From the category archives:

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Heteropolis Rising: World Order in the 21st Century

January 30, 2012

In the previous post,  I argued that the short-lived era of unipolar American hegemony has given way to  a new international dispensation best characterized as heteropolar rather than multipolar. This metamorphosis may be attributed mainly to a series of colossal strategic misjudgements and the profusion of diverse sources of power and influence globally. [...]

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Heteropolarity, Security and Diplomacy: Not the Same Old, Same Old

January 16, 2012

Almost a decade ago, at an annnual conference of the International Studies Association, I heard my colleague James Der Derian from Brown University use the word heterpolar to describe the new world order. I had not come across the term before, and was uncertain as to its precise meaning. Still,  it struck me at the [...]

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Canadian Public Diplomacy – Where to?

January 2, 2012

In the previous post, I tried to show that during the 1980s and ‘90s the paradigm for the delivery of Canadian international policy shifted fundamentally. Over the course of those years, there was a deliberate move away from an emphasis on traditional, state-to-state interaction in the direction of public diplomacy (PD). This form of international [...]

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Canadian Public Diplomacy, Then and Now

December 14, 2011

I have recently been reviewing a new book entitled Diplomacy in the Digital Age, which is a collection of essays prepared in honour of Allan Gotlieb, a former Undersecretary of State  for External Affairs and Canada’s ambassador in Washington from 1981-89. It is an absorbing anthology, and contains valuable entries penned in some instances by [...]

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The Retreat From Internationalism – Part II

November 29, 2011

In the last entry, I tried to illustrate how changes in domestic Canadian politics, in combination with the imposition of capacity reductions on the Department of Foreign Affairs, had contributed to a turn away from this country’s internationalist traditions. Today, I continue that line of inquiry with an exploration of the profound shifts in the [...]

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The Retreat From Internationalism – Part I

November 14, 2011

From the late 1940s  through to early in this century, Canada enjoyed a reputation as a determined, capable and effective internationalist. Regardless of which party formed the government, this country actively engaged with other peoples and states in the in the pursuit of collaborative solutions to the world’s major problems and challenges. From the founding [...]

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Libya: Lingering Doubts

October 29, 2011

From the outset of the Libyan episode, there have been ample grounds for reservation. Both the manner in which events have unfolded, and also the longer-term implications, are troubling.
Objections to the lack of public debate, to NATO’s tendency to reach for the gun before exhausting all alternatives to the use of armed force, to [...]

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Diplomacy in the Digital Age

October 13, 2011

Today the contributors to a recently released collection of essays assembled under this title and edited by Janice Stein will gather in Toronto to discuss the lifetime contribution to the diplomatic profession of  former Ambassador to the USA Allan Gotlieb.
It is encouraging to see attention of this nature being directed towards the study of diplomacy. [...]

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Diplomacy, Journalism, and the New Media

September 27, 2011

Over the course of the past few months I have been conducting research for an article on “Digital Diplomacy” and the implications of the “WikiLeaks/Cablegate” revelations for diplomatic practice and international relations. That piece, when finished and peer reviewed, is scheduled to appear in a forthcoming reference text entitled the Oxford Handbook on Modern Diplomacy.
Reflecting [...]

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Canada and the world post-9/11: What has been learned?

September 10, 2011

Looking back over decade since 9/11, what events and developments stand out globally? Among others:

The ongoing Global War on Terror and associated Western military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The hollowing out of the middle class, the financial crisis and the continuing Great Recession.

The lost opportunities to support non-violent political reform during the Arab Spring.

9/11 changed [...]

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Libya and the World after Gadhafi: Preliminary Thoughts

August 31, 2011

It is perhaps premature to propose potential conclusions and lessons learned in the immediate wake of the rebel victory over the Gadhafi regime. On the surface, it appears that NATO support for the rebellion assisted materially in achieving the objective of ridding Libya of a widely detested dictator.
In terms of success, this would seem to [...]

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Sitting on a Powder Keg

August 13, 2011

One of the defining characteristics of globalization is its tendency to produce winners and losers by polarizing, economically, socially and politically, within and between nations.
Globalization’s benefits have been privatized, while its costs have been socialized.  The appearance of severe inequalities – in incomes, opportunities, and future prospects [...]

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Learning from Norway: A Measured Response to a National Tragedy

July 29, 2011

The bombing of government buildings in central Oslo, and killings at the Labour party’s summer camp on the nearby island of Utoya, have shocked Norway and the world. Carefully planned and executed with devastating effect, apparently by 32-year-old Norwegian national Anders Behring Breivik, these acts were deeply troubling, and anything but arbitrary.
One week [...]

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Coming Home: Reality Check

July 16, 2011

It is a pleasure to return to the exquisitely sweet softness of central Canada in mid-summer.
While the month away in New Zealand and Australia for a series of speaking engagements, conferences and meetings with government, university and NGO representatives on matters of science, technology, diplomacy and international policy, was delightful, it’s always nice to be [...]

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