William Tell Militarism: The Swiss Model for Canada’s ‘Citizen Army’

Following Confederation in 1867, Canadians needed to move forward from their dependence on British imperial defence. Canadian militiaman Richard John Wicksteed was first to recommend adopting the model of the Swiss Army, a multi-ethnic, rifle-wielding citizen force powerful enough to ensure Swiss neutrality although surrounded by militaristic European powers. General Officer Commanding Edward Thomas Henry Hutton later proposed the Swiss model for a Canadian ‘National Army,’ echoed by Militia Minister Frederick Borden. In 1917, Colonel William Hamilton Merritt was the final advocate, drawn especially to the notion of equality in Switzerland’s universal military training programme. By this time, however, the Great War had changed concepts of Canada’s military needs from a reliance upon the defence-oriented citizen soldier to a more highly trained, expeditionary military force.     

A Defense Renaissance? The Canadian Conservative Government and the Military

Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper campaigned in 2006 that, if elected, his government would make major improvements to Canada’s military. Emphasizing the decline that had befallen the once proud institution under the Liberals, Harper spoke of the spending increases and new capabilities that would result if his party emerged victorious in the upcoming vote. Seven years later, and two years after the prime minister was finally rewarded with a majority government, it seems like an opportune time to examine the Harper defense record. The article will show that defense spending has increased and a string of new equipment projects have been announced. However, the article will also reveal that the spending increases are almost certainly over, while few of the capital programs are actually progressing. Thus, the Harper defense record is ambiguous, and does not constitute the dramatic change that was promised.     

Soldiers under the Skin: Diversity of Race,Ethnicity, and Class in the Illinois National Guard, 1870–1916

A close examination of the Illinois National Guard (ING) between 1870 and 1916 demonstrates that contrary to the commonplace assumption of a homogeneous, white, middle class, native‐born membership, the ING had a very heterogeneous membership, drawing in rural and urban men, and men from an array of ethnicities, races and economic circumstances. Information on 2245 members drawn from enlistment data and the federal census, combined with evidence drawn from a wide variety of textual sources firmly establishes that this organization attracted men from a broad range of backgrounds. The ING stands out against other male‐only organizations of its time as an organization whose membership was consistently drawn from a broad cross‐section of the American population. The Illinois National Guard of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries offered an organization that could unite many American men across cultural and social boundaries at a time when there was much to divide them.     

The Southern Conservative Thought of John C. Calhoun and the Cultural Foundations of the Canadian Identity

Besides the largely ignored fact of general Canadian support for the Southern Confederacy during the American Civil War, the consociational dimensions of Canadian Confederation, as something opposed to American unionism in cultural terms, finds its historical roots legitimized in the Southern conservative writings of John C. Calhoun. It is the tension between an institutionally entrenched foundation of consociational pluralism and growing urban cosmopolitanism within Canadian history that has defined the debates and divides over the meaning of the Canadian identity, just as it is. Alternatively it is the tension between enforced constitutionalist unionism and consociational cultural tradition within the American South that has largely defined their historical experience. Both Canada and the American South find the tensions of their cultural identities rooted in the consociational values originally laid out by nineteenth century Southern conservative political thought.     

Advanced Research Training in Human Geography: the Scottish Experience

Formal research training is integral to research degrees in human geography completed in UK higher education institutions today. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has been the driving force behind the formalization of research training. Arguably less well known among the ESRC research training recommendations is the stipulation that postgraduate research students complete advanced research training. This paper will draw upon the authors' experiences of the collaborative ESRC/Royal Scottish Geographical Society Advanced Research Training for Scottish Postgraduate Human Geographers. A detailed account of the advanced research training provision will be given, followed by staff and student reflections on the training. The paper concludes by considering what advanced research training offers to the PhD process and future developments in advanced research training.     

