Global Order, US Hegemony and Military Integration: The Canadian-American Defense Relationship

Abstract

This article argues that the contemporary IR literature on global order and American hegemony has limitations. First, the critical discourse on hegemony fails to adequately examine the deeply embedded nature of regularized practices that are often a key component of the acceptance of certain state and social behaviours as natural. Second, much of the (neo)Gramscian literature has given primacy to the economic aspects of hegemonic order at the expense of examining global military/security relations. Lastly, much of the literature on global order and hegemony has failed to fully immerse itself within a detailed research program. This article presents an historical sociology of Canada-US defense relations so as to argue that the integrated nature of this relationship is key to understanding Canada’s role in American hegemony, and how authoritative narratives and practices of “military integration” become instrumental and persuasive in establishing a “commonsensical” worldview. The effects of such integration are especially clear in times of perceived international crisis. Our historical analysis covers Canada’s role during the Cuban missile crisis, Operation Apollo after 9/11, and the current war in Afghanistan.