Canadian Foreign Policy Research Articles

Second-Wave Women's Movements as Foreign Policy Actors: Assessing Canadian Feminist Interventions before 1995

AbstractThis article addresses second-wave feminist interventions in Canadian foreign policy debate with reference to two analytic streams: (1) political science and international relations (IR) perspectives since the late 1990s that stress the formal decisional aims of advocacy and the role of transnational networks in pressuring reluctant governments and (2) sociological approaches that underline movements’ cultural as well as statist dimensions and the significance of their domestic political strategies. Examining engagement by the Voice of Women (VOW) in nuclear weapons debates and National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) in free trade controversies confirms sociological expectations of campaigners’ varied claims and contributions and the importance of their political rootedness in Canada. Consistent with political science and IR arguments, the study finds NAC paid growing attention to international political opportunities in 1990 and following. The conclusion considers implications of the analysis and directions for future research.

Mass Migrations And The Emerging Socio-Political Constructs Of Identity, Interest And Security In Hosts State

Mass Migrations And The Emerging Socio-Political Constructs Of Identity, Interest And Security In Hosts State

The ‘Anglo-Saxon Triangle’ Downplayed by Canada’s Department of External Affairs, 1946–1956

In July 1951, Canada’s Department of External Affairs despatched a secret policy paper to the heads of overseas Canadian posts, instructing Canadian diplomats abroad not to refer to Canada’s ‘inner triangle’ with Britain and the United States or encourage its development into a formal alliance. The explicitly named ‘Anglo-Saxon triangle’ was acknowledged affectionately as a ‘cornerstone of Canadian foreign policy’ but was regarded as damaging to the ultimate goal of a North Atlantic community inclusive of continental Europeans. The ‘inner triangle’ comprising Canada, the United States and Britain had to be concealed, and diplomats were warned not to speak of it publicly as an objective of policy, lest another triangle would form, that of a Franco-German–Italian grouping that would split the prospects of a North Atlantic alliance. The discovery of this secret despatch provides some explanation of why references to the North Atlantic Triangle faded from statements in the post-war years.

Developing a Canadian Indo-Pacific geopolitical orientation

There is growing consensus that Canada needs to “do more” in the Indo-Pacific region as it becomes the centre of gravity in a changing international landscape—a landscape challenging several traditional assumptions about the nature and configuration of global power which Canadian foreign policy has rested upon for decades, specifically due to the emergence of Sino-American rivalry. It is clear Canada needs a regional approach which is rooted in and better informed by geopolitical considerations, but there remains an absence of analytical frameworks to compare and evaluate alternative approaches. In addressing this void, this paper sketches out and compares four possible orientations Canada could pursue towards the Indo-Pacific region: Minimal Engagement, US-Aligned Confrontation, Regional Multilateralism, and Selective Minilateralism. Remaining agnostic about which one(s) Canada should choose, the paper is designed to highlight the stark trade-offs Canada must increasingly confront as it navigates this uncertain environment.

N = 1: initial impressions of systemism in Canadian foreign policy

ABSTRACT Systemism as a method for the study of Canadian foreign defence policy offers an opportunity for fruitful collaboration across theoretical and methodological subdivisions in the field. In particular, the approach could provide an excellent method through which to showcase feminist causal logic for a more mainstream audience, which tends to view feminist scholarship as being far removed from its concerns and policy-relevant Canadian foreign policy. This review offers a somewhat idiosyncratic assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of systemism as presented in this special issue of CFPJ. I discuss how I see myself using sytemism as a writing and teaching tool in the future.

Reflections on systemism, Canadian foreign policy and international relations

ABSTRACT This special issue of CFPJ has introduced systemism, a graphic approach to the study of Canadian foreign policy and International Relations (IR). It is beyond the scope of this final essay to cover even a fraction of the insights and critiques that have been offered along the way, so a few items are identified as particularly salient with regard to recognizing what has been accomplished so far and identifying new directions for research in tandem with systemism. The brief essay that follows will focus on the following topics: gains in substantive knowledge; insights about theorizing; pedagogical applications; reflections on progress; and decision-making support. The essay concludes with a few general reflections about the future of systemism, Canadian foreign policy and IR.

