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19001. Terrorism in Canada

Author:
Michael Zekulin
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
September 11th 2011 will mark the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks which toppled the World Trade Center buildings in New York City and killed approximately three thousand people. These attacks marked the beginning of an escalation of global Islamic terrorism which shows no signs of fading in the near future. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Islamic terrorism has seen a marked increase in Canada since 9/11 and further identify what this might mean for Canadians and policymakers moving forward. Investigating the terrorist incidents which have unfolded in Canada over the past ten years not only provides valuable information about the threats and challenges Canada has experienced since 9/11, it also provides clues about what we might expect moving forward. This paper argues that an analysis of terrorist incidents in Canada from 9/11 until today reveals a disturbing trend. However, it also provides a clear indication of several areas which need to be investigated and addressed in order to mitigate this threat moving forward.
Topic:
Islam and Terrorism
Political Geography:
New York and Canada

19002. Canada's Warlord: Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden's Leadership during the Great War

Author:
Dr. Tim Cook
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
“Sir Robert Borden may have been an outstanding figure in Canadian public life, being even a leader in Imperial councils during the war, but he seems to have lacked the arts which most appeal to the popular imagination,” wrote one journalist after Borden's retirement in 1920. “For example, one never hears and never will hear a personal anecdote about Borden. His biography, when written, will be dull. It will . . . bore the people to death.”
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Canada

19003. Facing the Future: Canada's Environmental Security Challenges in the 21st Century

Author:
Isaac Caverhill-Godkewitsch
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In 2007 the McClure strait in the Canadian Arctic, as visible from satellite photography, was free of ice for the first time.The legendary Northwest Passage is open; a long lost dream of explorers has finally become reality – the very geography of Canada is experiencing environmental change. In the 21st Century the planet is facing many such changes on scales unseen in human history. But what will such changes have on human society? More importantly, what do these changes mean for the nation-state and its security?
Topic:
Security and Climate Change
Political Geography:
Canada

19004. A Race to the Top: Oil Gas Exploration in the Canadian Arctic

Author:
Michael Kuzik
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Economic forces will ultimately determine the destiny of the Canadian Arctic, not displays of military force. Economic opportunity will prove far more cost effective and longer lasting than increasing the visibility, or even effectiveness, of Canada's military in the Arctic. Some observers expect the mounting evidence of a treasure trove of hydrocarbons on land and under the sea in Canada's Arctic to act as the economic catalyst. However crude oil and natural gas exploitation in Canada's North is fraught with a myriad of challenges. This paper will shed light on the harsh climactic, economic and political realities of oil and gas exploration and development in the Canadian Arctic. Climatic conditions, even in the wake of evidence of climate change, will still be extreme as will the distances and the topography. First and foremost the economics have to make sense; a profit has to be available to entice the capital needed for developing the north's vast hydrocarbon potential. Additionally, the political realities include pollution mitigation and outstanding native land claims.
Topic:
Economics and Environment
Political Geography:
Canada

19005. Intervening for Peace? Dilemma's of Liberal Internationalism and Democratic Reconstruction in Afghanistan

Author:
Philip Martin
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In the post Cold War era, the international community has found cause to intervene in extremely volatile environments in order to restore normalcy and order. These situations are characterized by failed states, civil wars, and ethnic extremism. When doing so, the principles of liberal democracy and inclusive governments are frequently invoked as necessary components of the conflict-to-peace transition. Indeed, the idea that elected governments must accompany the broader objectives of stabilization and statebuilding underpins much of what peacebuilders actually do.Yet, despite the large sums of money spent and attention given to them, interventions which aim to facilitate the transition of fragile or failed states to inclusive, democratic governments rarely succeed. What explains this discrepancy?
Topic:
Cold War, Government, and Reconstruction
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

19006. Notes from the Field: Editor's Note

Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
This issue features an unusual set of Notes From the Field. These consist of the email record sent by a Canadian member of the crew of the Bob Barker, one of the Sea Shepard vessels which worked against the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic Ocean several months ago. His account is as interesting as the events which they narrate.
Political Geography:
Japan and Canada

19007. Sailing with the Sea Shepherds

Author:
Teale Phelps Bondaroff
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
I am a Commonwealth Scholar and PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS). My PhD research in general looks at the strategies of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in international affairs, and specifically examines the strategy of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (Sea Shepherd). As part of my research into the strategy of Sea Shepherd, I undertook fieldwork where I engaged in participant observation on board the Sea Shepherd vessel the Bob Barker as it took part in 'Operation No Compromise,' from December 2, 2010 to March 6, 2011. The Bob Barker spent 95 days at sea, and was at the heart of an action-packed campaign, Sea Shepherd's seventh campaign against Japanese Antarctic whaling and its most successful campaign to date.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Africa

