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Is the Iranian empire striking back? Lessons from the collapse of the Soviet Union
- December 6, 2019
Exporting the communist revolution was a defining mission of the Soviet Union. But in practice, this translated into redirecting massive amounts of resources away from the domestic sphere, where they were desperately needed, towards consolidating the USSR’s influence over other …
By Farhad Rezaei and Ofira Seliktar
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Causes and results of recent North Korea-US negotiations
- 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 …
By James Trottier
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Priority one: Saving the Canadian foreign service
- 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. …
By Daniel Livermore
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Le Canada et le développement démocratique dans le monde
- November 25, 2019
Le Canada affiche un maigre bilan en matière de soutien à la démocratie dans le monde. Ce blogue suggère quelques pistes pour corriger le tir, tel qu’adopter un plan d’action

À plusieurs reprises, tant au Canada qu’à l’étranger, l’ancienne ministre …
By Stéphanie Bacher
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Economic exceptionalism is back (if it ever went away)
- November 20, 2019
Exceptionalism is usually used to describe how liberal democracies handle major security threats. However, governments also use exceptionalist policies to deal with economic crises. This development is troubling for both economic and political reasons.

What do Boris Johnson’s attempt to …
By Jacqueline Best
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A new Cold War?
- November 19, 2019
Thirty years on from the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world is a very different place. The liberal world order that appeared triumphant in 1989 faces unprecedented challenges – including renewed hostility from Russia – but also from a …
By Alexandra Gheciu
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Most wars don’t make states (so what’s a policymaker to do?)
- 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 …
By Arjun Chowdhury
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Key Drivers in US-North Korea relations
- 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 …
By James Trottier
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A beginner’s guide to economic ignorance
- November 5, 2019
Ignorance is not the antithesis to knowledge, but it is part of it. Wishful thinking, muddling through and other forms of ignorance play a crucial role in shaping economic policy and its effects on society.

We hear a lot about …
By Jacqueline Best
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Autocrats use feminism to undermine democracy
- October 30, 2019
More women are being elected in autocratic regimes, but this is part of a democratic facade. The definition of democracy needs to change.

Fake news, disinformation, foreign influence in elections: We’re starting to understand the ways bad actors attack …
By Gabrielle Bardall
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Issues in Repairing U.S.-Russian Strategic Relations
- 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 …
By Nancy Teeple
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This election, Canadians can’t afford to ignore parties’ defence policies
- October 18, 2019
By Thomas Juneau and Srdjan Vucetic

With the federal election days away, Canada faces five major defence challenges: the fragmentation of the rules-based international order, over-reliance on the United States, the challenges posed by emerging technologies, how Canada procures weapons …
By Srdjan Vucetic
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