Canada ‐ US relations and the Al‐Aqsa Intifada

Abstract

Israel's repression of the Al‐Aqsa intifada has claimed more than 2700 lives. It has also resulted in regional and international instability. This raises salient questions for Canadian foreign policy: how would a change in Canadian foreign policy toward Israel/Palestine affect Canada ‐ US relations specifically, and what would such a change mean for future Canadian relations with other international actors generally? My thesis is that a change in Canadian foreign policy intended to engender stability in Israel/OPT would not adversely affect Canada – US relations. More specifically, a Canadian policy that attempted to actualize the doctrine of human security in Israel/Palestine, by encouraging greater international involvement in a post‐Oslo Middle East peace process, would not estrange the US in the medium to long term. I develop this argument in four stages. First, I review Canada's role as norm entrepreneur in the international system. Second, I establish the orientation of Canadian policy toward Security Council Resolution 1322 and Security Council draft resolution 1171 and determine that Canada has inconsistently operationalized the human security doctrine in Israel/Palestine. Third, I examine American policy on the same two Security Council resolutions. From this I infer that US pressure was primarily responsible for Canada's inconsistent advocacy of the human security norm. Fourth, I offer policy options for the Canadian government that would enable it to make more robust the norm of human security in Israel/OPT while not damaging relations with the US.