Understanding the Great War

• 1 avril 2014

Published in the Ottawa Citizen, March 31, 2014

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on June 28, 1914 set off a chain of events that a few weeks later led to an all-out war involving virtually …

Pre-Election Reflections from Kabul

• 31 mars 2014

On April 5, the people of Afghanistan will vote in their third national election since 2001—a hundred million-dollar effort financed by international donors. The air is filled with anticipation and hope, albeit tempered with grave concerns held by both the …

Coming Soon: A Truly Global Human Rights Revolution?

• 31 mars 2014

Published on the openGlobalRights Blog, March 31, 2014 

There is an unmistakable fin de régime sentiment to much current thinking regarding international human rights. Conferences and discussion forums convene to debate ‘the future of human rights’, with implicit in …

With Russia Out of the G8, What About the G7 and G20?

• 25 mars 2014

Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Prime Minister Harper has insistently demanded that Russia be expelled from the G8. But what sort of G7 will survive that action? And what happens to the G20?

For now, the situation was resolved at …

Europe Will Wake Up, and Putin Can Expect a Harsh Response

• 25 mars 2014

Published in The Globe and Mail, March 19, 2014

There are many aspects to the current struggle over the future of Crimea which pose serious difficulties for an international community that would like to respond firmly. On the one …

Russia’s Crimea Caper: One More Nail in the Non-Intervention Coffin

• 6 mars 2014

Both Russia and those opposing its intervention in Crimea are making claims regarding the legality of its acts. Russia is asserting the right to use force in Crimea and, if necessary, in eastern Ukraine. The U.S., Canada, and European states …

Crisis in South Sudan: What Role for Canada?

• 5 mars 2014

By Stephen Baranyi and Tag Elkhazin

The signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/Army sparked optimism that the country could find a way out of its devastating cycle …

The Truth About Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan

• 5 mars 2014

Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan officially ends this month. It began in 2001 with the dispatch of a small number of special operations troops to oust the Taliban and punish al-Qaeda militants in wake of the 9/11 attacks, and grew …

Reaping the Whirlwind in Ukraine

• 4 mars 2014

The Russian media had a good laugh on March 2 at the expense of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who denounced Russia by saying, “[y]ou just don’t invade another country on a phony pretext in order to assert your …

NATO, China and Afghanistan at the Security-Development Nexus

• 24 février 2014

By Kirsten Van Houten and Benjamin Zyla

Since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban in 2001, NATO has provided extensive security and development assistance to Afghanistan. While NATO is slated to withdraw from Afghanistan later this year, the international …