Abstract
In an age of Trump, Brexit, and resurgent populism, it has become a commonplace that the liberal international order is beleaguered and arguably in crisis. In such a time, what of middle powers? What are the opportunities and constraints facing them now that the certitudes of the liberal order rest on increasingly shaky ground?
That is the focus of this special issue of International Journal, featuring a collection of articles curated by Rita Abrahamsen, Louise Riis Andersen, and Ole Sending. An introductory piece by Abrahamsen, Andersen, and Sending defines the problem and sets the stage for what follows, arguing that if liberal internationalism has a future it must be reworked to adapt to changed conditions. Then, Jean-Francois Drolet and Michael Williams explore the paleoconservative tradition and its influence on the Trump administration, with all that implies for the role of the United States as linchpin of the liberal international order. Alexandra Gheciu discusses NATO’s role and the construction of western security under the new and challenging circumstances we confront. Then, Louise Riis Andersen explores the prospects of the United Nations as an arena for middle-power liberal internationalism.
On a related theme, John Karlsrud offers a provocative assessment of UN peacekeeping, within the context of efforts to steer peacekeeping in the direction of counterterrorism. Nina Graeger raises the vexing question of how middle powers can now pursue security and status, contending that traditional approaches based on cooperation with great powers need to be rethought. David Petrasek turns to the matter of promoting human rights in an international order that seems less than hospitable to such concerns, while Peter Jones canvasses the opportunities now available to Canada, as a middle power with a vocation of trying to broker solutions to intractable conflicts.
In this issue’s Lessons of History piece, Greg Donaghy re-examines Pierre Trudeau’s engagement with Asia and the Pacific, compelling revision of the standard accounts of both Canada’s “Pacific Tilt” and the foreign policy of Trudeau père. This issue features two Policy Briefs, exploring contemporary international policy challenges for Canada. In the first, Roland Paris picks up on themes from the special issue, arguing that Canada’s position as a middle-power internationalist has been undermined by structural changes to the global order, and that this forces us to rethink our approach to illiberal states like China. In the second, Christian Leuprecht, Joel Sokolsky, and Jayson Derow consider Canada’s renewed commitment to NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence and the deterrence of Russian aggression against Latvia, in the context of concerns about the future of both the alliance and Canadian defence policy. And in our book review section, books editor Brendan Kelly again brings together a collection of reviews of timely works, with reviewers including established scholars such as Robert Bothwell and Doug Owram as well as newer voices such as those of Graeme Thompson and Leah Sarson.
One of the pleasures of editing International Journal comes with every March issue, when we look back at the previous year to award the three prizes we offer. For 2018, the C$1,000 SAGE Prize for International Scholarship, awarded annually for the best article on international affairs and funded by our publisher, SAGE, goes to John Ravenhill for “Entrepreneurial States: A Conceptual Overview” (vol. 73, no. 4). The C$1,000 Marvin Gelber Essay Prize, funded by the Canadian International Council (CIC) for the best article by a junior scholar, goes to Gaëlle Rivard-Piché for “Challenges and Prospects for Interoperability in UN Peace Operations: A Look at Haiti” (vol. 73, no. 2). The CIC also funds the C$1,000 Marcel Cadieux Distinguished Writing Award for the best article on Canadian foreign policy, which this year goes to Graeme Thompson for “Reframing Canada’s Great War: Liberalism, Sovereignty, and the British Empire, c. 1860s–1919” (vol. 73, no. 1). We are delighted to congratulate this year’s winners on their impressive contributions to the study of international relations.