Key Terms

• Isolationism: a country isolates itself from international, social, economic, political and military affairs.

  • e.g. North Korea and pre-1854 Japan

• Unilaterialism: responding to events independently, without agreement or support from other countries.

  • e.g. the Iraq War

• Bilaterialism: resolving issues between 2 countries with mutual cooperation.

  • e.g. US/Canada Trade; acid rain treaty.

• Multilateralism: cooperation between multiple countries to resolve issues that concern all involved countries.

  • e.g. the United Nations

• Supranationalism: countries agree with or comply with decisions of an international, independent organization.

  • e.g. the European Union

• Internationalism: all countries accept collective responsibility for the challenges that face the world; motives of nation states and sovereignty must be respected as solutions are found.

  • e.g. the Paris Climate Accord.

Internationalism

Motivations for Internationalism

• needs: things people need to have to survive.

• wants: things that people desires.

• They are powerful motivators that encourage people to get a job or go to school.

• All members of the international community have collective responsibility for global issues; however the motives of nation states must be respected.

Democratic governments prioritize:

• economic stability

  • jobs → low unemployment

  • trade that supports exports

  • skilled trade apprenticeships

  • more jobs → more demand → more purchases → people with more money to spend → more jobs

• security

  • protection of citizens

  • safe workplaces

  • police forces → laws → military

  • peaceful relations international

  • alliances: NATO and NORAD

  • Charter of Rights and Freedoms: the Supreme Court upholding Canadian rights.

  • international organizations

• self-determination

  1. Canadian independence from Britain

  2. Inuit as a nation-state, as Nunavut.

International Organizations/Non-Governmental Organizations

• World Health Organization: a global health organization that manages the response to global health challenges and is a clearing house for health information.

• Right To Play: sport to develop impoverished countries; e.g. values education, nutrition/health education

• Arctic Council: Indigenous arctic collaboration designed to allow the Arctic Indigenous groups self-determination.

• Amnesty International: advocates for the upholding of human rights

• United Nations: provides security and peace; a forum for disputes and their resolution.

  • prevents ultranationalism from being created out of economic instability.

    • World Bank & IMF: financial aid

    • WTO: promotion of free trade

  • Provides international security and stability: landmine ban

    • Landmine ban was ineffective because it lacked international support.

  • International Law of the Sea: defines international sea boundaries.

Self-Determination

• Decolonization resulted in civil war and the plight of Indigenous groups.

• International Group of Indigenous Affairs created.

• Declaration of the rights of Indigenous Peoples passed by the UN.

Humanitarianism

• relieving suffering and supporting dignity

• helping our own people and people internationally.

  • e.g. Red Cross

  • e.g. Doctors Without Borders

Foreign Policy

• Decisions about our interactions with other countries.

  • Political, diplomatic, foreign experts involved.

• Countries with dictatorships set foreign policy easier, no time consulting people.

  • Democracy results in bureaucracy and slowness, but people are represented.

Goals of Foreign Policy

• guide actions, represent Canadian values: Global Affairs Canada

  • democracy and human rights

  • advocate for Canadian interests and export

  • trade

  • poverty

• develop and enact a plan.

  • The role of nation-states has been reduced: multinationalism plays a large role in this.

• Promotion of peace through:

  • economic sanctions → cutting trade

  • peacekeeping

    • e.g. 1990: Iraq

      • Saddam Hussein cooperation with the UN needed.

      • Allies helped the UN in placing sanctions.

    • e.g. 1956: first peacekeeping mission in Suez Canal, idea of Lester Pearson.

0.7% Aid

• Pearson proposed that 0.7% of Gross National Income is spent on foreign aid.

  • GNI: values of the goods and services produced by a country.

• Some propose that countries do not need more money, but more effective delivery.

  • International support and efforts needed, e.g. the Red Cross.

  • Aid is best spent when working with affected communities.

• Only Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Germany meet the 0.7% target.

Criticisms of Aid

• Competing motives:

  • propping up a weak country

  • those suffering are left behind

  • wanting allies

• Tied aid:

  • expecting something in return, e.g. 90% of purchased food must be from Canada.