Government Protection of Domestic Communications as National Defense: Assessing Canadian Government Policies

In the nominal interest of promoting a national identity and a stronger federation, a range of public policies have been implemented by the Canadian government to encourage and facilitate cross-subsidization in the Canadian telecommunications and broadcasting industries. The main policy instruments involve government regulations and foreign ownership restrictions that contribute to higher revenues for domestic producers of communication services than would otherwise be realized. The quid pro quo is that domestic telecommunications carriers and broadcasters must undertake costly and unprofitable actions that involve subsidizing activities such as rural telephone services and “Canadian entertainment content.” Unfortunately, there is little evidence that the relevant policies promote the goal of strengthening Canada’s national identity. Furthermore, they are inefficient, as well as nontransparent. The fact that several other countries, particularly France, have lauded Canadian content regulations as a “model” for smaller, open economies, they are more appropriately viewed as the socially undesirable outcome of a muddled public choice dynamic.     

Realpolitik and Jihad: The Iranian Use of Shiite Militias in Syria

The Shi‘a militias that have been involved in the war in Syria since 2011 were dispatched by Iran from neighboring countries, and they have exploited their position as aid‐givers by implementing a long‐term scheme of Iran regarding Syria. This article seeks to define the purpose and modus operandi of the involvement of these militias in Syria, as a case study of Iranian policy throughout the region. The essence and purposes of this regional policy has been analyzed using realistic and soft power approaches, alongside political thought from the Sh'ia Islam and the fundamentals of the Islamic Revolution; the reflection of this policy in Syria is identified by tracing reports and publications regarding the complicity of the Shi‘a militias in the war. The article claims that war‐racked Syria is a sort of test case for Iran protecting itself by attempting to spread its hegemony — and thus deterrence — across the region, a plan that is combined with and carried out through an ideological Jihadist promotion of an Islamic order. Accordingly, the Shi‘a militias are striving to ensure a lasting foothold for Iran in the areas in Syria that are essential to Iranian regional aspirations, by imposing Iranian political, military, and religious influences among these territories and populations.     

Technical Standards and the Integration of the U.S. and Canadian Economies

One of the most challenging aspects of the study of Canadian political thought is its apparent lack of a clear consensus (perhaps in the form of a “grand theory”) that provides it with more structured analytical organization and parameters. This absence can be remedied through an explicit recognition of the competing traditions that have contributed to the mosaic of Canadian philosophical and political beliefs and values. The interplay between liberal and communitarian traditions of Canadian political thought could provide the basis for this sort of model, though other contributions also need to be acknowledged and considered.     

Toward an Understanding of Canada’s International Identity

ABSTRACT

This article examines the construction of Canada’s postwar international identity and how that identity continues to influence Canadian foreign policy, especially with the United States. Furthermore, the article illustrates how changes in Canadian policy necessitated by the Trump Administration may impact Canada’s international identity in the future. The article argues Canadian policy makers have consistently constructed an international identity in opposition to the United States and continue to use the US as a reflective tool in shaping their own policy. The first part of the article briefly examines the concept of state identity outlining both type and role variants and their relevance to foreign policy and this is followed in the second part by a discussion of Canada’s postwar international identity.     

Alberta’s Great Experiment in Senatorial Democracy

In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the unelected nature of the Senate is an inherent feature of Canadian parliamentary democracy and is a central pillar of the constitution. Members of the Upper House are appointed by the Governor General, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister. The decision taken by the Prime Minister is not subject to review by Parliament or the provincial legislative assemblies. Patronage appointments have given the Senate a reputation as a dumping ground for political friends and party insiders. In 1989, the province of Alberta enacted the Senatorial Selection Act, arguing that it would serve as a stepping stone for substantive reform to the Senate. The province has held four elections in which the people of the province have chosen senators-in-waiting. This article argues that the Court’s opinion in Reference re Senate Reform undermines the foundation upon which the provincial statute rests.     

