Self-Determination at a Turning Point: Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Indigenous...
May 2020 was a turning point in East Asia. President Tsai Ing-wen (Democratic Progressive Party, DPP) was inaugurated to her second term as President of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Two days later,...
View ArticleAn Unequivocal Victory for President Tsai in Taiwan
The re-election of Tsai Ying-wen to the Presidency of Taiwan this last January 11 represents a rare shining moment in the Indo-Pacific region, as populist leaders ruling India and the Philippines...
View ArticleMeet NATO’s New Champion: President Donald Trump
After spending years belittling and undermining the western world’s principal military alliance, during his recent trip to London to celebrate the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) 70th...
View ArticleA New Cold War?
Thirty years on from the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world is a very different place. The liberal world order that appeared triumphant in 1989 faces unprecedented challenges – including renewed...
View ArticleMost wars don’t make states (so what’s a policymaker to do?)
Most modern warfare is intrastate. Most take place in poorer, weaker states and challenge many of our assumptions about the evolution of most states. Foreign policymakers should reevaluate their...
View ArticleStar Wars: Coming soon to a space near you – the diplomatic alternative
Will Outer Space become a new frontier for international conflict? Or can it remain a global commons? As states dither, this question may soon be taken over by other actors. I confess that I gave this...
View ArticleThe Remarkable Consistency of Canada’s Foreign Policy
Canada’s foreign policy is driven primarily by geopolitics, and its overriding concern is to remain close – but not too close – to its southern neighbour. At the victory rally on election night 2015...
View ArticleHistory, memory, and politics in post-communist Eastern Europe
The fact that East European trauma under communism is not adequately understood and appreciated in the West is the central grievance of these movements, and this feeds into new cycles of victimization...
View ArticleNeoliberalism’s ‘unfailures’
The late 1970s and early 1980s are a moment in time that is often seen as a resounding success for neoliberal theory and practice Economic policies enacted under neoliberalism have often failed to meet...
View ArticleNationalist Internationalists? The Strange Paradoxes of the Global Right
By Rita Abrahamsen, Jean-François Drolet, Alexandra Gheciu, Srdjan Vucetic and Michael C. Williams The first step toward meeting the challenge of the Radical Right is to understand their ideas,...
View ArticleSovereignty Served Cold
The Canadian government depends radically on the permanent population of Inuit and other Northerners … but, those Northern communities live with less. I was on the lookout for Russians when I should...
View ArticleDawn of a New Era: Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s Visit to Ottawa
A new era is dawning in Japan. With the abdication of Emperor Akihito on 30 April and the ascension of his Crown Prince Naruhito to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 1 May, calendars will change from the...
View ArticleCanadian Perspectives on Global Diplomacy, Part 1: The Lay of the Land
This 2-part CIPS blog is based on my guest presentation at a seminar for graduating trainee diplomats at the Institute of International Relations (IIR), University of West Indies, Trinidad, on 20 March...
View ArticleCanadian Perspectives on Global Diplomacy, Part 2: Dealing with the USA
This 2-part CIPS blog is based on my guest presentation at a seminar for graduating trainee diplomats at the Institute of International Relations (IIR), University of West Indies, Trinidad, on 20 March...
View ArticleTaiwan Hopes for “Oceans of Democracy”
Republic of China (Taiwan) President Tsai Ing-wen, who takes pride in her Austronesian heritage through her paternal grandmother, made an 8-day voyage called “Oceans of Democracy” at the end of March...
View ArticlePartnering with Japan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific
On March 7, 2019, Japanese Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane gave a lecture at CIPS entitled “Japan and Canada: Strategic Partners in the Indo-Pacific?” The question mark is perhaps the most important part...
View ArticleThe Battle over Europe’s Future
On January 22, France and Germany signed the Treaty of Aachen, a document designed to reaffirm their friendship and enhance co-operation in areas such as foreign policy, defense, trade, cross-border...
View ArticleCanada, China, and the Trump Doctrine
By Michael C. Williams The confrontation between Canada and China set off by the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou has escalated to near-crisis proportions. Canadian citizens have been...
View ArticleCanada is on the Front Lines of Challenges to Rule of Law
China’s apparent use of Canadian detainees as diplomatic bargaining chips is not just a problem for Canada. It is a challenge to all countries that seek to uphold the rule of law in their domestic and...
View ArticleBackwards, March! Brexit, CANZUK, and the Legacy of Empire
By Duncan Bell and Srdjan Vucetic It was coined in the 1950s, but the term CANZUK — a union (or alliance or pact) of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom — has been repurposed in the...
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