Canada’s Foreign Policy In Light Of Its Colonial Roots: A Case Study Of Canada-Afghanistan Relationship

Studies of Canadian foreign policy often begin from the assumption that Canada is a well-intentioned participant in international affairs, developing its policies by balancing its own needs with a reasonable consideration of the needs of others. From this standpoint, Canada might succeed or fail at effectively balancing those interests, but Canada’s fundamentally good intentions are never questioned.

But what if this assumption is flawed? What if the goals of the Canadian state are not so benevolent but, rather, are rooted in the imperatives of the Canadian capitalist project, which began in the French and British colonial occupation of this land? This would require a very different kind of examination of Canadian foreign policy, which would measure not just the outcomes of Canadian policy but also its motivations. This assignment will ask you to conduct just such a study.

You will choose one country* and examine Canada’s relationship with that country in light of Canada’s colonial roots. While the paper should be focused on the relationship between Canada and that country, the explicit purpose of the paper is to connect the logic of Canada’s policy in your country to the logic of the original colonial project, to see to what extent they are similar.

Your grade will be primarily (but not entirely) based on:

1) the coherence of your argument;

2) your demonstration of complex critical thinking;

3) the clarity of your writing;

4) your effective use of course materials and outside sources (at least 2 additional academic/scholarly sources).  

It will not be sufficient to repeat back to me what we discussed in class for your paper. The assignment is specifically about connecting the example of the country you’ve chosen to Canada’s colonial roots, so although there will be some overlap with what we talk about in class, this is a different analytical exercise.  

You may choose any country that you think will be a good fit for the assignment. I recommend choosing one of Afghanistan, Haiti, or Honduras, which we will have looked at in class. You may also find one of the following cases interesting: Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, Iraq, Libya, Israel/Palestine, Serbia, Kosovo, Russia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Mali, Sudan, South Africa, Congo, Ghana, Niger. When you have decided which country you plan to study, you must confirm with me that the case you have selected will fit the assignment.

Canada’s Colonial Roots and Foreign Policy Framework

The country of Canada is often perceived to be a land of peace. It is believed that the nation of Canada features as one of the rare countries who has a positive foreign relation policy with nearly all the nations of the world. Canada does not have any conflict of interest with any other nations’ national interest and often works as a facilitator for the other countries to achieve their aims and objectives (Holsti, 2015). The main aim of the paper is to examine the Foreign Policy of Canada in light of Canada’s colonial roots. It will further discuss Canada’s foreign policy with respect to that of Afghanistan. Afghanistan has been a land of conflict for many decades now and this paper will analyze the role of the Canadian Government in trying to solve the conflict ridden issues affecting Canada. The paper concludes with the nature of Canada’s foreign policy framework in the contemporary times and how it affects both the nation itself and the world, at large.

Canada has its colonial roots based in the European imperialistic endeavor. The aboriginals of North America initially occupied the land of Canada (Paris, 2014). When Christopher Columbus discovered America in the fifteenth century, the European imperialist powers invaded the land of Canada and America (Holsti, 2015). They established their base there by torturing and killing the native people of the land and setting up their power houses. The country of Canada as we know it today, gradually expanded and was finally consolidated in the year 1949 (Fayerweather, 2017).  

The Government of Canada formulated a foreign policy of its own which was, in essence, aligned to the common interest of the countries of the Western Hemisphere of the world. The newly formed State of Canada was not able to detach itself from its colonial legacy and followed the footsteps of the imperialist powers. As a consequence, Canada participated in the First World War and the Second World War on the side of the Allies Forces. It even responded positively to the invitation the United States to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO, which is an alliance organization formed to counteract the spread of socialism in the world (Alden & Aran, 2016). Thus, Canada, in reality, emerged as a defender of the capitalist form of power structure. This is heavily reflected in the foreign policy framework of Canada

Canada’s foreign policy with respect to Afghanistan is a reflection of Canada’s colonial roots (Lagassé & Mello, 2018). The conflict ridden problems of Afghanistan is known throughout the world. Many countries have taken sides on the issue where Afghanistan is concerned and Canada too has done so. The foreign policies strategy of Canada, in concern with Afghanistan, has a capitalist leaning and is aligned with the objectives of the foreign policy strategies of the Western powers, especially those of the United States and the United Kingdom.

