Quel projet pour quelle réalité politico-juridique?

    Tunisie: Élection de Kais Saïed. Quel projet pour quelle réalité politico-juridique?

    • Analysis
    • December 13, 2019

    Constitutionaliste de formation, Kais Saïed a remporté haut la main les élections présidentielles tunisiennes en récoltant 72% de l’ensemble des votants (57%). L’exercice électoral était digne d’une grande démocratie comme en témoignent les observateurs nationaux et internationaux. Cependant, de nombreuses …

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  • Causes and Results of Recent North Korea-US Negotiations

    Causes and Results of Recent North Korea-US Negotiations

    • Analysis
    • December 3, 2019

    In September 2017 US President, Donald Trump, and North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un were engaged in a furious interchange of insults and threats. However, less than a year later “Little rocket man” – as Trump called Kim in a speech …

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  • Priority One: Saving the Canadian Foreign Service

    Priority One: Saving the Canadian Foreign Service

    • Analysis
    • November 28, 2019

    The Canadian foreign service is in desperate condition. If the Trudeau government hopes to achieve its foreign policy objectives, its first priority should be a wholesale reform of Global Affairs Canada that focuses on the rejuvenation of the foreign service. …

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