China-Canada Dialogue0

• Analysis
• November 15, 2021

A recent Globe and Mail story about the “China-Canada Track Two Dialogue” was a rare reveal of the kinds of dialogue that go on quietly around the world.  Even more revealing were comments about the participation and content of …

Global Migration, Activists-in-Exile, and Canada0

• 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 …

An Audacious Suggestion for the new Minister of Foreign Affairs: Help Canadians0

• 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 …

🏆 2021 Best Blog Award Winner❗️ Bidenomics Signals the End of the Third Way in Economic Policy0

• Analysis
• November 2, 2021

Biden’s first 100 days signals the end of the Third Way in economic and social policy. With massive investments proposed in social infrastructure and education, a willingness to take a positive-sum approach to budget deficits, and a commitment to fund …

Remembering the Happy 90s and the Hope for Europe’s Return0

• 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 …

Every Conversation About the Threat Environment is Important0

• 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 …

Talking to the Taliban0

• Analysis
• October 18, 2021

As the Taliban swept across Afghanistan this summer, the capital cities of the provinces fell like a house of cards. Kunduz fell by August 8. Herat, Lashkar Gah, and Helmand followed within a few days. As the news of the …

CIPS Best Blog Award 2021: Public Voting Now Open0

• 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 …

Retrotopian Desires and Gender in Right-Wing Populism0

• 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 …

We Must Avoid An Isolated, Impoverished, Unstable Afghanistan0

• 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, …

What’s Next for Germany After Merkel0

• 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 …

2022 Best Blog Award Winner! 🏆 The Politics of Travel Bans0

• Analysis
• October 3, 2021

I am not a health expert, nor am I especially knowledgeable about COVID 19, but I’m pretty sure I’m not infected by the virus because I still have my sense of smell – and I smell a rat. 

Canada’s decision …