Policy brief (25% of final grade)
You’ve been invited to advise the Canadian prime minister on a recent international crisis. Choose ONE of the below topics and write a max 1,000-word policy brief for the prime minister and his team.
Note: These people are very busy with Covid-19 matters and other things, so write in a clear and straightforward way. This isn’t an academic essay, but full sentences should be use. Use the three-part structure below.
Remember: you are writing with Canada’s national interest in mind. No outside reading for this is needed (a few links are included below). Use the lecture slides and readings from the syllabus as well (especially for theoretical framing and IR concepts). If you wish, you can use some newspaper articles to get more background.
Upload your paper in Word or pdf format to Quercus (under the ‘Policy brief’ tab) by June 1st, 4pm Toronto time.
Topic 1:
Canada-China relations have been stuck in its lowest point since diplomatic recognition in the early 1970s. It all started when Canada, on a request from the US Department of Justice (and the Trump administration), detained Meng Wanzhou, a high-level executive of the China telecommunications giant Huawei. She has been accused of various charges, including wire fraud and violating US-imposed sanctions. She has been held under house arrest in Vancouver since early December 2018, awaiting her extradition hearing (note: she will not be tried in Canada, but a Canadian judge will determine if the US extradition order is lawful). In response, China has detained two Canadians, altered the prison sentences (to death) for two other Canadians, and stopped importing various Canadian products like soy and pork. Chinese officials have openly said that relations will go back to normal if Mrs Meng is released. Furthermore, China is also insisting that the Canadian government allow Huawei to participate in building Canada’s 5G infrastructure. This has provoked fears within parts of Canada’s security establishment and from several key allies of Canada that Huawei could use this position for espionage and other nefarious purposes. The Prime Minister is tired of this stalemate and wants to make a move: Should we double-down on this approach? Or should we make concessions (including releasing Mrs Meng)? Should we allow Huawei to help build 5G?
For more: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-fives-eyes-allies-urged-to-lessen- dependence-on-china/;https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-in-canada-the-tide-of-opinion-is-turning-on- china/
Topic 2:
Last August, the Modi government of India changed the special status of Kashmir, a status that the disputed territory had held for some 70 years. The move decisively binds Kashmir to India and effectively ends any hope of Kashmiri self-determination. Anticipating backlash from locals, the Modi government ordered troops to the territory, put the Kashmiri population under lockdown, arrested some locals and cut off communications with the outside world. The Pakistani government is furious, and tensions between India and Pakistan have again escalated. The Prime Minister is concerned for the people of Kashmir and worried that this unilateral
move strains not only India-Canada relations, but may also lead to another war between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed countries. Should Canada get involved and in which way? Should Canada actively side with one of the countries over the other?
For more on this: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/asia/2019-09-20/winning-kashmir-and- losing-india
Topic 3:
The Chinese government has extended a sweeping national security law to Hong Kong. This same controversial law sparked widespread protests in Hong Kong since the spring of 2019, with locals in Hong Kong fearing the law would end important liberties like a (relatively) free press and independent (meaning not politicized) courts. Although China has had sovereignty over Hong Kong since 1997 (following the handover from the British), Hong Kong’s autonomy was protected under the ‘Basic Law’ (commonly known as ‘One Country, Two Systems’). Hong Kong’s various forms of autonomy will now likely disappear; Hong Kong will come under the same laws and treatment as any other mainland Chinese province. The Prime Minister is worried that this violates many of the important liberties that Hong Kong residents enjoyed, and that it destroys Hong Kong’s limited form of democracy. The Prime Minister is also worried that, if left unchecked, China may pursue similarly aggressive policies in other territories— within China and possibly without. But he is also very aware that the Chinese Communist Party is very sensitive to threats—real and perceived—of its sovereignty. What should Canada’s response be?
For more on this: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2019-12-06/do-no-harm-hong- kong;https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-china-vows-to-remove-hong-kongs-cancer-of- pro-independence-thought/
Structure of your policy brief:
What is the policy problem? (less than 100 words)
What is the best theoretical lens (e.g. realist, liberal or constructivist) framework to be understand the issue? Be sure to make some mention of sovereignty, anarchy, trade, democracy, human rights, among other topics covered in classes 1-5. (600-700 words)
What is your policy recommendation? (also incorporate at least one of these three IR theories) (200-250 words)
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