Is Canada Still a Good International Citizen?
The Economist recently called Canada ‘A nice country in a nasty world’. Canadians frequently see themselves and their country as ‘good international citizens’, as evidenced in consistent public support for the UN, human rights, democracy and foreign aid. Leadership in peacekeeping has been a source of national pride for decades, as has Canada’s traditionally openness to immigration and diversity. What is Canada’s current record as a good international citizen? In the new geopolitical context, what should – and can – be done to strengthen democracy and promote peace and prosperity abroad? These are some of the questions our panel of experts will consider this evening.
Panel moderated by Rita Abrahamsen, CIPS Director, University of Ottawa.
Panelists:
Gabrielle Bardall, CIPS Research Fellow & Advisor, International Foundation for Electoral Systems
Gabrielle Bardall holds a Ph.D. in comparative democratization from the University of Montreal, and degrees from McGill University and the Paris Institute of Political Studies. As an electoral assistance specialist, she has worked in more than 40 countries with international organizations including the UN Development Programme, UN Women, the UN Department of Peacekeeping Affairs, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Democracy Reporting International, the Carter Center and others on elections, democracy and women’s political empowerment. She was awarded a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation scholarship for her doctoral work and convened the workshop “Canada’s Role in International Democracy Promotion” in 2016. She is an alumna of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University and the American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship program. Her writing appears in various Canadian, U.S. and international newspapers, policy sites and academic journals. Bardall is currently IFES’ gender advisor and a research fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Centre for International Policy Studies.
Stephen Brown, School of Political Studies
Stephen Brown is Professor of political science at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses mainly on the intersection of the policies and practices of Northern countries and other international actors with politics in Southern countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. He has published on democratization, political violence, peacebuilding and transitional justice/rule of law in Angola, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Rwanda. His recent work is mainly on foreign aid, especially Canadian aid policy, for which he has conducted fieldwork in Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mongolia and Peru. He currently holds SSHRC grants for his research projects on: 1) foreign aid and policy coherence for development, and 2) international efforts to defend LGBTI rights in the Global South. More information is available at www.stephenbrown.xyz.
Aniket Bushan, Canadian International Development Platform
Aniket leads the Canadian International Development Platform, a data analytics and policy research initiative on Canada’s engagement with the developing world. His work sits at the intersection of data, technology and international development. He is also Adj Research Professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (Carleton University, Ottawa).
This panel is the fourth in the series “Voting for a Better World? Foreign Policy in the 2019 Election,” hosted by CIPS and funded by an SSHRC Exchange Grant.