The Determinants of Canadian Foreign Policy

An analysis of the factors that determine Canada’s approach to foreign relations

The Determinants of Canadian Foreign Policy

• Location, Location, Location

• Economic Structure• Alliances• Power

Location• Location is important because it

determines Canada’s:• Natural Resources. More to the

point, location determines what natural resources we need from the rest of the world, and what the world needs from us.

• Our security interests based on our proximity to other nations (friendly and/or not so friendly). A nation with few boarders will obviously have a different foreign policy than a nation that’s surrounded by many potential enemies.

Location• Location also refers to where a nation ranks

amongst other nations in the world.

• A nation like Canada ranks somewhere in the middle and therefore does not have the foreign policy burden of the United States or China.

• Location can also refer to a nation’s location vis-à-vis other world powers and its relationship with that power (e.g. Canada’s low defence spending affected by its proximity to the United States

Economic Structure• The structure of a nation’s economy (i.e.

if it is a diversified economy with primary, secondary and tertiary industries) will affect how it conducts its foreign policy.

• For instance, the foreign policy of Canada (which has a developed diversified economy) will have a much greater scope and depth than the foreign policy of a nation whose economy is under-developed and un-diversified (e.g. a nation that has a single crop economy). More to the point, a nation that is developed will be less dependent on its neighbours and thus will have more independence in the formulation of its foreign policy.

Alliances• If you have alliances than your

foreign policy will carry more weight in international affairs

(e.g. Canada’s membership in NATO, la Francophonie, The Commonwealth, etc.)

• You will have greater sense of security which could impact you communicate with other nations and how they communicate with you.

Alliances• However, alliances also bring with them

an obligation to be a “team player”. As a result, alliances can have both a positive and negative impact on a nation’s foreign policy

• (e.g. Canada’s NATO defence budget and obligations in Afghanistan).

• Alliances can restrict a nation’s freedom in the sense that they are hard to break (e.g. Canada leaving NATO, or the Commonwealth)

• Finally alliances determine a nation’s friends and enemies whether they consent or not. For instance, the enemy of the United States is Iran, so Iran by extension becomes Canada’s enemy and vice-versa. Alliances have a massive impact on Canada’s foreign Policy

Power• Power is the ability

of a person, group, or nation to get what it wants.

• In the case of governments, they can use soft power (e.g. persuasion), or hard power (e.g. military force)

Power

• Essentially, power is the ability of a state to do what it wants given the tools that it has at its disposal (e.g. economic, political, social, military, etc).

• When a nation such as Canada conducts its foreign policy it needs to decide how to “play its cards”; that is, when to play them and how. Should Canada impose sanctions on Korea for its nuclear weapons programme? Should Canada impose sanctions against Iran? Does Canada have the power to translate foreign policy into meaningful change around the world? When? Why? Examples

Questions

• Should Canada impose sanctions on Korea for its nuclear weapons programme?

• Should Canada impose sanctions against Iran?

• Does Canada have the power to translate foreign policy into meaningful change around the world? When? Why? Examples?

• What is Canada’s global reputation? Is our reputation threatened?

• What tools are at Canada’s disposal to further its interests around the world?

Works Consulted

Nossal, Kim Richard, The Politics of Canadian Foreign Policy. Scarborough, Prentice-Hall, 1989

(All images enclosed taken from Google images)