Spring 2009 double issue of the the Journal of Military and Strategic Studies

Articles from the online journal published by the the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary

The articles are saved in portable document format (pdf) and can be viewed using Adobe Reader. (Download Adobe Reader)

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DEVELOPING A COHERENT PLAN TO DEAL WITH CANADA’S CONUNDRUM IN THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE Captain (Navy) James Cotter, Director of Reserves, National Defence Headquarters IN DEFENCE OF DEFENCE: CANADIAN ARCTIC SOVEREIGNTY AND SECURITY LCol. Paul Dittmann, 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School THE POLARIS INCIDENT: “GOING TO THE MAT” WITH THE AMERICANS Peter Kikkert, Department of History, University of Waterloo WEATHER STATIONS IN THE CANADIAN NORTH AND SOVEREIGNTY Gordon W. Smith, Edited and introduced by P. Whitney Lackenbauer ____________________________________________ RESEARCH NOTE: RESEARCH NOTE: THE ROLE OF CANADIAN ARMED FORCES IN DEFENDING SOVEREIGNTY A paper by E.B. Wang, 30 April 1969

More, received by e-mail:

This special issue of the Journal of Military and Strategic Studies offers four perspectives on historical and contemporary developments in the Arctic, spanning the Second World War to the twenty-first century and is edited by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Waterloo and a Canadian International Council inaugural fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. "Weather Stations in the Canadian North and Sovereignty" examines the development of the Joint Arctic Weather States and is derived from the late Gordon W. Smith's unpublished manuscript, A Historical and Legal Study of Sovereignty in the Canadian North and Related Law of the Sea Problems, which was written over three decades and remained incomplete at the time of his death in October 2000. Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer, in collaboration with Dr. Armand de Mestral, holder of the Jean Monnet Chair in the Law of International Economic Integration and Co-Director of the Institute of European Studies at McGill University/Université de Montréal, are working to make it accessible to the public. Historian Peter Kikkert touches on themes of American bullishness and intransigence in his case study of Operation Polaris, but he also finds that the Canadian government succeeded in securing its interests and its sovereignty in the Arctic by “go[ing] to the mat with Washington”. This study, like Smith’s, reinforces how historians paying careful attention to process can produce fresh “lessons learned” that might reshape our understanding of Canadian-American Cold War relations in the Arctic from a narrative of conflict to one of mutual understanding and cooperation.

The Northwest Passage has presented Canada and the United States with an intractable dilemma. While Canada sees its archipelagic waters as internal, the US insists that they are an international strait. Captain (Navy) James Cotter argues that Canada’s track record “of rhetoric, followed up by ineffective action,” is not sustainable in the twenty-first century. Instead, he argues that a coordinated, whole-of-government strategy, reflective of domestic and international imperatives, is essential so that the federal government can “allocate resources rationally and to enable the key federal players to act in an orchestrated fashion” to bolster Canadian sovereignty. Lieutenant Colonel Paul Dittmann concurs that “the inherent characteristics of experience, training, capacity, presence, resources, and timeliness of response” make the Canadian Forces the appropriate federal lead in responding to Arctic security and sovereignty challenges. His insightful policy recommendations on how Canada can improve its domain awareness and enforcement capabilities warrant careful attention by decision-makers.

Also included in this volume is a research note on the role of the Canadian Forces in the defence of Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic by E.B. Wang. This note, introduced and edited by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, argues against convention wisdom that improved military capabilities in the Arctic translates into stronger sovereignty claims. Rather, Wang described the problem of sovereignty in the Arctic as being based in legal, economic and political considerations. “It is not a military problem,” Wang concluded. “It cannot be solved by any amount of surveillance or patrol activity in the channels by Canadian forces [emphasis added--more here and here].”


ANNOUNCEMENT

The Journal of Military and Strategic Studies extends an open invitation to readers across the world, whether students, soldiers, workers in NGOs, to contribute to its new sections, Commentary, and (for more brief reports) Notes From the Field. These sections will increase the range of the voices and experiences which we represent, and our ability to illuminate events as they happen across the earth.

CONFERENCE NOTICES

August 31- 2 September 2009
The Department of History, The Centre for Military and Strategic Studies and The History Graduate Students' Union at the University of Calgary are pleased to announce a conference: Seventy Years On: New Perspectives on the Second World War
http://www.ucalgary.ca/newperspectives