International Security

What Joining the Arms Trade Treaty Means for Canada
- April 24, 2017
The government of Canada is about to accede to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the first and only legally binding treaty designed to regulate the multibillion-dollar global arms trade. On April 13, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the introduction …
By Srdjan Vucetic
Human Rights, International Security, International Trade
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Trump and Syria: After Cruise Missiles, What?
- April 7, 2017
The United States has moved swiftly and dramatically to punish the Syrian regime for its use of chemical weapons against civilians in a recent attack on a rebel-held town in Northern Syria. On Thursday evening, US warships off the coast …
By Wesley Wark
International Security, Middle East, USA
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Illegal but Legitimate? The Consequences of US Action in Syria
- April 7, 2017
The United States has fired missiles at the Syrian military. This is a dramatic escalation in the horrific Syrian conflict. It is also the most legally doubtful use of military force by a NATO state in recent history.

To be …
By Craig Forcese
International Security, Middle East, USA
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One Thing Trump is Right About
- January 20, 2017
Throughout the Cold War, the amount of military violence worldwide grew steadily, reaching a peak in 1992. A major reason was interference by the superpowers in local conflicts. The proxy wars that resulted when the United States and the Soviet …
By Paul Robinson
Canadian Foreign Policy, International Security, Russia, USA
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What is Montenegro to NATO Now?
- January 13, 2017
Montenegro’s accession to full membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) took a major step forward this week as the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the Balkan country’s membership bid. President-elect Donald Trump has yet to tweet …
By Srdjan Vucetic
International Security
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The Liberal Democratic World Order Is Falling Apart
- January 13, 2017
As a new year opens across the globe, the post-Second-World-War order and the global rule of law are losing out to the rule of individual men. From Russia to China to the EU, authoritarian rule is tightening its grip.

In …
By Errol Mendes
Democracy, Human Rights, International Security
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Canada has an Opportunity to be the Voice of Reason on Syria
- January 6, 2017
“‘Does this road lead to Aleppo?’ Your answer can be ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Your opinion doesn’t make it so. Consult a map before you go!” The question in this poem was first posed by the 13th-century Persian poet, Rumi. If …
By Jabeur Fathally
International Security, Middle East
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Gender and Peacebuilding: Trudeau Can Do More to Support Gender Rights in Africa
- December 1, 2016
By Dr. Annie Bunting

With the Canadian government about to confirm the deployment of peacekeepers to Africa (likely to Mali), and Prime Minister Trudeau’s recent visit to Liberia and address to the Francophonie on the centrality of the rights of …
By CIPS
Canadian Foreign Policy, Gender, International Development, International Security, United Nations, Women
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Global nightmare, false alarm — or a first step to a new geopolitical order?
- November 22, 2016
We have had a few days now to calm our jangling nerves. President-elect Trump has already had a civilized conversation with President Obama and “promised” to keep a couple of features from Obamacare. But he is going to be an …
By John Sinclair
International Development, International Security, USA
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Trump’s mixed signals threaten stability
- November 20, 2016
The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States has ushered in a period of unsettling uncertainty in international affairs. He has called the foundations of American foreign policy into question, but his precise intentions remain mysterious.

If …
By Roland Paris
International Security, USA
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Trump’s victory means major security shocks for Canada
- November 16, 2016
The shock effect of Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential campaign will reach and shake the bedrock of Canadian national security policy. Maybe not right away, maybe not always visibly, but a Trump presidency has enormous implications for Canada’s …
By Wesley Wark
International Security, USA
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We Must Not Close the Doors to Spontaneously Arriving Asylum Seekers
- November 8, 2016
By Stephanie J. Silverman

Governments understandably focus on enhancing security, surveillance, and risk management for their citizens, and as we have seen, particularly since 9-11, much of this increased attention is directed at national borders. While every person enjoys the …
By CIPS
International Security, Refugees
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