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Going Global with Peace, Order and Good Government

by Christopher Sands & Shuvaloy Majumdar on June 16, 2009 | Democracy, Foreign Policy

Nobel laureate Lester B. Pearson understood that the dignity of peoples was closely linked to their freedom, that achieving social and economic status is fleeting when compared to unleashing the open democratic expression of free peoples worldwide, and that democracy properly understood was more than a process – it remains an enduring, transcending value. Pearson was a famous ally in the cause of freedom in the Cold War, and he understood something which members of a worldwide movement in democratic assistance have grasped today. Democracy, distilled down, is comprised of peace loving values, of intellectual and moral courage, and of the triumph of liberty. The defense of democracy was once a Canadian calling in times of crisis. In the course ahead, democratic assistance must remain at the heart of what brave Canadians are fighting for in Afghanistan, and on new frontiers where democracy hangs precariously in the balance.

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Heads or Tails? Extra-national Dimensions of International Development

by Lucas Robinson on June 19, 2009 | Africa, Foreign Policy

Twenty-one years ago, Bob Geldoff and a litany of well-intentioned celebrities gathered in London to raise awareness and money to end world hunger. At the time, connections between poverty in the developing world, and dinner in Canada seemed tenuous at best. It was rare to get fresh artichokes out of season; phone calls to Hong Kong were well over $1 a minute, and long-weekend flights to Florida, for all but a few jet-set-millionaires, were completely out of the question. Today, thanks to global supply chains and communication networks, vine-ripened tomatoes sit in corner stores across the country, and South African apples are part of most Canadian diets.

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The Threat and Opportunity of Non-State Actors to a Conservative Foreign Policy

by Benjamin Perrin on June 19, 2009 | Foreign Policy

Free trade, protecting individual liberty, promoting democratic governance and alleviating suffering are all components of a conservative foreign policy. However, the achievement of these objectives is being hamstrung by the traditional (and increasingly antiquated) theory of realism.

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African Aid: Beyond Celebrity Platitudes

by Constance Van Horne on June 19, 2009 | Africa, Foreign Policy

Canadian foreign policy in Africa, as a reflection of G8 foreign policy, is directed towards achieving sustainable growth and eliminating poverty. These goals are laudable, although billions of dollars spent in aid over the past few decades have done little to achieve this. In an attempt to reverse these sub-par returns in well-intentioned aid, or at least to gain some popularity with music-lovers, G8 leaders have turned to Bob Geldof and Bono, for advice. Incredibly, these two musicians appear to have a great impact on G8, and thus, Canadian policy-making and action. Yet, from outside policy-making circles looking in, these two men appear to have accomplished little but to create a new business model for concert promoters.

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Pacekeepers: How Canadians Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Treading Water

by Michael Lindsay on June 22, 2009 | Foreign Policy

“I believe in peacekeeping, not policing.” Those words, made famous by Molson Breweries, resonate with Canadians. For nearly half a century, they have informed our military policy, our smug sense of superiority to Americans and our unwavering belief in our international significance.

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A Response to Professor Cooper on the War in Afghanistan

by David R. Henderson on July 22, 2009 | Military, Afghanistan, Foreign Policy

Before getting to his criticism of my case against the war in Afghanistan1, Professor Barry Cooper spends the first half of his article on his various objections to libertarianism. In his first paragraph, he asks, “What is libertarianism?” and adds, “Henderson does not provide us with an account of what he means.” There’s a reason I didn’t define libertarianism: I never used the words “libertarian” or “libertarianism.” That was a word that the editors of this publication put in the title of my article.

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