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A New Cold War on Democracy and Human Rights at the UN Security Council and Beyond?0
- Analysis
- February 7, 2012
On February 4^th, 2012, the UN Security Council witnessed what could be one of the first salvos in a new cold war focused on democracy and human rights. A double veto by Russia and China defeated the resolution …
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The New Canada: Fomenting Fear at Home and Abroad 0
- Analysis
- February 4, 2012
Why base policy on facts and evidence when you can exploit fear instead? It doesn’t take a psychologist to know that fear is a much more powerful motivator than boring old rational argument. Political scientists have long studied the use …
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Something Borrowed, Nothing Gained: John Baird’s Big Ideas in Foreign Policy 0
- Analysis
- February 3, 2012
“Canada is what I like to call a ‘smart power’,” Foreign Minister John Baird declared in a major speech in Israel last week. That’s reassuring, although as a means of distinguishing our foreign policy it is likely to prove elusive. …
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Observations on Russian Politics from a Moscow Bookstore 0
- Analysis
- January 31, 2012
While waiting for the Moscow archives to deliver up their secrets last week, I popped into the Russian capital’s largest bookstore, Biblio Globus, to check out the history section—and while there, I took a very quick look at the politics …
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Let’s Look in the Right Place for Proof of Citizen Allegiance 0
- Analysis
- January 27, 2012
Sometimes magical thinking pops up in the most unexpected places—like the recently-revived complaints about dual citizenship that have arisen around the candidacy of Thomas Mulcair (a dual citizen of Canada and France) for the NDP leadership. On Mulcair’s account, …
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CIPS Launches Security Studies Network with Inaugural Lecture 0
- Analysis
- January 27, 2012
CIPS is delighted to announce the launch of the Security Studies Network (SSN), the creation of which reflects the great strength of the University of Ottawa as a centre for the study of national and international security. The SSN – …
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Armies without Borders? Legal Questions on Canada-U.S. Military Cooperation 0
- Analysis
- January 25, 2012
The Ottawa Citizen reported today that Canada and the United States are in the final stages of negotiating a “new Canada-U.S. military agreement that will set down each country’s roles and responsibilities should North America be attacked”. The details are …
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The End of the European Dream?0
- Analysis
- January 25, 2012
In a recent article in Foreign Policy, the Brussels-based journalist Gareth Harding argues that “the European Union was built on the myth that we are one people with one common destiny”. In his view, “[w]e are now discovering that …
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Event Report: The Arab Spring, One Year Later 0
- Analysis
- January 24, 2012
On January 18, a CIPS discussion panel brought together Omar Ashour (Exeter University and Brookings Doha Centre), Barak Barfi (New America Foundation) and Peter Jones (University of Ottawa) to take stock of events in countries affected by the ‘Arab Spring’ …
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If Only We Could Take the Politics Out….0
- Analysis
- January 23, 2012
‘If only we could take the politics out’ has become a ubiquitous cry in contemporary political life. This can be seen everywhere, but Barack Obama’s decision on the Keystone XL pipeline is a classic instance. It has been decried from …
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Stephen Harper’s Worrying Words on Iran 0
- Analysis
- January 22, 2012
Is Prime Minister Stephen Harper preparing the Canadian public for a possible conflict with Iran? In two recent interviews (here and here), he has “raised the alarm” about the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran, which he views as …
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Time for a ‘Grand Bargain’ in a Foreign Policy Review 0
- Analysis
- January 21, 2012
Officials are grinding away at a foreign policy review in the Lester B. Pearson building in Ottawa, although the motives appear unclear and the parameters are not yet public. But the time is right, since the Harper Government’s majority in …
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