Erin O'Halloran offers a compelling new account of the era immediately preceding decolonization and the epochal partitions of India and Palestine. Alongside well-known figures like Mohandas K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Saad Zaghlul, she introduces less familiar but no less intriguing personalities: feminists, diplomats, and poets; surrealists, socialists and spies.

In 1962, Dr. Robert James Sutherland, a defence scientist and strategic advisor with the Defence Research Board (DRB), presented a paper at the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA) in Toronto. His talk, “Canada’s Long-Term Strategic Situation,”  which explored the likely shape of Canadian strategic choice out to the end of the century, went far better than he might have expected. On February 25, Sutherland’s biographer, Dr. John Keess from the Royal Military College of Canada, will offer a brief discussion of Sutherland’s background, then present a refreshed version of Sutherland’s original talk and article.

At a critical moment for Pakistan, Canada stopped funding of women’s organizations, ending a legacy of leadership on women’s rights. Was it a lost legacy? Given violent extremism’s devastating impact on development gains including women’s rights, security, and the elimination of gender-based violence, what is the future role for international development?

Insurgency remains a challenge to global security but much thinking by both scholars and security practitioners remains mired in the past, treating mid 20th century insurgency as paradigmatic. Conceptualizing insurgency as a form of strategy rather than a variant of warfare or a type of organization can allow security experts to transcend this analytical ossification. Reflecting broader trends in the security environment, the most challenging of tomorrow's insurgencies will be dramatically different than those of the past and test the ability of states and suprastate security systems to contain or defeat them.

There was an important international context in which Tommy Douglas formulated and implemented his plans for universal health coverage in Canada while premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 until 1961. While much of the narrative in Gregory Marchildon’s Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare in Canada focuses on domestic politics and policy, international politics and policy played a central but overlooked role at critical points.

Catherine Tsalikis traces Chrystia Freeland’s remarkable journey from the northwestern Alberta town of Peace River to Moscow, London, and New York, where she spent two decades as a journalist, to the halls of Parliament Hill as deputy prime minister and finance minister in Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.

In his first presidential term, Donald Trump heralded the arrival of an “America First” foreign policy that would critically examine and scale back the commitments and responsibilities America had taken on as a world power, and focus directly on promoting America’s national interest.  As he comes back to the White House, what type of foreign policy will Trump 2.0 carry out?  How will America’s allies and adversaries react?  This talk will attempt to provide some answers, recognizing the uncertainty and unpredictability characteristic of Trump’s decision-making style.

With the award of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to the antinuclear group Nihon Hidankyo and discussion of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, this is a fitting time to discuss the arguments for and against the abolition of nuclear weapons. Florian Eblenkamp, Advocacy Officer of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and Jack Cunningham, Program Coordinator of the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History offer contending perspectives, followed by a Q&A and general discussion.

On November 25th, Dr. Eboe-Osuji and Prof. Orange will discuss the concept of immunity within International law and the issue of holding heads of state accountable for war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity.

This book traces the history of Canadian foreign policy from a time when positioning Canada First meant shunning international obligations to today. It highlights key decisions taken and not taken in Ottawa that have shaped Canadians' safety, security, and prosperity over the last one hundred years. Case studies focused on environmental reform, Indigenous peoples, trade, hostage diplomacy, and wartime strategy illustrate the breadth of issues that shape contemporary Canada's global realm.

Dr. Sundeep Waslekar will argue that we live in the most dangerous epoch in the history of human civilization. With the fires spreading in Ukraine, the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia, and an escalating arms race in killer robots, hypersonic missiles, and deadly pathogens, is the world sleep walking into a global catastrophic war that will annihilate the human race? He will then proceed to propose a global social contract, a blueprint for multilateral reform, and a framework for reorienting global governance which will enable a paradigm shift to make lasting peace a reality.

Canada’s longest war (2001-2014) pushed military, diplomatic, development and humanitarian organizations to their limits. Was it all in vain?

Based on interviews with twenty-one key decision-makers and participants, many of whom are speaking publicly for the first time, Unwinnable Peace recounts the personal and professional challenges faced by individuals deeply committed to securing and rebuilding Kandahar province.

In Disruption, Michael De Groot argues that the global economic upheaval of the 1970s was decisive in ending the Cold War. Both the West and the Soviet bloc struggled with the slowdown of economic growth; chaos in the international monetary system; inflation; shocks in the commodities markets; and the emergence of offshore financial markets. The superpowers had previously disseminated resources to their allies to enhance their own national security, but the disappearance of postwar conditions during the 1970s forced Washington and Moscow to choose between promoting their own economic interests and supporting their partners in Europe and Asia.

Join us on September 18th from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Munk School (University of Toronto) for an in-depth exploration of the ongoing challenges and emerging threats in Afghanistan, three years after the Taliban's return to power. This event will feature two comprehensive sessions, each focusing on critical themes and featuring distinguished speakers.