Canada started to show interest in Afghanistan after the end of the Cold War. Afghanistan was one of the last vestiges upholding Communism after the demise of the Soviet Union (Lagassé & Mello, 2018). This situation was not to the liking of the Western Powers who were essentially capitalist in their outlook. They believed that if communism is allowed to be continued even in a remote part of the earth, it would spread to the other regions of the globe, which is in absolute contrast to the spirit of capitalism. As such, the Western Powers launched a war on Afghanistan spearheaded by the United States of America. Canada first joined the War on October 2001 and this led to the beginning of the Canada Afghanistan Bilateral Relations (Lagassé & Mello, 2018).

Canada’s Foreign Policy with Respect to Afghanistan

The initial relation between the two nations was one that of military occupation. During those times, Afghanistan was in a grave crisis due to the rise of the Taliban. The Taliban is referred to a group of educated religious people in Afghanistan who wanted to take up the duty to free the nation from the internal problems faced by the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union (Massie, 2016). Canada sent its military armed forces to Afghanistan to control the internal crisis of the nation. The armed forces of Canada were stationed in the two most important places in Afghanistan, such as Kabul, the Capital of Afghanistan and Kandahar Province (Massie, 2016). Initially, the aim of the Canadian armed forces was peace keeping and peace building, but soon, the military started to change its objectives and started to train the Afghan National Army.

Canada also played a significant role in the administration of Afghanistan during this time. It gave the required support to the Government of Afghanistan. The Government of Canada mentored the desirable candidates for the elections of the country and also gave the financial aid needed (Fergusson & Furtado, 2016). Canada had an important part to play in several important elections in Afghanistan, such as the presidential elections of 2009 and the parliamentarian elections of 2010 (Fergusson & Furtado, 2016). In both the campaigns, Canada gave indispensable support to the State-backed legitimate Afghan candidates.

Canada tried its best to improve relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a neighboring country of Afghanistan. The rise of Taliban had long lasting effective changes within the whole subcontinent and Pakistan, as a result, got affected (Saideman, 2016). Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, as a consequence, turned sour. Canada took an important initiative to change this relation for the better and played an effective part in several confidence building measures between the two countries. The Afghanistan Pakistan Border Region Prosperity Initiative of 2010 was successful mainly due to activities of the Government of Canada (Saideman, 2016).

One of the most important aspects of the foreign policy of Canada is the provision of humanitarian assistance. No matter the nation, Canada is usually always the first country to come to the aid and assistance of the people worldwide. The internal crisis in Afghanistan has resulted in the deaths of many people. Many families lost their loved ones, millions of worth of property has been destroyed and children has lost their parents in the on going war (Richmond, 2014). The Government of Canada has taken up important steps to provide support and assistance to such people. Engaging in the development of the community and building shelter homes for the vulnerable people are some of the noteworthy steps taken by Canada (Richmond, 2014). The nation is also interested in improving the standard of living of the people of Afghanistan. For this purpose, the Government of Canada, at regular intervals, sends food and water to the people of Afghanistan (Richmond, 2014). Medical help is also provided to the people in urgent need. In this decade alone, the Government of Canada has provided around forty five million dollars worth of humanitarian assistance (Richmond, 2014).

Canada’s Role in Afghanistan

The foreign policy of Canada had far reaching impact on the social and economic conditions of Afghanistan. The Government of Canada helped to reconstruct the Dahla Dam in Afghanistan (Spearin, 2014). It also helped in the restructuring of the Arghandab Irrigation System, which was essential in the facilitation of sustainable agricultural production (Spearin, 2014). The education system in Canada was in shambles due to the on-going war on terrorism in Afghanistan waged by the Western powers. Canada took up the initiative to build up the much needed educational system in Afghanistan. For this purpose, the Government of Canada donated huge funds to the Government of Afghanistan (Richmond, 2014). Moreover, Canada took up the challenge to provide education to the future generation of the country, and taught them the vales of peace and compromise.