Reflections of the “Roving Britishers”: British Travel Writing on Canada 1900–1915

This article analyzes a selection of travel accounts by nine British authors who journeyed across Canada between 1900 and 1914. The monographs, all published in London, purported to present authentic and up-to-date observations of Canada, the eldest Dominion in the Imperial “family,” to British and Canadian audiences. Additional goals of their narratives, and less clearly acknowledged, were to convince English Canadians of the value of strengthening a British–Canadian identity and remaining within the British Empire. To that end, the narratives explore strikingly similar themes, including anxieties surrounding immigration and the United States threat to Canada, while reinforcing notions of Empire as an indissoluble family. The article illustrates how travel narratives reflect psychological as well as physical journeys and are thus valuable windows on complex cultural encounters among the British and Canadians in this period.     

Time to Grow Up? Canadian Understandings of Revolutionary Cuba to the Missile Crisis of 1962

The Cuban missile crisis was a moment during the Cold War when rhetoric, brinkmanship, and politics intersected with notions of masculinity, empire and colonization to nearly disastrous ends. The crisis occurred at a moment of transition in Canada in which Canadians were profoundly concerned over the state of Canadian–Cuban relations and Canada’s place in the world. This article examines how previous understandings and preconceptions of “Cuba”—such as feminized and infantilized images of Cuban leader Fidel Castro in political cartoons and editorials in newspapers – influenced how Canadians understood the crisis, their nation and how the Canadian government should interact with other powers. While both negative and positive images of Castro and Cuba were present in Canadian public discussion, Canadians utilized the same imagery to argue that their government should act in its own best interests after the missile crisis.     

Foreign Policy Reviews and Canada's Trade Policy: 1968–2009

Governments, upon assuming office, most often seek to refocus foreign policy according to the preferences of the new prime minister and the primary means of accomplishing this has been to release a white paper outlining the priorities of the new government. This article will demonstrate that discussions of trade issues reinforce existing studies questioning the innovation and impact of white papers. The purpose of this analysis, however, is not to dwell on the utility of white papers and foreign policy reviews but instead search for a deeper understanding of why trade policy is discussed in an unoriginal and superficial manner. The focus of the article is on the period from 1968 to the present.     

浅论新时期图书馆员的素质

图书馆工作在现实社会工作中有着极其重要的地位和作用,图书馆员是图书馆事业的基本要素之一,是图书情报事业稳步向前发展的关键。图书馆员的素质决定着图书馆职业活动的成效。只有全面提高图书馆员的整体素质,使其具有良好的职业道德和业务技能,才能更好地为读者服务,把图书馆的工作做好。     

