The ‘New Look’ in Canada's Foreign Policy
| Author | Tom Keating,Nicholas Gammer |
| Published date | 01 December 1993 |
| Date | 01 December 1993 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002070209304800406 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
TOM
KEATING
&
NICHOLAS
GAMMER
The
'new
look'
in
Canada's
foreign
policy
The
response
of
the Canadian
government
to
post-Cold
War
security
issues suggests
a
profound
change
in
Canada's
foreign
policy,
one
that
adopts
a
radically
different
approach
to
civil
wars
and
human
rights
violations
in
foreign
countries.
The
changes
brought
about
by
the
end
of
the
Cold
War
have
less-
ened
neither
the frequency
nor
the
dangers
of
conflict.
The
recent
disintegration
of
Yugoslavia,
civil
chaos
in
Somalia,
the
risk
of
civil
disorder
in
the
republics
of
the
former
Soviet
Union,
and
the
continuation
of
serious
conflicts
in
many
other
regions
attest
to
the
urgent
need
for
international
action.
There
have
been
repeated
calls
from
Canadians
and
many
others
for
such
action
-
at
the
very
least
it
is
suggested
that
something
should
be
done
to
ease
the
suffering
of
the
victims
of
these
conflicts.
Based
on
an examination of
the diplomatic efforts
and
peace-
keeping
activities
of
Canadians
and
of
the
statements
of
the
country's
political
leaders,
it
is
clear
that
the
government
is
sup-
porting
a
more
interventionist approach
to
conflict
resolution.
In
a
world
of
ever
increasing
interdependencies,
unhampered
by
Cold
War divisions,
it
is
often
argued
that
peacekeeping
is
no
longer
a
sufficient
response
and
that
peacemaking
or
peace
enforcement
is
now
required.
TOM
KEATING
is
Associate
Professor
of
Political
Science,
University
of
Alberta,
Edmonton,
and
author
of
Canada
and
World
Order: The
Multilateralist
Tradition
in
Canadian
Foreign
Policy
(1993).
NICHOLAS GAMMER
is
a
doctoral
candidate
in
the
Department
of
Political
Science,
University
of
Alberta,
Edmonton.
InternationalJournal
XLVIII
AUTUMN
1993
THE
NEW
LOOK
IN
CANADA'S FOREIGN
POLICY
721
This
growing
interest
in
and
emphasis on
enforcement
raises
important
questions
about
Canada's
approach
to
state
sov-
ereignty
and
reflects
an
attempt
to
define
a new
foreign
policy
doctrine
that
would
allow
for,
and
indeed
encourage,
humani-
tarian
intervention
to
protect
the
victims
of
war
and
oppression
and
to resolve
international
conflicts.
Events
in
the
former
Yugoslavia,
Somalia,
and
Haiti
have
acted
as a
catalyst
for
Can-
ada's
political
leaders
to reassess
past practice and
to
lay
the
groundwork
for
a
significantly
different approach
to
civil
con-
flicts
and
human
rights violations
in
other
countries.
And
despite
the
desire expressed
by
Prime
Minister
Brian
Mulroney
in
the spring
of
1993
to
dispense
with
'debating
the
niceties
of
"this"
principle
or "that"
concept'
and
getting
'on
with
the
job
of
building
peace
and
prosperity,"
a
number
of
these
debates
are too
important
to
be set aside.
The
suggestion
that
we
have
reached
the
stage
in
international
politics
where
sovereignty
should
yield
to
humanitarian
intervention,
especially
when
it
appears
likely
that
Canadian
forces
will
participate
in such
mis-
sions,
has
significant
implications
not
only
for foreign
and
defence
policy
but
also
for domestic
politics
in
Canada.
A
wider
acceptance
and
application
of
this
view
among
nation-states
would
also have
potentially
revolutionary
implications
for
the
practice
of
international
politics. It
is
thus
surely
worthy
of
closer
analysis.
This
essay
examines these
recent
changes
in
Canadian
policy,
especially
as
they
have
influenced
decision-
making
on
the
conflicts
in
Somalia
and the
former
Yugoslavia.
THE EVOLUTION
OF
CANADIAN
POLICY
Humanitarian
intervention
has
been defined
by
Ian
Brownlie
as
'the
threat
or
use
of armed
force
by
a state,
a
belligerent
community,
or
an
international
organization
with
the object
of
protecting
human
rights.' And
Rosalyn
Higgins
distinguishes
this
type
of
intervention
from
other
activities
designed
to
pro-
1
Globe
and
Mail (Toronto),
15
June
1993,
A9 .
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