From 2001 to the present time, the Government of Canada has invested near about three billion dollars in the Afghanistan economy (Ankersen, 2014). Canada has invested heavily in Afghanistan for the purposes of development. However, the condition in Afghanistan has deteriorate so immensely that in the opinion of the world leaders, it will be decades before the condition in the country is normalized (Mutimer, 2016). Afghanistan is also unpopular because of the rampant violations of the human rights. Canada has taken on itself the cause of the protection of the rights of the citizens of Afghanistan and thus, to this effect, it helps the State machinery to undertake important actions to protect and uphold the basic human rights. For instance, the Government of Canada has invested heavily for the protection of the women and children of Afghanistan while also trying to grant them their fundamental human rights (Williams, 2016). Canada has also taken up the cause of education of this vulnerable group of women and children.

The foreign policies undertaken by Canada with respect to Afghanistan is a clear indication of the alignment of Canada’s thought process to that of the Western capitalist world. The power structure of Afghanistan is that of socialism and the western powers involved are trying to break this power structure and instill capitalism in its place (Smith, 2014).  The presence of the Taliban is posing a major concern to the Western powers. The armed resistance provided by the Taliban is resulting in the harming and killing of the innocent civilians, many of whom are killed by the foreign armed forces stationed in Afghanistan. However, the Western powers are still continuing with their agenda. This is having large scale adverse repercussions on the entire society of Afghanistan. The educational system is completely ruined, there is rampant human rights violation and there is negligible development of industries. The non-presence of infrastructural facilities in the economy has greatly stagnated the economic development of the country. The Gross Domestic Product of the country has been plummeting since the beginning of the twenty first century, with no signs of it becoming stable (Smith, 2014).  

The formulation of foreign policies of Canada is thus, rooted in its colonial legacy. Canada did not have the power to formulate is own foreign policies till around the 1930s as, during those times, it was the British Parliament, especially the British Monarch, who had control over the lands where they were present. Thus, after Canada became a truly independent country, it continued with the colonial baggage of the past. It did not introduce drastic changes in the strategies of its foreign policy conduction, choosing to remain true to the ideals of the Western capitalist world. Thus, the image of Canada as a benevolent power whose aim is to neutrally judge the other powers of the world and to provide them aid and assistance whenever needed, it a false one. Canada is committed to the cause of the perpetration of the motives of its colonial masters.

References:

Alden, C., & Aran, A. (2016). Foreign policy analysis: new approaches. Routledge.

Ankersen, C. (2014). The politics of civil-military cooperation: Canada in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. Springer.

Fayerweather, J. (2017). Foreign Investment in Canada: Prospects for National Policy: Prospects for National Policy. Routledge.

Fergusson, J., & Furtado, F. (Eds.). (2016). Beyond Afghanistan: An International Security Agenda for Canada. UBC Press.

Holsti, K. J. (2015). Why nations realign: Foreign policy restructuring in the postwar world. Routledge.

Lagassé, P., & Mello, P. A. (2018). The unintended consequences of parliamentary involvement: Elite collusion and Afghanistan deployments in Canada and Germany. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 20(1), 135-157.

Massie, J. (2016). Public Contestation and Policy Resistance: Canada's Oversized Military Commitment to Afghanistan. Foreign Policy Analysis, 12(1), 47-65.

Mutimer, D. (2016). The road to Afghanada: Militarization in Canadian popular culture during the war in Afghanistan. Critical Military Studies, 2(3), 210-225.

Paris, R. (2014). Are Canadians still liberal internationalists? Foreign policy and public opinion in the Harper era. International Journal, 69(3), 274-307.

Richmond, S. (2014). At the vanishing point of law?: international law and the use of force by Britain and Canada in the Korean War and Afghanistan Conflict (Doctoral dissertation, Oxford University, UK).

Saideman, S. M. (2016). Adapting in the dust: Lessons learned from Canada's war in Afghanistan. University of Toronto Press.

Smith, M. (2014). States that come and go: mapping the geolegalities of the Afghanistan intervention. The Expanding Spaces of Law: A Timely Legal Geography, 142-166.

Spearin, C. (2014). Canada and contracted war: Afghanistan and beyond. International Journal, 69(4), 525-541.

Williams, M. (2016). The good war: NATO and the liberal conscience in Afghanistan. Springer.