In 2024, several major developments unfolded in the Russian war on Ukraine, including Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, which began in August. The Ukrainian Armed Forces intensified drone attacks on Russia’s military and energy infrastructure, targeting more than 30 oil refineries. Additionally, Ukraine has rapidly transformed from receiving military aid to becoming a successful Read More…
This past spring, encampments began mushrooming on North American university campuses as part of a demand that the universities divest from all association with Israel. Most participants subscribed to some form of the ideology that both pushes the inaccurate notion that Israel is committing “genocide” against Palestinians and opposes Israel’s very existence. These are core Read More…
Background Recently, a series of letters to the editor published in the Toronto Star scolded the Canadian government for allegedly siphoning billions of dollars away from climate change mitigation initiatives in order to fund dubious military investments. These letters argue that the government should prioritize environmental investments over military spending, suggesting that climate change poses Read More…
The main purpose of scrutinizing youth attitudes to international security is understanding the influence young people can have on security policy. It can be difficult to determine how salient foreign or military policy is for Millennial and Generation Z voters in determining their voting patterns. However, the high-profile youth opposition to ongoing American support for Read More…
In many NATO member states, the United States’ impending presidential election is a major source of uncertainty and anxiety. Donald Trump’s recent comments at a campaign rally in South Carolina, suggesting that he would encourage the Russians to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that did not meet the alliance’s 2% of Read More…
“In this episode of the NAOC podcast, Erik interviews David Oliver, a GeoPolitical Strategy Expert, on current events amongst NATO nations and the latest geopolitics involving Russia, China, and beyond. David has over 25 years of advising across sectors as diverse as finance, energy, mining, pharmaceuticals. He started his career in British Politics before moving Read More…
On April 8th, 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new federal investment plan in defence spending for the 2024 federal budget. The “Our North: Strong and Free” defence policy update proposed to raise Canada’s defence spending-to-GDP ratio to 1.76% by 2029-30, amounting to $8.1 billion over five years, and $73 billion over 20 years, in new Read More…
The question of whether Canada needs a foreign intelligence service is not a new one. It’s been bandied about almost as long as Canada has had a domestic intelligence service. Created by an Act of Parliament in 1984, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was mandated only to include the collection of data and information Read More…
Despite the world being interconnected in a way it has never been, civilization finds itself torn apart by civil strife and disagreement. “Polarization” is the word of the day, and it has hit Canada hard. Recent years have seen the issue reflected in the rise of hate crimes, distrust of the government, and general violence. Read More…
On August 26, 2022, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about Russia and China’s investments and intentions to build military, commercial, and industrial capacities in the Arctic. This is not new information. Russia and China made their Arctic strategies publicly available in 2009 and 2018, respectively. News articles frequently detail their interests and successes in the region. Despite this, Canada has Read More…