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"Mugabe's Zimbabwe: from redemption to dictatorship" by Jeremy Kinsman Robert Mugabe’s brand of dictatorship is uniquely corrupt, as Contributing Writer Jeremy Kinsman observes: “He stage-manages a perverse parody of democratic choice, by organizing utterly unfair elections whose excesses in violence, intimidation, and propaganda would make Tammany Hall ward bosses blush.” And Zimbabwe, post the white supremacist Rhodesian regime, represented the hopes of many in the West for racial harmony and democracy on the modern African stage. In that sense, Kinsman writes, Mugabe has not only let down the side, “he taunts us in unique ways.” What is to be done about this modern dictator who makes such a mockery of democracy? Kinsman offers some reflections. "ISAF in Afghanistan, or learning to love counter-insurgency" by Joshua D. Kertzer One reason why the national discussion on Afghanistan has become so muddled is widespread misunderstanding about the nature of counter-insurgency campaigns. Viewing the Canadian engagement in Afghanistan through the prism of counterinsurgency doctrine not only contextualizes continuity and changes that have taken place in Canadian strategy since the mid-1990s, but points to some of the missteps that have dogged coalition forces over the past seven years: a lack of resources, a lack of presence, a lack of follow-through and a lack of local state capacity. "After Paris: moving forward or more of the same?" by Nipa Banerjee The international comunity’s aid marathon on Afghanistan reached another milestone with the June conference in Paris, where donor countries including Canada pledged a further $20 billion in assistance for reconstruction. The question is, when you follow the money, how much of it actually gets there, and how much gets effectively disbursed for worthy projects in building a civil society out of the ruins of a failed state? Out of previous total pledges of $24 billion, only $15 billion was actually disbursed, notes Nipa Banerjee, a former head of Canada's aid program in Kabul. “The international community, with the best of intentions,” she observes, “may lack the capacity to help in terms of program delivery and institution-building.” "Canada and the world: time to reassess Canada's foreign aid" by Sean M. Maloney Canadians need to be more concerned about how their bureaucrats spend their money, especially money in support of international development. Indeed, the whole concept of international development has been examined only by insiders who have repeatedly made decisions that are questionable and not necessarily in Canada’s national interest. The lack of strategic thinking in Canada in this field has led to outright manipulation to convince us to spend money on dubious projects in countries controlled by repressive regimes. The negative effects of a lack of longterm vision and coordination are emerging, as public scrutiny of CIDA’s operations in Afghanistan increases. "The Doha Round and agrifood: a question of political will" by Michael Gifford, Alex F. McCalla and Karl D. Meilke The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations may well fail or face a long postponement. Either outcome would have major negative implications for Canadian agriculture. Agriculture is a heavily protected and politically sensitive sector, but Canadian producers, processors and consumers stand to gain from agricultural trade reform. If the Doha Round does fail there are a number of policy options that Canada can follow, but none of them offers the advantages of a more open and less distorted multilateral trading system. "Canada's Arctic continental shelf extension: debunking myths" by Elizabeth Riddell-Dixon Contrary to commonly held myths that Canada is losing the race to stake claims to the Arctic continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles as other Arctic countries move more quickly and effectively to secure the resources for themselves, there is no “Wild West” scramble occurring, and relations among the participants are remarkably cooperative. There is an international legal regime in place, and its rules are being observed by the Arctic countries. Furthermore, these states already have sovereign rights over the continental shelf beyond 200 miles that do not depend on occupation or proclamation. "Process before product: a new federal-provincial logic for a new century" by Irvin Studin In this article, Irvin Studin of Osgoode Hall Law School, formerly of the Privy Council Office, notes the increasing rarity of formal Canadian First Ministers’ Meetings — despite the recent, unexpected agreement by Prime Minister Harper to hold one by year's end — and argues that the growing complexity of the Canadian federation requires a standing first ministers’ forum and a robust supporting intergovernmental bureaucratic infrastructure in order to drive meaningful, sustained advances in the multiple policy areas that transcend constitutional jurisdictions. "The working poor: Canada and the world" by Jody Heymann, Magda Barrera and Alison Earle Child poverty remains one of the most important long-term challenges facing policy-makers around the world. Canada is one of 188 countries that made a commitment to the Millennium Development Goals of eradicating extreme poverty. Thus far, progress has been uneven, with some regions already achieving the targets and others lagging far behind. Effectively tackling child poverty requires ensuring that parents can succeed at earning a living while caring for their children well. This article examines policies that can make a