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Is Canada Pulling Its Weight in NATO?0
- Analysis
- May 9, 2014
When NATO’s military commander, General Philip Breedlove, visited Ottawa this week, he noted that Canada was one of the first countries to contribute military equipment and forces to NATO’s temporary deployment of land, sea and air assets to Eastern Europe, …
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Parliament Neglects its Duty to Debate Military Deployments 0
- Analysis
- May 7, 2014
by Philippe Lagassé

Published in the Ottawa Citizen, May 6, 2014

It is easy to blame Parliament’s failings on an excess of executive power in our system of government. In certain cases, however, the legislature is the source of …
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Quick Take: What’s the Significance of Ukraine/Russia So Far?0
- Analysis
- April 30, 2014
What’s the most significant outcome to date of developments in Ukraine/Russia?

CIPS faculty were invited to give brief responses to this question—still very much a development in progress, as many of them point out. Here’s a range of strikingly disparate …
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CIDA’s Underspending: The Minister’s Explanations Don’t Add Up 0
- Analysis
- April 28, 2014
While global foreign aid reached an all-time high in 2013, the Canadian government’s contributions fell by over 11%. Among the 28 industrialized countries belonging to the Development Assistance Committee, only debt-ridden Portugal cut aid more drastically than Canada. Not …
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The Ottawa Forum: Rethinking Canada’s International Strategy 0
- Analysis
- April 27, 2014
It’s been almost a decade since Canada conducted a foreign policy review.

The Ottawa Forum on May 23-24, co-organized by CIPS and the Canadian International Council, will bring together some of Canada’s most insightful “next generation” policy thinkers and most …
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Ukraine: Another Example of the Dangerous Clash of Hegemons 0
- Analysis
- April 15, 2014
A previous version of this essay was published in the Huffington Post on March 18, 2014

When the history of the early decades of the 21^st century is written, it may well be called the era of multiple clashing …
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Canada Makes Palestinian Human Rights a Pawn in Mideast Peace Talks 0
- Analysis
- April 10, 2014
As John Kerry’s deadline fast approaches for concluding a ‘Framework Agreement’ in the resuscitated Israel-Palestine negotiations, few are optimistic. Those disparaging the deal, or even the need for a deal, appear to have the upper hand in both camps. The …
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Afghanistan’s 2014 Election: A Referendum Against the Taliban 0
- Analysis
- April 8, 2014
April 5 was the day of Afghanistan’s historic election, a milestone in its history. I saw men and women, young and old, lined up in the rain-damped city to vote from dawn to dusk, exercising their democratic rights. In 50 …
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The Curious Case of Jonathan Pollard 0
- Analysis
- April 7, 2014
One of the stranger aspects of the current round of the interminable Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is the reported idea that the U.S. is considering releasing Jonathan Pollard as an inducement to keep the Israeli government at the peace table for …
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The Putin Book Club 0
- Analysis
- April 3, 2014
“We must love all nations as we love our own,” writes Russian philosopher Vladimir Sergeevich Solovyov in his 1897 book The Justification of the Good. The “greatness and value” of nationality, he claims, lies “not in itself taken in …
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Understanding the Great War 0
- Analysis
- April 1, 2014
Published in the Ottawa Citizen, March 31, 2014

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on June 28, 1914 set off a chain of events that a few weeks later led to an all-out war involving virtually …
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Pre-Election Reflections from Kabul 0
- Analysis
- March 31, 2014
On April 5, the people of Afghanistan will vote in their third national election since 2001—a hundred million-dollar effort financed by international donors. The air is filled with anticipation and hope, albeit tempered with grave concerns held by both the …
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