Mohamad Yaghi In 1919, the then US President Woodrow Wilson set up an international commission to study the Ottoman Empire’s former mandates and the Middle East’s possible future. Remarkably, Wilson’s intention and objective was to understand the grievances of the Middle East’s inhabitants and create an American policy based on their opinions. Although Wilson’s new…
Tag: Foreign Policy
Canada’s International Altruism: Reconciling our Self-image with Reality
Madeline Rowland The image of Canada as a global peacekeeper and champion of development is a salient part of our collective national consciousness. The formation of the (now-defunct) Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 1968 secured the position of aid and development on the political agenda, at least for CIDA’s 45-year lifespan. Prime Ministers of…
Lost at Sea: Three Options for the EU to Improve its Refugee Policies
Brynne Moore In past weeks, the world has seen harrowing pictures and video footage of drowning children, abuse towards refugees, and barbed wire fences constructed around state borders in Europe. Faced with the biggest influx of migrants since the Balkan wars of the 1990s, some countries in Europe have been widely criticized for their closed…
Celebrating World Population Day: Canada’s Response to Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies
James Nelson On 11 July 2015, the international community will mark World Population Day, the theme of which is Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies. Recently, media has reported on the plight of vulnerable populations, drawing the public’s attention to such issues as migrants drowning in the Mediterranean as overcrowded boats attempt to reach Europe from North…
It’s Time Canada Talks Turks and Caicos
Matteo Pirri Maybe it’s the consistent -30° temperatures, or maybe it was that ice storm that jeopardized my family Christmas dinner, or perhaps it’s the revelation that ‘frost quakes’ and ‘polar vortices’ exist. Whatever it is I haven’t been too thrilled with what this winter has had in store for us over the past couple…
Seen and Heard: Keith Davey Forum on Public Affairs – Drone Warfare: Justice, Strategy, Technology
Matteo Pirri On Wednesday October 2, in front of a packed house at the University of Toronto the 2013 Keith Davey Forum on Public Affairs grappled with one of the most complex questions in modern conflict: What is it exactly about drones that make us uneasy? Boston University Professor Neta Crawford and University of Massachusetts Associate…