difference to the productive lives of families. It offers recommendations for how policy-makers can ensure that Canadians have access to the working conditions and social supports they need to exit poverty and improve Canada’s contribution to addressing global poverty. "Is welfare a dirty word? Canadian public opinion on social assistance policies" by Allison Harell, Stuart Soroka and Adam Mahon How do Canadians feel about social assistance policy? Drawing on data from the Canadian Opinion Research Archive, the authors explore the structure of public opinion on welfare and other social assistance programs over the past two decades. They suggest that differences in program support are linked to “issue framing” and the degree to which programs are based on cash transfers versus services. They also find there is a strong link between recent trends in public opinion and developments in Canadian social assistance policy. "Le Québec, à l'avant-garde de la lutte contre la pauvreté au Canada" by Marie-Renée Roy, Guy Fréchet and Frédéric Savard According to recent statistics, Québec families and individuals have the lowest low-income rates in all of Canada, based on the Market Basket Measure (MBM). How can this be explained? Marie-Renée Roy, Guy Fréchet and Frédéric Savard of the Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale du Québec examine the principal measures implemented by Québec in the last 10 years to fight poverty. "Canada's legacy of inaction on early childhood education and child care" by Martha Friendly Early childhood education and childcare (ECEC) is on a range of Canadian social policy agendas from anti-poverty to human rights. There is good agreement among these sectors about the desirability of blending care and early education; accessibility for all children; substantial public funding accompanied by clear public policy; complementary parental leave; and choices within a system for parents. While there is an international trend toward such systems, Canada has seen little substantive change to reflect contemporary evidence about effective ECEC practices. Canadian ECEC policy-making is not based on the best available knowledge, leaving an extensive gap between what we know and what we do. "Improving policies for the working poor: lessons from the UK experience" by Jane Waldfogel Nine years ago, Tony Blair (who was then British prime minister) and Gordon Brown (who was then chancellor of the exchequer) made an ambitious pledge — to reduce child poverty by half in 10 years and to end child poverty in 20 years. In this article, Jane Waldfogel reports on what the UK has done to reduce child poverty and support the working poor. "How (un)healthy are poor working-age Canadians?" by Myriam Fortin Is there a quantifiable difference between the health of the working poor and that of more affluent Canadians? Myriam Fortin, senior researcher with Human Resources and Social Development Canada, examines data and, as she writes, “compares major health outcomes and behaviours for working-poor and welfare-poor Canadians.” Not surprisingly, the prevalence of illness is higher among the poor than it is amoung nonpoor Canadians. "Soulager la pauvreté" by Alain Noël [summary not available] "Upward and outward: Canada's competitiveness imperative" by Thomas d'Aquino In an era of intensifying global competition and free investment flows, what must Canada do to build and retain large, internationally successful businesses? In its final report, the Competition Policy Review Panel concluded that the best defence against the so-called “hollowing out” of corporate Canada is a strong competitive offence. Thomas d’Aquino agrees, and adds that this strategy must focus on one central goal: encouraging more Canadians to unleash their creative potential at home and on the world stage. We must encourage large enterprises to continue expanding domestically and internationally — and we must encourage more of our dynamic smaller enterprises to grow into the next generation of global champions. Combining leading-edge entrepreneurial vision and sound public policies, Canada can fulfill the Canadian Council of Chief Executives’ vision of making our country “the best place in the world in which to live, to work, to invest, and to grow.” "'Compete to win'? A critique of the competition policy report" by Russ Kuykendall What is “core” when it comes to Canada’s trade, investment and productivity? Is it “competitiveness”? Or, is it Canada’s commercial culture that makes Canada competitive in international trade and as a destination for foreign investment? Russ Kuykendall offers a critical review of “Compete to Win,” the report of the Competition Policy Review Panel led by L. R. (“Red”) Wilson, which was submitted to the federal minister of industry, Jim Prentice, on June 26. Book Excerpt: Left and right in global politics by Alain Noël and Jean-Philippe Thérien In this excerpt from their book, Left and Right in Global Politics, political scientists Alain Noël and Jean-Philippe Thérien make the case that “global politics is first and foremost a debate between the left and the right,” not one that is static, but one that “changes through time and space.” Book Review: Gerard W. Boychuk reviews Left and right in global politics by Alain Noël and Jean-Philippe Thérien [summary not available] Book Review: Guy Lachapelle reviews À mes amis souverainistes by Alain Dubuc [summary not available] Book Review: Desmond Morton reviews Canada in NORAD, 1957-2007: A History by Joseph P. Jockel [summary not available] "Reforming equalization: a simple solution" by Todd Hirsch [summary not available] |
