After a disastrous 2009 currency reform program, North Korean black market traders started storing their wealth in US dollars before shifting towards the Chinese yuan. What does this mean for North Korea and for the world more generally?
Cyber Security and Emerging Threats
The NAOC’s Cyber Security and Emerging Threats Program features an in-depth analysis of latest trends, developments, and threats in international security. New security concerns are always on the horizon and our program seeks to examine these domains including global warming, natural resources, drones, urban conflicts, and cyberspace.
The program’s mandate is to keep Canadians informed on these rapidly developing and increasingly pivotal realms that are integral to all aspects of security.
A Review of Dr. Stanley Sloan’s, “Defense of the West”
“Justin Dell takes an in-depth look at this indispensable companion for the student of transatlantic security.”
North Korea Leading the Rise of Cyberheists
“The digitization of banking has radically transformed what it means to rob a financial institution. North Korea, a country strapped for cash and with little to lose, is leading the world when it comes to the emerging art of cyberheists.”
Reviewing Russian-Canadian Bilateral Relations
Demyan Plakhov analyzes the current bilateral relationship between Canada and Russia. He outlines areas of discontent that have increased tensions between the two countries, but also indicates certain areas of cooperation where Canada and Russia could find potential diplomatic footing. Demyan’s recommendations provide Canada with potential solutions in reducing bilateral tensions and create a foundation for a diplomatic future.”
Russia’s Strategic Homophobia Gets Exported to Kyrgyzstan
Russia needs a distinct worldview that it can use to rationalize alliances both near and far. With the rise of geopolitical homophobia, LGBT people are becoming the tools and victims of Russia’s new “traditional values” system.
Why Taiwan’s Same Sex Marriage Debate Matters
In response to a constitutional court decision that mandated marriage equality, Taiwan held a referendum which showed popular opposition to adjusting current marriage laws. Adam Zivo explains how this debate evolves might have some surprising implications on East Asian geopolitics.
Spying for Gadhafi: The Foreign Export of Surveillance Capabilities to Libya
In this article, Analyst and Editor Ryan Atkinson outlines the pervasive surveillance technologies used by the Gadhafi regime to spy on Libya’s population. Previously secret archives discovered after the fall of Tripoli in 2011 reveal the extent of the export of such technologies to the regime by foreign corporations.
Can A Multilateral Security Organization, Modeled on NATO, Be Established in Northeast Asia?
NATO has always been a collective defence organization, aimed at repelling an external threat to Alliance members. However, ever since the Harmel Report of 1967, and certainly since the end of the Cold War, NATO’s purview has widened to include a much more prominent diplomatic role, related to a much broader understanding of what constitutes a security concern, without compromising its original mission. Changsung Lee considers whether this latter-day understanding of NATO’s purpose might serve as a template for a future multilateral security structure in Northeast Asia that could facilitate a rules-based order in that region, and perhaps help catalyze the reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
Water (in)Security in Canada
In this article, Sivan Ghasem examines the growing importance and relevance of water (in)security in Canada and the world.
Truth Makes You Free: A Special Report on Countering the Threat of Disinformation
In this special report, Ryan Atkinson outlines the problem disinformation poses to NATO, including an overview of the major steps member states are taking to counter the evolving threat.