19008. Robert Mandel. Dark Logic: Transnational Criminal Tactics and Global Security.

Author:
Hadleigh McAlister
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The rapid collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 came as a great shock to the world. The cessation of hostilities, which had never been formally declared, between the United States and the USSR was a bittersweet moment in history. The demise of communism did not usher in an era of peace but rather one of terror. Amid the chaos of the 1990s, a host of transnational threats such as terrorism and organized crime thrived. Driven by fanatical religious devotion and an unquenchable lust for profit, these unconventional foes have emerged as global threats in the post-Cold War era.Not surprisingly, since 9/11 there has been renewed interest in studies that examine organized crime, due to the interaction between terrorist and criminal organizations. In his book, Dark Logic: Transnational Criminal Tactics and Global Security , Robert Mandel delves deep into the criminal underworld through an examination of five of the world's largest organized crime syndicates: the Chinese Triads, Columbian Cartels, Italian Mafia, Japanese Yakuza, and the Russian Mob. This study, through a detailed risk assessment of the strategies and tactics employed by the aforementioned criminal organizations, explores how transnational organized crime threatens both human and national security. This analysis is followed by an evaluation of possible countermeasures that governments can deploy to reduce criminal activity at the local, national, regional, and international levels.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Japan, and Italy

19009. Molly Dunigan. Victory for Hire: Private Security Companies' Impact on Military Effectiveness

Author:
Amara Hunt
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The topic of private security has become an increasingly popular subject in the context of international relations. Involvement of private security companies (PSCs) in contemporary military operations including Iraq and Afghanistan has often produced overtly negative public sentiment towards such actors. Nefarious terms including war profiteer, and the more commonly used mercenary, illustrate the stance of popular literature regarding PSCs.This literature has largely focused on the pernicious relationship between such companies and human rights, in addition to notions of state sovereignty. In Victory for Hire , Molly Dunigan aims, through an analysis of the relationship between PSCs and military effectiveness, to uncover the implications of security privatization for democratic states engaged in conflict. In approaching her research in this fashion, Dunigan breaks from mainstream analyses of PSCs , producing a valuable resource for academics and policy makers alike.
Topic:
International Relations

19010. Will Oil Drown the Arab Spring?

Author:
Michael L. Ross
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Foreign Affairs
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Summary: No state with serious oil wealth has ever transformed into a democracy. Oil lets dictators buy off citizens, keep their finances secret, and spend wildly on arms. To prevent the “resource curse” from dashing the hopes of the Arab Spring, Washington should push for more transparent oil markets -- and curb its own oil addiction. MICHAEL L. ROSS is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of the forthcoming book The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations. Even before this year's Arab uprisings, the Middle East was not an undifferentiated block of authoritarianism. The citizens of countries with little or no oil, such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, generally had more freedom than those of countries with lots of it, such as Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. And once the tumult started, the oil-rich regimes were more effective at fending off attempts to unseat them. Indeed, the Arab Spring has seriously threatened just one oil-funded ruler -- Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi -- and only because NATO's intervention prevented the rebels' certain defeat. Worldwide, democracy has made impressive strides over the last three decades: just 30 percent of the world's governments were democratic in 1980; about 60 percent are today. Yet almost all the democratic governments that emerged during that period were in countries with little or no oil; in fact, countries that produced less than $100 per capita of oil per year (about what Ukraine and Vietnam produce) were three times as likely to democratize as countries that produced more than that. No country with more than a fraction of the per capita oil wealth of Bahrain, Iraq, or Libya has ever successfully gone from dictatorship to democracy. Scholars have called this the oil curse, arguing that oil wealth leads to authoritarianism, economic instability, corruption, and violent conflict. Skeptics claim that the correlation between oil and repression is a coincidence. As Dick Cheney, then the CEO of Haliburton, remarked at a 1996 energy conference, "The problem is that the good Lord didn't see fit to put oil and gas reserves where there are democratic governments." But divine intervention did not cause repression in the Middle East: hydrocarbons did. There is no getting around the fact that countries in the region are less free because they produce and sell oil.
Topic:
NATO, Government, and Oil
Political Geography:
Iraq, Ukraine, Middle East, Kuwait, Libya, Vietnam, California, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and Tunisia