What might the international community of democracy promoters do better to support free and fair elections? One solution is to reassess how civil society organizations and democratic practitioners pass judgment on elections. “Remember the first rule of politics. The...
Canada has nurtured one of the world’s founding democracies. Among major nations, only the United States established a democratic government earlier. The grant of a universal (or close to it) voting franchise existed in Canada before the United Kingdom. Given Canada’s...
Protests Against Coup, Photo from Wikipedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0(Ninjastrikers) The first news flashes across your phone in text form: “Myanmar security forces open fire on protesters, killing at least 18, according to United Nations.” The death toll is rising and,...
The following analysis of the current state of the US in the world is in part based on my five years dealing with Canada-US relations at Global Affairs Canada, first as the Director General for North America and then as the Assistant Deputy Minister, Americas, and on...
Three major challenges we are facing in 2020 – a worsening conflict in Afghanistan; an aggressive Chinese Communist Party; and an irredentist Kremlin – have their roots in major decisions taken in 1989. The fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989. 1989 is rightly celebrated as...
This current bi-lateral crisis between Canada and China has been driven by a massive failure of internal corporate governance by Huawei and an aggressive and unbalanced foreign policy on Huawei’s behalf to mask this failure. Ben Nelms/CBC The rise of large,...
This is a modified version of an article supported by the Department of National Defence ‘Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security Targeted Engagement’ Grant, which appeared originally in Kristen Csenkey (ed.) “Simplifying Emerging Technologies: Risks and How to...
In 2015, the Liberal Party promised that if elected, they would increase Canada’s UN peacekeeping troop contributions, which had fallen off quite dramatically after the Conservative Party came to power in 2006. And once in office, they announced on several occasions...
Both parties should attempt now by resorting to private diplomacy to seek a solution driven by the facts. If not citizens of China and Canada are at risk of this being a cancer in a healthy relationship. Canadian & Chinese flags international.gc.ca As a part time...
Jamal Khashoggi’s murder has shifted US focus away from Ankara’s poor treatment of journalists and allowed Turkey to take the offensive to an embattled Saudi regime. Pixabay – Erika Wittlieb The murder of Saudi activist and journalist Jamal Khashoggi is no longer in...