Resource List

Public Lecture by Professor the Hon Gareth Evans, AC, QC
Chancellor and an Honorary Professorial Fellow of the Australian National University; and 2016-2017 Simons Visiting Chair in International Law and Human Security at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Vancouver, Canada
September 15, 2016

Abstract:  Why should Canadians, Australians or anyone else care about human rights atrocities, health epidemics, environmental catastrophes, weapons proliferation or any other problems afflicting faraway countries when they do not have any direct or immediate impact on our own physical security or economic prosperity, viz. our traditionally defined national interests?   Are concerns about ‘value’ issues of this kind just optional add-ons in the conduct of states’ foreign policy?  Gareth Evans will spell out in this lecture his long-held belief, which has its origins in the Pearsonian liberal tradition, and on which he acted as Australia’s foreign minister, that in the contemporary world there is a third kind of national interest which every country should pursue – that in being, and being seen to be, a good international citizen. His argument – which he will illustrate with reference to issues such as nuclear disarmament, aid policy, the treatment of asylum seekers, and the responsibility to protect populations against genocide and other crimes against humanity  – is that acting as a good international citizen wins hard-headed reputational and reciprocal-action returns, and as such bridges the gulf between idealism and realism by giving realists good reasons for behaving like idealists.

Keynote address by Jayantha Dhanapala
International Conference: Building a Nuclear Weapon Free World
Astana, Kazakhstan
August 28, 2016

Amb. (Ret) Jayantha Dhanapala, former Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations, is President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and one of The Simons Foundation's Peace Shapers as a recipient of The Simons Foundation Award for Distinguished Global Leadership in the Service of Peace and Disarmament.

August 23, 2016
The current Canadian Defence Policy Review is not focused on questions of disarmament and arms control; Global Affairs Canada is the lead agency on those issues, and it would do well, by the way, to undertake a thorough review of related policies and priorities. Defence policies and postures do nevertheless help to either strengthen or undermine disarmament prospects. A case in point is NATO’s nuclear posture. Canada is involved as a NATO member and as a participant in NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group and as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as well, Canada has a responsibility to pursue alliance defence policies and practices that are conducive to full implementation of the NPT and ending NATO’s reliance on nuclear deterrence. That would in turn also advance the individual and collective security interests of NATO member states, including Canada, and all the states of the Euro-Atlantic. 

Opinion by James E. Cartwright
and Bruce G. Blair
Published by The New York Times
August 14, 2016

Bruce G. Blair, Ph.D., is Co-Founder of Global Zero, Research Scholar with the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University, and one of The Simons Foundation's Peace Leaders.

James E. Cartwright is Chairman of the Global Zero Commission on Nuclear Risk Reduction and a former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Commander of the United States Strategic Command.

It is little credit to the practice of diplomacy in Europe and North America that their military alliance has been allowed to become the primary institution through which they now seek to understand and engage Russia. NATO defines the Russian threat and prescribes the response – habitually reorganizing, rebranding, and redeploying military forces which, if they ever came to serious blows with their Russian counterparts, would leave in their wake a trail of destruction out of all proportion to the political, economic, territorial, or moral interests and values at stake. Canada, as a part of both NATO and the wider Euro-Atlantic community, has a role to play in righting east-west relations, but is a battle group in Latvia the best option?

Prepared by Ernie Regehr, O.C., Senior Fellow in Defence Policy and Arctic Security, The Simons Foundation and Michelle Jackett, M.A.

Updated: June 2016

By Bruce G. Blair, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, Global Zero
and Research Scholar, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University
Published by Politico Magazine
June 22, 2016

Bruce G. Blair, Ph.D., is Co-Founder of Global Zero, Research Scholar with the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University, and one of The Simons Foundation's Peace Leaders.

Published by The Ottawa Citizen
June 21, 2016

Authors Marius Grinius, Peggy Mason, Paul Meyer, Douglas Roche and Christopher Westdal have each held the post of Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament, under four prime ministers.

The Hon. Douglas Roche is a former Canadian Senator, parliamentarian, diplomat and author, and one of The Simons Foundation's Peace Leaders.

Amb. (Ret'd) Paul Meyer is Adjunct Professor of International Studies and Fellow in International Security, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada; and Senior Fellow in Space Security, The Simons Foundation

By Bruce G. Blair, Ph.D.
Co-founder of Global Zero
Published by Politico
June 11, 2016

"What Exactly Would It Mean to Have Trump’s Finger on the Nuclear Button?
A nuclear launch expert plays out the various scenarios."

Bruce G. Blair, Ph.D., is Co-Founder of Global Zero, Research Scholar with the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University, and one of The Simons Foundation's Peace Leaders.

With the prolonged absence of military threats to North America, the prime Canadian security objective is to ensure that they remain so.  Meeting that objective is more a diplomatic challenge than it is a defence problem, but defence policies and military forces in North American certainly have a role in preserving this region as a cooperative security community – that is, a community of states that continues to enjoy the reliable expectation that its members will not “resort to war or military attacks to prosecute their disputes.” That happens also to be the formally affirmed expectation of the five states bordering the Arctic Ocean, where the same principle applies – preserving the Arctic as a region free of military threats and counter threats is the primary security objective. Once again, diplomacy is key, but defence policies and the operations of military forces play a major role.