January 2005 brought the release of a major study of politicians,
diplomats and thinkers from Europe, Asia, Africa, the US
and Latin America - all sharing their views on Canada's importance
in international affairs. It is a subject that most Canadians
are by now quite familiarly obsessed by (or perhaps just
Canadian media), second perhaps to the highly marketable
question: What does being a Canadian mean?
External Voices, as the survey is called, assesses the areas
where Canada has made a significant difference in world politics
since 1989 and identifies how it can make a difference in
the future. Apparently, our actions in the future - what
we are capable of doing - appear to be more favourable than
the immediate present and the past 15 years. According to
the survey's conclusion, Canada has become an irrelevant
force on the international stage and the world needs more
from it. It needs more commitment, it needs more focus and
it needs more impact.
Yet the survey, like any good character-building assessment,
leans on the optimistic side. The findings of the report
are both "sobering and exciting," states Robert
Greenhill, author of the study and former president of Montreal's
Bombardier Inc. "The situation is one of significant
decline in the recent past, but also of real opportunity
in the future."
The sobering aspect reveals a Canada whose international
performance and reputation has fallen over the last 15
years. China, Brazil, India and Mexico are taking on roles
traditionally filled by Canada, and Institutions which
Canada plays an important role, such as the G8 and NATO
(seen as a "second-rate" institution), are seen
to be losing influence.
As one European puts it, "The current trends are against
Canada's influence."
According to the report, interviewees identified three elements
considered missing in Canada’s approach today:
1) A willingness to make clear choices
2) A consistency in choices and in relationships (especially
with the US and the United Nations)
3) And a determination to build world-class assets in the
niche areas where Canada has chosen to lead: peacekeeping,
education and international development.
Specifically, the report calls for the creation of a "mobile
brigade" of peacekeepers and "post-conflict reconstruction" as
a solution to Canada's waning international presence. "Everybody
from the Africans to the Americans to the Europeans say that
if Canada could have an autonomous mobile brigade that could
get into tough regions quickly and be there for a couple
of months at a time, it would make a huge difference," Greenhill
writes.
Those who can do this already, like the Americans and British,
are considered to have specific political agendas while Canada
- for the most part – is viewed sincerely as a peacekeeping
country.
This plays into the conventional wisdom (true or not) on
Canadian peacekeeping and about perceptions of Canada's role
in the world: that Canada is a peacekeeping nation; that
peacekeeping is an effective solution to world conflict;
and, most importantly, that it is important Canada be seen
as a major player on the world stage.
Yet the reality is that even Canada is not making much of
a difference in the areas it regards itself as being an expert
in. The country's latest ranking in the UN's country peacekeeping
profile - 34 - sums this reality up rather succinctly. Perhaps
more to the point, as one UN peacekeeping expert says: "Since
Somalia you have disappeared."
How did Canada's importance decline so suddenly? The survey
states a funding crisis and an absence of sustained political
leadership as the two key reasons.
The world's opinion
Canada is seen as one of the most internationally connected
countries in the world because of demographic links and the
set of international relationships (G8, Commonwealth, Francophonie,
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, Organization of American
States, and others). It is positioned to become on the global
centres for international education (along with the US, the
UK and Australia) through partnerships abroad and training
initiatives in the developing world. At the same time, Canada
is perceived as trying to be "everything to everybody."
The report suggests that the answer to this problem lies
in the focus. For Canada to make a difference, it will have
to “decide on a few areas, invest deeply and become
indispensable.”
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