People acting across borders and Canadian foreign policy: a systemist analysis

ABSTRACT This article expands understanding of Canadian-linked border-crossing non-state actors and their significance for Canadian foreign policy. Using systemism, it studies three relevant works with different (meta)theoretical and conceptual approaches and empirical concerns to clarify how the specific types of border-crossing NSAs condition and impel state policies: through the effects of material structure, explored by Leuprecht with respect to (im)migrants to Canada; the effects of interests and resources derived from transnational networks, knowledge and skill, and socio-economic success, in Singh’s examination of Indo-Canadian diaspora elites; and the effects of intersectional power hierarchies that are world order’s deep structures in Young and Henders’ study of NSAs whose diplomacies have made Canadian-Asian relations. The works also illuminate causal connections related to Canadian state attempts to manage and instrumentalize NSA border-crossing activities, decisions and relations for its own goals. Systemist bricolagic bridging of studies underscores the need for theorizations of the connections between NSA border-crossing and Canadian foreign policy that consider both causal chains of purposive action as well as the conditioning causality of social structural properties. Based on such theorizations, avenues for future research are identified.

Assessing the graphic turn in Canadian foreign policy

ABSTRACT This assessment of the graphic turn in Canadian foreign policy focuses on the visualization of our text, The Politics of Canadian Foreign Policy (PCFP). We note the apparent disjuncture between systemism as an approach to understanding society on the one hand, and the graphic exercise that is at the core of the Visual International Relations Project. Focusing on the latter rather than the former, we assess what the graphic visualization of PCFP demonstrates about our text. We find that the visualization not only accurately portrays the main lines of argument, but also clearly identifies some of the key weaknesses and silences in the text. We also conclude that a key utility of the visualization project lies in its contribution to pedagogy, providing students with ready and accessible guide to works in IR and instructors with a useful tool to assess possible course adoptions.

A graphic turn for Canadian foreign policy: insights from systemism

ABSTRACT The application of systemism, an innovative and user-friendly technique for generating lucid, graphic summaries of analytical arguments, can enhance the study of Canadian foreign policy. As research and pedagogy on Canada and international relations move forward, its content becomes increasingly vast and intellectually diverse. Systemism offers both a means and a method toward enhanced communication in the face of challenges posed by the rapid expansion of topics and the proliferation of new theories and terminology in the fast-paced world of the new millennium. This is the motivation for a special issue of CFPJ that will show systemism in action across a wide range of issues and locations. This introductory article will proceed in four sections. The first section provides an overview of the project as a whole. Section two introduces systemism as a graphic approach toward the communication of ideas. The third section applies systemism to convey the framework for analysis from the standard textbook in the field – The Politics of Canadian Foreign Policy (Nossal, K. R., Roussel, S., & Paquin, S. The politics of Canadian Foreign Policy. Queen’s policy studies series (4th ed.). Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015). Section four outlines the articles that follow in making up the special issue.

That’s a “Hard no” from me: the questions we really need to ask

ABSTRACT Sarah Gansen and Patrick James ask: “is a turn toward systemist graphics the way forward for more effective study of Canadian foreign policy in particular and IR in general” (Gansen and James, this volume, p. 18)? My response is no. In fact, it’s a “hard no”. Not only is this not the way forward for the study of Canadian foreign policy, it is the wrong question to be asking about Canadian foreign policy in terms of theory, practice and teaching. The way forward is by asking questions about who we are and who we want to be as a subfield, not about embracing models that take us further from the questions that we need to ask of ourselves.

