Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, April 16, 2012

The Harper Doctrine

Stephen Harper became Prime Minister six years ago with little interest in, or experience of, international affairs. He was a domestic policy wonk - particularly interested in economic and fiscal affairs. Yet, in about half a decade, he has fashioned the clearest Canadian foreign policy posture in at least a generation, whether you like that posture or not. We can now speak of a Harper Doctrine which forms the cornerstone of our foreign relations.

In a largely ignored interview with Maclean's magazine last summer, the Prime Minster stated: "We also know, though, the world is becoming more complex, and the ability of our most important allies, and most importantly the United States, to single-handedly shape outcomes and protect our interests, has been diminishing, and so I'm saying we have to be prepared to contribute more, and that is what this government's been doing."

These remarks are an important insight into the Prime Minister's perception of the changes in America's geopolitical position, and how Canada should respond. They suggest his world view is based on the premise that the United States is in relative decline as a superpower, and that Canada must step up to the plate to help our distressed ally police the world. It is a striking acknowledgement. And it was not just words.

Over the past year, the Prime Minister has enthusiastically put Canada in a leadership role in the air campaign to topple Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan regime, while the United States "led from behind." More recently, Mr. Harper has directed what are, by Canadian standards, bellicose statements toward Iran, implying that Canada could be part of a military intervention to destroy that country's emerging nuclear capability.

The Prime Minister is putting Canada on the front lines of global hot spots in a way none of his predecessors have, ostensibly because the United States can't "shape outcomes and protect our interests" the way it used to. This is one half of the Harper Doctrine.

The other half is a new international economic posture for Canada, which is also rooted in an analysis of the U.S. decline.

During his first half-decade in office Stephen Harper was putting most of Canada's economic eggs in the American basket, as had his predecessors - from Brian Mulroney to Jean Chrétien to Paul Martin. The Prime Minister was in fact accused of willfully ignoring unprecedented economic opportunities in China.

But that is a thing of the past. Over the last year, the Harper government has embarked on the most ambitious trade and economic diversification agenda in memory. Ottawa is now pursuing free trade agreements with India and the European Union simultaneously. The government has done a 180 on Chinese trade and investment, actively and aggressively pursing both. Canada is trying hard to become a member of the Trans Pacific Partnership, a multi-lateral free trade agreement centred in Asia. And now Canada has begun free trade negotiations with Japan, the world's third largest economy. Little of this was on Ottawa's radar screen 18 months ago.

Why did the Harper government's international economic stance turn on a dime?

Since the global financial crisis, the evidence has mounted that the United States is in relative economic decline. Its system of government seems congenitally incapable of coming to grips with America's fiscal crisis. For the first time in living memory, the U.S. recovery from recession has been weaker than Canada's. The United States continues to have a higher unemployment rate than Canada, virtually unheard of historically. The American economy is amazingly resilient and might yet come back strong, but right now the evidence suggests a long period of relative economic stagnation south of the border. This is the most important structural change affecting Canada since Stephen Harper became Prime Minister.

America's faltering economic prospects appear to have caused a fundamental shift in the international economic orientation of the Harper government. And it is reasonable to conclude that a country in relative economic decline cannot maintain its position as the undisputed global military superpower and the world's policeman that can "shape outcomes and protect our interests."

This is the Harper Doctrine. It represents a brave new world for Canada, one in which we gradually unwind our economic dependence on the United States and fully embrace economic globalization, while helping our troubled ally put out fires around the world in a way we never have before.

Eugene Lang, a former chief of staff to two Liberal ministers of National Defence and co-author (with Janice Stein) of the award winning book The Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar, is cofounder, Canada 2020: Canada's Progressive Centre.

Original Article
Source: national post
Author: Eugene Lang

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