Le Canada dans le monde : Politique internationale du Canada

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Document de proposition de politique par Maja Cholich, Ryan Legault, Amal Abdul Kader, Erin Rayfield, Iman Wain, and Amin Virani soumis au professeur David Carment dans le cadre du cours "Capstone Seminar in Public Affairs and Policy Management" (BPAPM 4000) à l'Université de Carleton.

Discussion en ligne ouverte du 26 septembre au 2 décembre, 2005  Pour participer à la discussion en ligne courante, s'inscrire ici  Déjà inscrit? Entrez ici  Renseignements pour les universités et les collèges canadiens intéressés à participer  Renseignements pour les universités et les collèges internationaux intéressés à participer

Summary of Class Discussion:

Issues Identified: Urban vs Rural, Democracy vs Stability, When Canada should Intervene

Areas of Consensus/Disagreement:

1. Agreement on the conditions necessary for intervention.

2. Agreement that Canada needs to be sensitive and respectful of non-Western forms of government and governance.

3. Disagreement on the ‘why’ of intervention (i.e. as a result of domestic interest or humanitarian duty or upholding our international reputation and power).

4. Disagreement on the degree of separation between strategies for urban and rural development (e.g.: separate reconstruction teams?).

5. Agreement that Canada’s efforts to promote a secure world for all of humanity should not be prejudiced by recipient country’s geographic location, territorial size, religious beliefs, values, cultures, and governmental regimes.

Your Response to eDiscussion Questions

1. The Government of Canada (GoC) should not intervene when: it has insufficient resources, will, access, and expertise; human rights are generally respected; and, governance is serving the majority of people.  Intervention should be considered one of a number of possible responses to failed and fragile states.

2. Canada’s foreign policy advocates democracy as a necessary ingredient for instilling stability, rule of law, and fundamental equal rights for all.  However, such an objective is easier said than done; especially when trying to implement democracy in foreign nations that have become accustom to other forms of rule (i.e. republic, authoritarianism, communism, etc.).   Therefore, Canada must view democracy as a long term goal rather than a short term objective.  Canada must also keep in mind that the system of democracy it establishes should reflect the reality of the society of the particular place.  Democracy in this sense is a target to reach and as such requires time, patience and process. 

3. It is important for Canada to recognize in development and security issues, the drastic differences and issue-linkages between rural and urban areas in fragile and failed states.  The importance of recognizing this difference far outweighs the possibility of trying to prioritize the two; it is more important to focus on being able to approach each area effectively, taking their unique needs into consideration.

4. In the cities, attention should be paid to (re)building infrastructure, thus improving quality of life, and ensuring the safety of the citizens.

5. In garnering the support of the Canadian public towards a long-term commitment to aiding failed and fragile states, the government needs to employ a framing methodology.  A two-pronged approach comprised of “the Canadian as a global citizen” and “failed/fragile states as a threat to national security” applied to engage interested and uninterested segments of the population.  Foreign states’ public and political support depends solely on securing the public’s physiological and shelter needs through a secured area where NGOs and CIDA can cooperatively achieve said goals.  A long-term approach building on future political support and institution building inline with the needs of the public would ensue.

Policy Recommendations:

1. Develop a framework for intervention criteria that weighs Canada’s ability to intervene - access, expertise and resources - with the level of domestic support, and human rights and governance conditions within the fragile state.
 
2. As interventions in failed states require substantial commitments of the Canadian military, Canada should focus on fragile states, but maintain operations in a limited number of failed states.  Interventions in failed states should be limited by the demands on troops abroad and capacity for Canadian domestic security.  

3. Reconstruction efforts should target the problems of both urban and rural areas and be framed by the objectives of capacity building and sustainability.

4. For reasons of effectiveness and efficiency, Canada should continue to utilize the knowledge and resources of NGOs in its fragile and failed state interventions.

5. Market Canadian assistance overseas as a humanitarian duty, and a self-interested response to security threats.

Dernière mise à jour :2006-09-12

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