Converging and diverging streams: a systemist analysis of Canadian foreign investment policies adaptation to shifting global trends

ABSTRACT This article compares Canada’s approach to foreign investment (FDI) policies on a global level at different points in time. Focusing on three publications, it analyzes development of Canadian FDI policies since the 1980s in the context of Kingdon’s model of policy streams. Through the systemist analysis of this chronological development, it identifies factors that have shaped the convergence and divergence of these policy streams. This study also discusses the continuing relevance of these factors, notably growing geopolitical tensions between China and the United States. This study unfolds in six sections. Section one provides an overview of the article. The second section introduces systemism in connection with FDI policies. Sections three through five produce systemist graphics related to each of the above-noted publications. Section six sums up the applications and constraints on systemism as an analytical tool in addressing the evolution of Canadian FDI policies.

Opportunities for systemism in learning and practicing IR

ABSTRACT Systemism, a visual approach to mapping existing International Relations scholarship, aspires to distill complex and seemingly divergent research streams, across long-siloed areas of scholarship, into more digestible form. The goal of the systemist framework is to make the field’s vast sub-fields more accessible, in the hope of bridging the gap between approaches and research agendas, possibly promoting previously unconsidered collaborations. This essay considers the application of systemism to five studies, and identifies some possible strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) posed by the application of this approach. Ultimately, this review essay suggests that possibly the greatest opportunity that systemism offers to IR (and the more specialized study of Canadian foreign policy) may lie in making the field’s scholarship more accessible for practitioners and students.

The Middle East in Canadian foreign policy and national identity formation

While often overlooked, the Middle East has been a pivotal geographical and discursive space in Canadian foreign policy and national identity formation. The region was the birthplace of Canada’s liberal internationalist foreign policy identity, Pearsonianism, and the national myths associated with it. The Middle East also appears to be where Pearsonianism was later superseded by a more realist foreign policy approach, centred on key bilateral relationships with Western countries and a shared sense of Western civilisation. For reasons tied to identity formation and how Canadians perceive their place in the world, the Middle East is therefore a deeply contested space in the domestic arena and a site of deep divisions today. With the support of three contemporary case studies—Israel and Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Iran—this paper explores how Canada’s ties to the Middle East have shaped and continue to shape Canada’s foreign policy, national identity, and place in the world.

Book Review: Canadian Foreign policy: Reflections on a field in transition.

Book Review: Canadian Foreign policy: Reflections on a field in transition.

Opportunities to promote human rights and democratic values abroad: The case of Canadian foreign policy toward Venezuela

This article examines Canadian foreign policy toward Venezuela, as a litmus test of Ottawa’s promise to project a consistently strong voice for the protection of human rights and the advancement of democratic values in the world. The case is made that Canada is more likely to gear up to an assertive approach if there is a perception that there is an opportunity for democratization in the country, and for policymakers in Ottawa, if there is an opportunity to prioritize human rights and democracy, as opposed to more traditional national interest objectives. The article offers an explanation about when and how Canada typically promotes its liberal values abroad.

Sovereignty Sensitivities and the Kosovo Crisis: The Impact of Domestic Considerations on Canada’s Foreign Policy

In 1999, Canada participated in NATO’s Operation Allied Force, a seventy- eight-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia meant to end the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians. Officially, Canada’s interests in developing its foreign policy toward Kosovo were humanitarian and regional stability considerations. These were shared with the rest of its NATO allies. Thus, on the surface, it would seem that Canada and its NATO allies had similar concerns during the decision-making process around Kosovo. Digging deeper, an analysis of the primary sources available suggests that Canada did, in fact, have additional and unique considerations during the Kosovo crisis, namely national unity. This analysis amply illustrates the close interconnection between domestic issues and Canadian foreign policy. During the Kosovo War, Canada had to balance sovereignty sensitivities with humanitarian concerns. From the first time Kosovo was mentioned in Parliament on 18 November 1991 to the end of the Kosovo War on 11 June 1999, Canadian parliamentarians attempted to distinguish what Canada’s views on Kosovo were. Historians have likewise been occupied with the same task: distinguishing the Canadian contribution and position. Like the parliamentarians, not one of the Canadian historians who has written on the topic has questioned the official government version of what motivated Canada’s policy in Kosovo. They all credit a combination of humanitarian and regional concerns. Therefore, there was consensus at the time, and has been since, about what motivated Canada’s policy toward Kosovo. However, an analysis of the primary sources reveals that Canada did in fact have an additional and unique consideration during the Kosovo crisis: national unity. Canada’s domestic national unity issue influenced Canadian foreign policy toward Kosovo at every stage.