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FROM CANADA: AN OVERVIEW

Foreign direct investment (fdi) research on Canada has historically been centred on incoming rather than outgoing controlling capital. Yet the activities of Canada-based multinational enterprises (mne) have fostered an impressive outflow of direct investment abroad. To appreciate the importance of Canada's mne, one must understand the spatial and functional characteristics of Canadian parent companies and their foreign direct investments. To realize this goal, a sample of more than 17 000 examples of Canadian fdi (at various points in time) has been retrieved and analyzed. Spatially, the favourite target of Canadian outward fdi has been the United States and then the United Kingdom, but significant agglomerations of Canadian controlling capital can be found in many parts of the world (particularly in Western Europe, the Caribbean region, Australia, and Brazil, and in various Asian destinations). The locations of Canadian parent companies have been heavily biased toward the largest metropolitan cities. Additionally, multinational enterprises headquartered in Toronto and Montreal control (by far) the most foreign subsidiaries. In general, manufacturing, financial, and mining activities have constituted the most important endeavours of Canadian multinationals abroad. This pattern of functional emphasis, however, does vary with each specific location. Through a stepwise regression procedure, it was determined that market, trade (with Canada), labour, and crime conditions were critical place-specific criteria that affected the spatial decisions of Canadian direct investors. Par le passé, la recherche sur les investissements directs à I‘étranger (ide) du Canada a été axée sur les entrées de capital de contrôle plutôt que sur les sorties. Pourtant, les activés d'entreprises multinationales basées au Canada ont engendré“un flot impressionnant d'investissements directs à l’étranger. Pour appécier l'importance des entreprises multinationales du Canada, on doit comprendre les caractéristiques géographiques et fonctionnelles des compagnies mères canadiennes, et leurs investissements directs à l'étranger. Pour atteindre cet objectif, un échantillon de plus de 17 000 exemples de ide canadiens (à différents moments) a été choisi et analysé. Géographiquement, la cible favorite des ide canadiens vers l'extérieur a été les États-Unis, puis le Royaume-Uni, mais on retrouve d'importantes concentrations de capital de contrôle canadien en plusieurs autres parties du monde (surtout en Europe occidentale, dans la région des Caraïbes, en Australie, au Brésil etdans diverses destinations asiatiques). Pour le choix de la localisation de leurs sièges sociaux, les compagnies mères canadiennes ont nettement favorisé les plus grandes métropoles. De plus, ce sont les entreprises multinationales dont les sièges sociaux sont à Toronto et à Montréal qui gèrent la plupart (et de loin) des filiates étrangères. En général, les activités manufacturieres, financieres et minieres ont const'itue“la plus importante part des projets des multinationales canadiennes à l‘étranger. Cette tendance varie cependant selon les endroits. Par un modèle de régression, il a étéétabli que les conditions de marché, de commerce (avec le Canada), de travail et de criminalitéétaient des critères décisifs qui affectaient les choix géographiques des investisseurs canadiens. Mots-clés: investissements directs à I'étranger, entreprises multinationales du Canada     

The Good Neighbors and Their Undefended Fence: US–Canadian Cross-Border Military Excursions Before the First World War

This article analyzes US–Canadian military relations in the nineteenth and early-twentieth century through the lens of frequent cross-border visits between the Canadian Militia and the US National Guard. Beginning in 1857 and continuing until the eve of the First World War, Canadian and American citizen soldiers visited back and forth between cities across the continent, taking part in celebrations of Queen Victoria's birthday and the Fourth of July. After 1898 these recreational visits became an annual event for several regiments on both sides of the border, interrupted only occasionally by the vagaries of Anglo-American diplomacy, periodic shortages of regimental funds, or the disapproval of higher authorities in Ottawa or Washington. Although US–Canadian military relations in this period are typically remembered as being non-existent, with the two North American nations scarcely communicating unless it was through British intermediaries, this article explores the very friendly relations that existed between the Canadian Militia and their counterparts in the US National Guard.     

A diamond in the rough?: an examination of the issues surrounding the development of the Northwest Territories

Over a period of approximately five decades, the federal government of Canada has transformed the predominantly nomadic hunting and gathering society of the Northwest Territories (NWT) to one which is based largely on wage and/or transfer income, and life in permanent communities. Several decades of planning for regional development and the expenditure of large sums of public monies have failed to give rise to a viable economic system in the region. This paper argues that the inefficacy of these past policy approaches stems at least partly from a failure to recognize explicitly the interrelationship between the economy of the region, its constitutional status and that of its Native population.
Au cours d'une période d'approximativement cinq décennies, le gouvernement fédéral du Canada a transformé la société principalement nomade de chasseurs et cueilleurs des Territoires du Nord ouest en une société d'une part basée sur le revenu salarié et/ou de transfert et d'autre part composée de communautées établies de façon permanente. Plusieurs décennies de planification en vue d'un développement régional ainsi que des dépenses importantes des deniers public n'ont pas réussi à mettre en place un système économique viable dans la région. Le présent article défend la thèse que l'inefficacité de ces anciennes politiques provient en partie à l'incapacitéà reconnaître explicitement les interrelations entre l'économie de la région, son statut constitutionel et sa population autochtone.     

