The Issues Involved in Using the “Persona Non-Grata” Option

• May 9, 2023

Recent controversies involving Chinese diplomatic and consular personnel in Canada have again raised the thorny issue of declaring foreign diplomats “persona non grata,” thereby throwing them out of Canada for their transgressions. The “PNG” concept is a reflexive, almost automatic …

International Development Cooperation and LGBTQ+ Rights in Africa

• May 9, 2023

Sexual and gender minorities are under attack in several African countries. For instance, over the past couple of years, extreme anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been introduced in Ghana and Uganda, where homosexuality was already illegal. Kenya and Tanzania could well …

The Prospects for Regional Cooperation Concerning the Situation in Afghanistan

• April 27, 2023

The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 represents a major geopolitical shift for the country’s immediate neighbours and the wider region. Neighbouring countries have expressed deep concern about the security threats emanating from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and about …

In the Convoy’s Aftermath: Time to Embrace Human Rights in the City of Ottawa

• April 17, 2023

In remarkably short order, the unprecedented experience of the Ottawa Convoy of February 2022 has been well studied and there are extensive recommendations for change now on the public record. 

The Public Order Emergency Commission, which was convened because …

Canada and Mongolia – The Enhanced Development Partnership that Never Was

• March 30, 2023

In the early 2010s, the Canadian government, under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, developed a special interest in Mongolia. In 2014, after a flurry of diplomatic visits, Canada designated Mongolia a “country of focus” for its development assistance. This decision …

Revolution or Evolution? The Iran-Saudi Deal

• March 17, 2023

The news that Iran and Saudi Arabia will restore relations, a deal brokered by China no less, has set tongues wagging. But is this a revolutionary development for the Middle East or an evolution?  It depends on where you stand.

For …

Afghanistan at a Crossroads: Securing Women’s Rights in the New Taliban Era

• March 8, 2023

The international community fought the Taliban insurgency for twenty years with blood and money, investing trillions of dollars and losing thousands of soldiers. However, Afghanistan’s Taliban swept to power in Kabul on August 15, 2021.

Eighteen months after, Afghanistan is …

It is Time for Environmentalists to Stop Blaming ‘Overpopulation’

• March 2, 2023

Like a zombie, the argument that the global population must be urgently reduced to address the global environmental crisis keeps popping up – no matter how often the argument is put to rest. Take a speech at COP 27 by …

Ukraine: One Year On

• February 23, 2023

It seems incredible to realize that it is a year since Russia invaded Ukraine.  Old certainties have seemingly been upended; new realities are apparently emerging.  What to make of it all?  Three things to consider.

First, the “West” is now more solidly united …

The Rise of Violent Russian Entrepreneurs Amid Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine

• February 22, 2023

One year after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, no doubt remains about the difficulties the Russian army faced in Ukraine. From over-ambitious strategic goals seeking to topple the Ukrainian regime, logistical issues to supply overextended military advances …

We Need to Rethink Aid to Fragile Contexts

• February 17, 2023

Fragile countries are those which are most in need of development aid. But to what extent can aid be effective in highly fragile situations? A recent systematic review of 315 individual evaluations of aid to Afghanistan, Mali and South Sudan …

Iran’s Revolution: Will the Islamic Regime Endure?

• February 16, 2023

A wave of protests over the past few months has rocked Iran, with protesters calling for an end to the theocratic regime, the Islamic Republic.

The ongoing protests have unleashed a torrent of speculations about the regime’s future. Some observers …