Economic Security and America’s CHIPS Act

• August 23, 2022

Chinese military exercises in the Taiwan Strait in August 2022 temporarily disrupted international shipping. Like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this is a reminder of the intrinsic dialectic between war and commerce in human sociality. In anthropology, Claude Lévi-Strauss …

Reform of Global Affairs Canada: Version 2023

• August 10, 2022

If the stars align in proper fashion, the year 2023 promises to be key for decisions about Global Affairs Canada and the Canadian foreign service.  Two studies are now under way:  in the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade…

The Legacy of Abe Shinzō

• July 11, 2022

Former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō (age 67) was murdered on the morning of July 8, 2022, while campaigning for Satō Kei, a colleague in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Although his legacy is not without controversy, especially in Japan, …

The Senate Brings Hope for GAC Reform

• May 13, 2022

The Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade has initiated a review of the Canadian foreign service, the first such focused examination since the Royal Commission on Conditions of Foreign Service, which reported in 1981.

While the …

How about a Supply and Confidence “Human Rights” Addendum?

• April 22, 2022

In March, the federal Liberals and NDP entered into a Supply and Confidence Agreement, Delivering for Canadians Now. The NDP has pledged support for the Liberal minority government through to 2025 in return for promised progress on several important …

Expedience over Justice: Implications of the Fate of the Khashoggi Trial for Activists-in-Exile

• April 19, 2022

On 7 April, a Turkish court ordered that the murder trial of those accused of killing and dismembering Jamal Khashoggi be transferred to Saudi Arabia. This will effectively end the case and put pay to any chance of achieving …

Federal budget 2022: More Defence Funding in Wake of Canada’s F-35 About-Face

• April 12, 2022

The Canadian government recently announced its decision to enter negotiations with American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin to buy 88 F-35 fighter jets. The $19-billion contract is separate from $8 billion in additional funding for defence that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland …

Budget 2022: What to Expect from Canada’s International Assistance

• April 12, 2022

We have to give credit when credit is due, but also recognize obfuscations when we see them. The Canadian government’s 2022 budget, released on April 7, provides opportunities for both regarding development assistance. There is not much to parse, though, …

Coopération arctique post-Ukraine: suspension ou rupture?

• April 4, 2022

L’invasion russe de l’Ukraine a eu des conséquences sur les relations internationales bien au-delà de la région directement concernée. Parmi bien d’autres, la région arctique a connu depuis la fin février des changements importants en réaction à cet acte de …

1500 Kilometres: The Distance between War and Refuge

• March 29, 2022

One thousand five hundred kilometres is roughly the distance between Hamburg and Kyiv. A week after Putin started his invasion of Ukraine, the city government of Hamburg proclaimed proudly that it had prepared 750 beds for refugees from Ukraine. As …

The Injustice of Statelessness in Canada

• March 29, 2022

A young man named Deepan Budlakoti remains caught in a legal limbo created and perpetuated by the Canadian government’s refusal to acknowledge his citizenship. He was born in Ottawa in 1987, and until 2009, he assumed that meant he was …

What was Behind the Indian Farmers’ Protests?

• March 28, 2022

Extreme nationalism and anti-Muslim hatred are mounting in India, all at the expense of its democracy. It is being led or coddled by the sitting Government of Narendra Modi and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But the Indian …