Society, Culture, and Security

Should Canada Enhance Its Defence Posture Amid the Russia-Ukraine War?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had expressed concern that the risk of direct involvement by NATO forces in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine threatened to escalate tensions and lead to a wider conflict with Russia. However, since then, he has committed Canada to bolstering Ukraine’s war effort. This raises the complex issue of whether Canada should increase defence spending Read More…

Expanding Community

The Role of the Transatlantic Bond and Democratic values as a Prerequisite for the Relevance of NATO: Ukraine and the Pandora Box Dilemma

There is an ongoing debate whether there is a linkage between the importance of transatlantic values and the level of effective commitment that might contribute to the enduring success of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In my strongest opinion, there is a precondition to how our alliance can achieve success in the future. And Read More…

Canadian Armed Forces Christopher Maternowski NATO and Canada NATO Operations

Language Lessons: Fate of Afghan Interpreters Exposes Gaps in Canadian Armed Forces Training and Recruitment

During operations in Afghanistan, mustering enough qualified linguists proved a constant challenge for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). These difficulties point to larger problems with how the CAF—and Canada—approach strategic languages.

Canada China Climate Change Defence Spending Defense Diplomatic Relations Eric Jackson Europe NATO and Canada NATO Operations The United States of America Western Europe

Prepping for 2030: The Young Leaders’ Perspective on NATO’s Future

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is set to outline the NATO 2030 initiative to the 30 NATO member countries next week. In prep, Eric Jackson highlights the NATO 2030 Young Leaders’ recommendations on how to strengthen the Alliance.

Eric Jackson NATO and Canada NATO Operations

Political Accounting: Rethinking NATO’s ‘2 percent’ Rule

Is the ‘2 percent’ rule an effective way to measure a member State’s commitment to NATO? Eric Jackson explores how political manipulation in current defence spending misrepresents a nation’s military readiness and suggests a broader definition for security expenditures.

NATO and Canada NATO Operations

Missing The Forests For Their Trees: Defence Spending In The NATO Alliance

Mainstream media fixates on the 2% of GDP benchmark for defence spending among NATO allies when it comes to determining their commitment and contribution to the alliance as a whole. Willow Hillman discussed why focusing on this specific measure distracts allies from pursuing capability-based measures of alliance contributions.