Unpacking the Endgame: Examining the Possibility of Nuclear Escalation and Regime Change in the Russia-Ukraine War

• January 30, 2023

In my previous blog post, I pushed back at an analysis of how the Russia-Ukraine war may end by Samuel Charap and Timothy J. Coulton at the 2022 Daniliw Seminar at the University of Ottawa. I am troubled by …

Thinking Through Scenarios for the End of the War in Ukraine

• January 26, 2023

The study of how Russia’s war on Ukraine will end has been a niche subject, possibly due to the inherent difficulty of prediction, the surprise that greeted the full-scale invasion, and the Ukrainians’ success at stopping and rolling it back. …

Modern War: The Return of the Big Battalions

• January 17, 2023

There are better and worse ways of fighting engagements, wrote the great Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz. But, he added, these were just a matter of tactics and not what decided the outcome of wars.

The latter depended upon strategy, …

Canada’s Partnership with Japan: Strengthening Security in the Indo-Pacific

• January 13, 2023

One important element of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) is accelerated alignment with Japan. Japan is a frontline democracy, pinched in with threats from Russia, China, and North Korea.

In the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military exercises around Taiwan last August, …

Rôle du Gouvernement canadien en Ayiti

• January 5, 2023

Aujourd’hui, le Core Group sous la houlette du Canada, entre autres, souhaite répondre à une demande inconstitutionnelle, illégale d’un gouvernement illégitime, décrié par le peuple Ayitien, pour venir contrer l’insécurité et résoudre la crise humanitaire qui s’en suit.

Cette intervention …

How Should Canada Navigate the Taiwan Strait Conundrum?

• January 5, 2023

Taiwan is central to Canada’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS). Only five years ago, Canada’s Strong, Secure, Engaged Defence Policy heralded: “We will seek to develop stronger relationships with other countries in the region, particularly China.” The naïve hope that Canada …

Nuclear Threats and Canada’s Disarmament Diplomacy: A Way Forward

• December 19, 2022

A former Canadian Undersecretary of State for External Affairs, Allan Gotlieb, once described Canada’s strong role in disarmament activity as having “always been a natural calling, with broad public support and strong specialized constituencies”. While Canada has in the past …

Still United in Support of Ukraine?

• December 12, 2022

Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed a series of events that, at first glance, seem to demonstrate that transatlantic unity in support of war-ravaged Ukraine remains very strong.

At a meeting in late November in Bucharest, NATO foreign …

Canada Must Protect Activists-in-Exile Against Transnational Repression

• December 9, 2022

Many struggles for justice, peace, or well-being incur the pushback of the state. When the state is authoritarian and unconstrained (or unconcerned) by the rule of law, ‘pushback’ can be severe and even lethal. Not surprisingly, many dissidents or activists …

What the Indo-Pacific Strategy means for Indigenous Peoples

• December 8, 2022

With its November 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), Canada joined a growing number of states to embrace the geo-political concept that originated in Japan’s Prime Minister Abe Shinzō’s visionary speech to India’s Parliament in 2007.

Canada made a new contribution to …

Global Policing and the Trucker Convoy

• December 5, 2022

The hearings around the “Freedom Convoy” that occupied parts of Ottawa in early 2022 have opened a window into the inner workings of Canadian police forces. The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) was widely criticized for its mishandling of the situation …

What’s Behind Taiwan’s “Blue Wave”?

• December 1, 2022

On the weekend that Canada announced its new Indo-Pacific Strategy and angry protests emerged across China, Taiwan (Republic of China, ROC) held its “nine-in-one” local elections on November 26.

In what the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT, Kuomintang) celebrated as a …