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"From the editor's desktop" by William Watson Sorry, the summary of this article is not available. "The Lessons of Kosovo," interview with Michael Bliss and Janice Gross Stein What has been learned from NATO's intervention in Kosovo? The Serb military and para-military are gone, but so are most Serbian residents of Kosovo. The air strategy did bring an agreement to end the war, but the cost in terms of destroyed Yugoslavian infrastructure, not to mention dead and wounded civilians was high. Will there be another Kosovo? How has NATO emerged from the experience? And what should Canadians think of the role their government played. At the end of August, Policy Options editor William Watson talked by phone with Michael Bliss, Professor of History at the University of Toronto, and Janice Gross Stein, Professor of Political Science, also at the University of Toronto. "War in the Balkans: Canadian-style" by Douglas Bland Canadians' image of themselves is that our frequent participation in United Nations peacekeeping reflects our role in international affairs: non-aggressive, helpful and influential. In fact, what carries weight in multilateral strategic considerations is the ability to deploy effective military force. Early in the Cold War, the credibility of our armed forces is what first got us into peacekeeping. The serious decline in our preparedness, displayed most recently in the war in Kosovo, increasingly calls into ques-tion our ability to be, as we would wish, strategic leaders. "How to leave our mark on the Security Council" by Clyde Sanger A third of the way through our two-year term on the UN Security Council Canada hasn't achieved much. Is there a plan for the time left to us? One way of making a truly lasting mark would be to help engineer an enlargement of the Council, including the addition of new permanent members. "Revitalizing our defence and security capacity" by Alexander Moens Most people thought the end of the Cold War would bring a fiscal dividend. For some countries, maybe, but Canada finds itself part of an international alliance that has taken a more activist view of peace-making, a costlier proposition than the peace-keeping we used to specialize in. If we are to have the influence we seem to want, we will have to restore our military's capacity to fight. Paradoxically - in view of the Cold War's end - one per cent of GDP won't do any longer. We need to think about raising our military spending to two per cent or more. "A free-marketeer looks at foreign policy" by John Robson Economists are often criticized for assuming that people come into the world in possession of a full-blown "schedule of preferences." But, while admittedly fanciful, it's an assumption that works. Foreign policy specialists would do well - as Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger and Theodore Roosevelt did - to adopt the same assumption about nations. We really can't change other countries' preferences and attitudes, and even if we could, it's not clear we should. But that doesn't mean we can't, by showing them either sticks or carrots, change their behaviour toward us. "French is on the ropes. Why won't Ottawa admit it?" by Charles Castonguay Official commentators in Ottawa consistently imply that francophone concerns for linguistic survival are misplaced and that Canadian language policy is successful. In fact, census data from 1961 through 1996 suggest that the prospects for French are "disquieting in Quebec and New Brunswick, and disastrous in the remaining provinces." Quebec's language laws have had some success in increasing assimilation to French among allophone immigrants, though not enough to forestall a coming decline in francophone numbers within Quebec itself. Ottawa must readjust its policy along territorial lines to further enhance the assimilating power of French in Quebec. "We need a post-deficit, medium-term fiscal anchor" by John McCallum Until 1998, federal fiscal policy had a very clear medium-term anchor: reduce the deficit to zero. That goal having been achieved, we need a new goal. Whether the focus should be tax cuts, debt reduction or improved social programmes can and should be debated. The author's belief is that in view of Canadians' declining take-home pay in the 1990s, the increasing openness of the Canada-US border and the likelihood of tax cuts in the US, the emphasis should be on tax reduction. But whatever the utlimate choice, there should be a target. "The future of United States policy toward Cuba" by Susan Kaufman Purcell Fidel Castro's recent characterization of Canada as an "enemy" has led to a reconsideration of Canada's policy of constructive engagement with Cuba. For the moment, US policy is holding to a middle course of constructive engagement with the people of Cuba but continuing isolation of its government. That may change following the 2000 presidential campaign, however. Whether and how it does or not depends crucially on how things evolve in Cuba - but also in Florida and New Jersey, where the Cuban-American community is politically powerful. "Comment: The Tobin tax: A good idea whose time has not passed" by Alex C. Michalos Sorry, the summary of this article is not available. "Reply: Angels in the shape of men?" by Tom Velk and A.R. Riggs Sorry, the summary of this article is not available. "Making Parliament national: A Burkean reverie" by John Edward Hare Can the curse of mobilized interest be removed from our political system? Could parliament be a truly national body, immune to the wishes of particular groups, deciding policy only with the national interest in mind? Current proposals to make MPs more independent of their parties would make of parliament a congress of special interests. We need the discipline parties provide, without the divisions they seem to require. How do we achieve this? By going beyond "inside-the-box" thinking. "Tough questions avoided: The Broadbent report on the voluntary sector" by Christopher Miller Sorry, the summary of this article is not available. |