Neoliberalism in a Small Canadian City? Windsor City Council and the Reform of the Detroit River Border Crossing

This article examines the idea of the neoliberal city. Using the reform of the Detroit River international border crossing between Canada and the United States as a case study, the article explores the extent to which a small- to medium-sized Canadian municipality is capable of developing policy positions that challenge neoliberalism. The conclusion is mixed. Windsor City Council is not advancing policies that present a fundamental challenge to the economic status quo. It does not, for example, challenge the rationale that a new border crossing will facilitate freer trade. Nevertheless, neither are the municipal council's positions completely in line with arguments that municipal governments have no room to advance positions in opposition to major economic interests. The council is advancing policy positions opposed by major local, regional and international business interests. There is, therefore, some evidence of the possibility of local agency within the geography of neoliberalism.     

Trials and tribulations of the Canadian fruit-growing industry

The paper gives a comparative and historical assessment of climatic and economic hazards in the five main fruit‐growing areas of Canada, and how the industry has responded. The northern location of fruit growing in Canada poses a number of climatic hazards. The most serious hazard is winter low‐temperature injury to trees and vines, which results in a capital loss and crop loss for up to five years. The industry has responded to this hazard by abandoning fruit growing in areas with unfavourable climatic conditions and concentrating in areas with the most favourable climatic conditions. Other responses include changing to hardier varieties, improving management practices, and government subsidies. The fruit‐growing industry has also had to face many economic hazards, including changes in technology and consumer preferences, changes in international trade rules, increased foreign competition, a cost‐price squeeze, and urbanization of the industry's land base. These economic hazards area a greater threat to the industry than the natural hazards because, in most cases, there are limited coping mechanisms available to growers, and economic globalization is preventing the federal and provincial governments from providing an adequate safety net. L'article nous présente une évaluation comparative et historique des risques climatiques et économiques des cinq principales régions agricoles du Canada, ainsi que les réactions de cet industrie face à ceux‐ci. La situation géographique nordique des champs de fruits au Canada amène un certain nombre de risques climatiques. Les basses températures de la saison hivernale causent le plus de dommages aux arbres et aux vignes, ce qui se traduit en une perte de capitaux et une perte de récoltes allant jusqu'à cinq ans. La réaction de l'industrie de l'agriculture face à ces risques fût d'abandonner les endroits dont les conditions climatiques ne favorisaient pas la récolte de fruits. II a aussi été question d'utiliser des variétés plus résistantes au froid, d'améliorer les pratiques de management, et les subventions gouvernementales. L'industrie de la culture de fruits a aussi fait face à des risques économiques, incluant les changements technologiques et les préférences alimentaires des consommateurs, les changements au niveau des règles d'échanges internationaux, la compétition croissante au niveau international, une réduction du prix‐coûtant, et l'urbanisation des terres agricoles. Ces risques économiques représentent un plus grand danger pour l'industrie que les risques naturels puisque, dans la plupart des cas, les agriculteurs se retrouvent avec des moyens de rechange limités et la mondialisation économique empêche les gouvernements fédéral et provincial de fournir des mesures de sécurité adéquates.     

From Active Young Explorers to Passive Young Consumers: The Commercialization of Canada's OWL Magazine

This article provides a content analysis of OWL magazine, a popular Canadian children's periodical published initially by a non-profit organization and, after 1997, by a for-profit corporation. Researchers examined issues of OWL from 1982, 1992, and 2002 to assess changes in the magazine in response to commercial ownership. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to show how OWL has shifted from a primarily science and animal-themed magazine to a general interest “consumer” magazine for children with features like video game reviews. This shift from 1982 to 2002 is discussed within larger changes in Canadian children's commercial media and marketing. Canadian and American children's commercial media “boomed” during the 1980s and 1990s, placing additional pressure on OWL to incorporate content that met advertisers' interests and emerging consumerist outlook of Canadian children. We conclude by discussing how this research informs ongoing theoretical debates about the commercialization of childhood.