The NATO Association of Canada’s Society, Culture, and Security program takes a look at the issues that impact Canadians’ every day lives while connecting them to international relations. The program covers a wide range of topics, which include: pop culture, art, film, global events, and socio-political relations. In addition, Society, Culture, and IR aims to examine and provide in-depth analyses that relate international affairs to the interests of Canadian society.
Over the past year, the heightened tensions between China and Taiwan have led many to expect an imminent military invasion. But the dispute has grown increasingly sociopolitical in nature. In this article, Arash Toupchinejad explores the cultural undertones of the public perceptions towards cross-strait tensions and how China relies on a hybrid war strategy to suppress Taiwan’s desire for sovereignty.
In celebration and remembrance of this past pride month, this infographic timelines key historical events in, and rights gained by, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Two-Spirit (LGBTQI2S+) community in Canada and its implications for NATO. In recent decades, significant progress has been made to ensure that the LGBTQI2S+ community has the same democratic rights to equal opportunity, such as the right to serve in the military and the legalization of gay marriage. While tremendous strides have been made, there is more work to be done to eliminate injustices and discrimination towards LGBTQI2S+ community in Canada and around the world.
In this special report, NAOC Senior Editor Justin Dell argues that the Allied withdrawal from Afghanistan does not just constitute another military defeat for the West, but portends an existential crisis for Western civilization. If the leaders of the states that comprise NATO want to preserve the global order they inherited after 1945, and again after 1991, they need to get serious about their self-narrative in the 21st century.
The final departure of American troops from Afghanistan is set for September. This plan of withdrawal dates from the Trump Administration, which signed the bilateral Doha Agreement with the Taliban. It authorized the withdrawal of US and NATO forces if the Taliban agreed to prevent other terrorist groups from using Afghan soil. Although the Taliban has Read More…
Photo: A Canadian soldier and an Afghan interpreter converse with an Afghan woman in Kandahar as part of Allied reconstruction efforts in that district. 08/26/2007. Picture by Cpl Simon Duschesne, via flickr. Licensed under CC BY 2.0. On September 27th, 2015, Mohammad Omar Abdullah fled his home in Kabul, leaving behind his wife and daughters. Read More…
In this article, Hailey Clarke analyzes the results of the Pew Research Centre’s study on ‘cancel culture’ and argues that ‘cancel culture,’ at large, reflects individuals’ reactions to the rapidly changing social norms within the U.S. and Canada.
In this article, Hailey Clarke reviews The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac (2020), the key architects of the UN-sponsored Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.
Music embodies the best of cultures around the world. Like many aspects of human life, music has been closely linked to the culture of military. From martial music to anti-war protest songs, music has long impacted public perceptions of war. But it also has a deeper connection to this area: its role as a weapon. In this article, Arash Toupchinejad explores the bizarre history of the weaponization of music in a military capacity.
Despite Turkey’s fractured ties to NATO, which has increasingly alienated its people from the alliance over the past year, there seems to be a paradigm shift in Ankara’s foreign policy towards its allies. Arash Toupchinejad analyzes how NATO can capitalize on this shift in attitude to motivate Turkey’s rapprochement with the West under the auspices of the Framework Nations Concept.
As NATO finds itself at the center of the growing conflict over Ukraine’s potential accession to the alliance, Arash Toupchinejad examines the different state-led sociopolitical narratives concerning NATO and the implications for member state citizens as it navigates its emerging role in the conflict.