Eurosphere or Anglosphere? Canadian Public Opinion on Brexit and the Future of Transatlantic Relations

AbstractClose relations with Europe, especially but not only with the United Kingdom, have long been a consensual tenet of Canadian foreign policy, which has supported European integration since the 1970s. The UK's withdrawal from the European Union threatens to upset this consensus. While Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has consistently cast Brexit in a negative light, Conservative leaders Andrew Scheer and Erin O'Toole have commented positively on the UK's leaving the EU. Did their polarized views resonate in the population? To answer this question, this article analyzes the results of an original survey of voting-age Canadians. Findings show a strong degree of correspondence between positions expressed in party discourse and preferences in the Canadian population. This raises the possibility that the difference between two models of transatlantic relations, which we call Eurosphere and Anglosphere, could emerge as a new fault line in Canadian foreign policy.

Reflexive Pluralism in IR: Canadian Contributions to Worlding the Global South

AbstractObservers of the evolution of international relations (IR) theory often point to an American hegemony in the discipline on a global level. However, more recent analyses show that there has been a systematic and increasing Canadianization of IR scholarship in Canada since the 1990s, facilitated by government policies that fostered the hiring of domestic candidates and the creation of Canadian foreign policy research centers. This process has by no means been a cohesive one, yet it reflects a tendency in Canadian IR to make room for a pluralism in ontological as well as epistemological and methodological terms. This opening up of space for diversity is an important yet underappreciated characteristic of Canadian IR's contribution to the discipline, which has not been seriously examined beyond the study of Canadian foreign policy. This article assesses the impact of Canadian IR scholarship on the development of a “Global IR” through an examination of its contributions to Asia-Pacific and African IR. We argue that despite its heterogeneity, Canadian IR scholarship in both areas is characterized by a common set of elements that, taken together, reflect a distinctly Canadian way of studying and practicing IR in relation to the Global South: pluralism and reflexivism.

What is the People’s Republic of China to Canada? Towards a rethinking of bilateral relations

Relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will be the single biggest Canadian foreign policy challenge for the foreseeable future. The trajectory of bilateral relations will be shaped, above all, by US–PRC strategic competition. Canadian views on the PRC are defined by a litany of problems in the current relationship, with relatively little reflection on the broader and longer-term problématique. This article, adapted from a November 2020 speech to the Canada–China Friendship Society of Ottawa, proposes a reconceptualization of the PRC as Canada's “global neighbour.” On virtually all the issues that matter to Canada, the PRC is in our neighbourhood, and we are in the PRC’s, whether we like it or not. The article offers five principles for the conduct of relations with Beijing—emphasizing the importance of independence in Canadian foreign policy in the context of a Sino–US great power conflict that is likely to persist for decades.

What lies ahead? Canada’s engagement with the Middle East Peace Process and the Palestinians: an Introduction

ABSTRACT This thematic issue of the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal explores Canada’s foreign policy relationship with the Palestinians and the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP). It does this through a combination of articles and policy commentaries by scholars from the academy and “pracademics” from government. This includes regional experts on Palestine, Palestinian refugees Palestinian state-building and Canadian foreign policy. The topics they cover include Canadian diplomacy on Israel-Palestine at the United Nations, the impact the international community and Canada have had on Israeli-Palestinian peacebuilding, Canada’s policy toward Palestinian refugees, Canadian development aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and an overview of Canadian foreign policy toward both the Palestinians and MEPP. This introduction sets the stage for their contributions by first providing an overview of the contemporary politics of the Middle East and where Israel-Palestine fits within them, including a brief account of peacebuilding efforts today. It also describes Canada’s not-insignificant contribution to the politics of the Middle East and towards the composure of Israel-Palestine today, and likewise the impact of each on Canada. In sum, the articles each explore a unique and important facet of the ongoing development of Canadian foreign policy toward the Palestinians and the MEPP.