• Lack of consultation

  • aid appropriate for culture and avoiding imposition of ideology

• Complex delivery

  • delivery and organization too complicated

• Bureaucracy

  • layers of government

• Corruption

  • seizing aid instead of distributing

• Brain drain

  • talent becomes dedicated to aid agencies.

• Odious debt: debt which despotic regimes take on, which people believe should not be paid back as it was illegitimate.

Globalization & Internationalism

• Individuals cannot live in a vacuum — they must work together to solve issues.

Global communication

• People have greater abilities to communicate.

• They can form groups, independent and parallel to their state.

• Isolation ended psychologically, socially and economically.

  • however the inverse is true.

Global Village: Marshall McLuhan

• common interests binded together; often refuted.

• people relate on global scale in communities.

• popular culture has become homogenized.

  • e.g. events of the Olympics and the World Cup

Voluntary Balkanization

• like minded groups can become isolated; hostile to outsiders.

Peacemaking Missions

• 2004 report: the UN should intervene in internal conflicts and protect peoples when countries cannot.

Iran

• Iran was suspected of 90% enriching Uranium, possibly to build nuclear bombs.

• Iran was asked to stop; argued that nuclear power was in its national interests and argued that they had sovereignty.

• Many believe that weapons development against Israel is ongoing as a deterrent.

• The UNSC demanded the end to Iran’s nuclear program, an interpreted threat to global peace.

World Trade Organization

• 1995: WTO came from the Global Agreement on Trade and Tariffs

  • 150 countries designed to reduce trade barriers, e.g. Mercantilism.

  • NAFTA: free trade agreement that became the USMCA; comparative advantage.

• Reduces tariffs, provides framework to resolve disputes, trade without discrimination, not completely free trade, e.g. dumping, competition and economic development.

• Lower prices, competition, comparative advantage, economies of scale.

• Criticisms: bias against developing countries, developing infant industries, difficult progress, protectionism, trade relations and intellectual property: increasing cost of drugs; multinational corporations.

• Common dispute: shrimp important ban based on nets.

NATO

• Article 5: collective security; a deterrent

• meet or exceed 2% of GDP on defense spending

• accession to NATO

European Union

• EU: supernationalist organization

• 27 countries, 373 million eligible voters.

• 5 year terms in EU Parliament

  • Every country has reps in the EU parliament.

  • All countries abide by EU decisions.

• Representative EU body → European Parliament → directly elected

Brexit

• Brexit: a vote to leave the EU

  • regret and remorse following the vote, should’ve stayed in the EU

• Challenges:

  • no economic gains → small business hurting

  • red tape/bureaucracy

  • import difficulties and cost

  • increased cost barrier to markets

  • labour shortages → 4% sink

  • cross-border transactions

UNESCO

• promotes peace and security through education, science and culture.

  • promotes rule of law and freedoms.

  • oversees world heritage sites

• provides assistance to natural disasters: sustainability

• transnational cooperation to preserve.

Global Issues

Spread of Disease

• globalization and interconnectedness speeds up the spread of disease.

• The WHO monitors and identifies diseases.

Water

• Fresh water is rare → 1.1 billion people lack access to water, 2.7 billion experience water scarcity.

  • disease transmission via water → children affected from poor sanitation.

• Water systems become stressed from pollution.

  • affects wetlands; agricultural inefficiencies waste water.

• Climate change affects weather patterns, causing flood and drought.

  • current consumption of water makes the situation worse.

• Pesticides and agricultural chemicals, lack of sanitation and industrial waste make water more scarse.

  • Underground water is inherently unsafe as a result.

• Agriculture: 70% of fresh water used; 30% is wasted.

  • causes droughts.

• Increased population results in tons of biodiversity and more pressure on waterways.

• ongoing climate change results in increased changes to water and weather.

Climate Change

• increasing sea levels and warmer oceans endangers ecosystems

  • threatens livelihoods

• World Wildlife Foundation: reduces greenhouse gases, enacts means to reduce emissions.

  • aids in adaptations to climate.

• Greenhouse gases: warms planet and creates heatwaves.

• Humans agree, they cause climate change.

• Fossil fuels: pollutants, coal the most polluting of them all.

• Deforestation: causes climate change because it releases CO2 to the atmosphere.