Opinions

Featured

Series

Poster.png

Situating Canada in a Changing World: Constructing a Modern and Prosperous Future

The late Canadian diplomat and commentator John Wendell Holmes believed that the best public policy emerged out of an appreciation of history and context. This essay series, sponsored by the Holmes Trust, reflects on six contemporary themes in Canadian foreign and security policy, with historians considering the background of each issue and practitioners responding with a view to the future. Together, the essays demonstrate the value of history to a decision maker’s analytical calculus and offer practical suggestions to inform Canada's response to the challenges ahead.

CONTRIBUTORS

PfPC_poster.png

Global Cooperation on Digital Governance and the Geoeconomics of New Technologies in a Multi-polar World

In November 2021, the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) joined King’s College London (KCL) to host a virtual conference as part of KCL’s Project for Peaceful Competition. It brought together an intellectually and geographically diverse group of experts to discuss the geoeconomics of new digital technologies and the prospects for governance of the technologies in a multi-polar world. The papers prepared for discussion at the conference are collected in this series. An introduction summarizes (in heavily abbreviated form) the principal analytical conclusions emerging from the conference, together with the main policy recommendations put forward by participants.

CONTRIBUTORS

modern conflict

Modern Conflict and Artificial Intelligence

Autonomous systems are revolutionizing our lives, but they present clear international security concerns. Despite the risks, emerging technologies are increasingly applied as tools for cybersecurity and, in some cases, cyberwarfare. In this series, experts explore digital threats to democracy and security, and the geopolitical tensions they create.

CONTRIBUTORS

nat-sec_poster.png

Security, Intelligence and the Global Health Crisis

The impact of COVID-19 both globally and in Canada has raised important questions about best practices with regard to global and domestic health surveillance, early warning and preparedness. Critical to an understanding of these issues is a clear-sighted appreciation of the interface between health security and national security. As the world embarks on an intense effort to explain the onset of the pandemic and to learn lessons from the global response, it will be vital to develop and sustain a public policy debate about the role of security and intelligence institutions in protecting societies against pandemic outbreaks. This essay series — designed to bridge academic and practitioner knowledge — aims to make a high-impact contribution to that debate.

CONTRIBUTORS

PostCOVID_poster.jpg

Global Cooperation after COVID-19

We are in the midst of fighting the first phase of the COVID-19 crisis, but it is already clear that the impacts will be manifold and enduring. It is not too early to reflect on the lasting impact that the outbreak is sure to have on global cooperation, globalization, faith in public action and in science, social cohesion, and the trade-off between civil liberties and personal privacy.

CONTRIBUTORS

WTO poster image

Modernizing the World Trade Organization

An essay series on the World Trade Organization's response to rapid economic, political, social, technological and environmental change.

CONTRIBUTORS

Platform-poster.jpg

Models for Platform Governance

Despite growing calls for global platform governance, no solution has been found. To begin to address this, CIGI has convened leading thinkers to explore new models for governing digital platforms. Given their unprecedented influence on democracy and the global economy alike, a cohesive framework for platform governance is crucial.

CONTRIBUTORS

MainstreamingGender_2.jpg

Mainstreaming Gender in Trade Agreements

The 2017 Buenos Aires Joint Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment emphasized the key relationship between trade policy and gender, and World Trade Organization members are beginning to take steps to improve transparency, share best practices, gather data and include gender considerations in trade negotiations. But there is much more to be done.

CONTRIBUTORS

cyber-poster_no-txt_0.jpg

Governing Cyberspace during a Crisis in Trust

On one hand, technology has led to convenience, efficiency and wealth creation. On the other hand, this great push to digitize society has meant building inherent vulnerability into the core of the economic model. This is all taking place atop a deeply fragmented and underdeveloped system of global rules.

CONTRIBUTORS

Indigenous-lands-poster.jpg

Environmental Challenges on Indigenous Lands

Indigenous lands are under ever-increasing pressure from governments and extractive sector corporations that are eager to encourage economic development and foreign investment.

CONTRIBUTORS