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This thesis examines the possibility of establishing a Department of Peace (DOP) as a Department of the Government of Canada. The topic has been introduced in Parliament twice--in 2009 as Bill C-447 and in 2011 as Bill C-373; neither Bill received any further action beyond the First Reading. The thesis, based on relevant literature and oral interviews, evaluates the establishment of the DOP in the context of the Canadian peace tradition as well as other global peace developments. It concludes that, in view of the priorities of the current government and the general mood in Canadian society, it is not realistic to expect a DOP to be implemented at present but that it has great potential to move the peace agenda in Canada forward. ; May 2019

This thesis argues that the conservative Kanadier Mennonites, who first came to Canada in 1874, were committed to absolute pacifism. This commitment--one of the basics of their faith--caused major tensions with the host society, notably in times of war. In this thesis I investigate three kinds of resources, each offering a different perspective on the pacifist conviction of the conservative Kanadier Mennonites. The first consists of three migration accounts; the second includes six sermons; the third is a unique set of minutes of the "Aeltestenrat"--the Council of Elders--which record the deliberations of the church leaders who met with government officials to negotiate the alternative service program for conscientious objectors during World War II. The documents demonstrate that the conservative Kanadier Mennonites were not socially or politically engaged pacifists but that their commitment to absolute pacifism was an integral part of their overall understanding of being Christian. ; October 2011

The paper examines the role of foreign aid in building capacity to address climate change. While the experience with this topic is relatively recent and not yet extensive, analogous questions have arisen in many other areas of foreign aid. It is likely that climate change aid programmes work best in countries with well-functioning systems of public administration, sound management of public finances, and independent media that hold government accountable for performance - all factors widely known to make other aid programmes more effective and adaptive. As countries try to expand climate aid quickly, historical patterns suggest bilateral aid - which is easier for donors and recipients to control - is likely to expand much more than multilateral aid. A shift is also likely from an emphasis on mitigation of emissions to a growing role for adaptation. Expanding climate aid must confront what I call the 'aid paradox' which is that the conditions of national capacity under which aid is most likely to be effective are least likely to be present in the countries that are most in need of foreign aid because they cannot raise needed funds on their own.

[ES] En este trabajo analizamos el efecto que ejercen las preferencias comerciales garantizadas a marruecos para cuatro frutas y hortalizas (tomate, pepino, naranja y mandarina) en las exportaciones mensuales a distintos países de la unión Europea. Aplicamos una ecuación de gravedad que controla la endogeneidad potencial de las preferencias. Se introducen asimismo variables detalladas para representar los distintos tipos de preferencia con variabilidad sectorial y mensual, tanto en precio de entrada como en aranceles, considerando también las limitaciones cuantitativas. Los resultados de nuestras estimaciones indican que las preferencias comerciales incrementan las exportaciones desde marruecos (evidencia a favor de creación de comercio), y que la reducción en el arancel ad valorem conduce a menores exportaciones del resto del mundo a la unión Europea (evidencia a favor de desviación de comercio). Estos resultados podrían tener implicaciones políticas, con vistas a eventuales revisiones del Acuerdo de Asociación. También se hace una contribución metodológica al estudiar si las preferencias comerciales otorgadas a Marruecos desvían comercio. En concreto, la variable dependiente de la ecuación de gravedad son las exportaciones del resto del mundo a la uE para cada uno de los productos específicos, mientras que las variables explicativas consideran las preferencias otorgadas a marruecos en estos productos. ; [EN] This paper analyzes the effect of trade preferences granted to morocco by the European union on monthly exports of four fruits and vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges and mandarines. We rely on a gravity framework and we take into account the potential endogeneity of trade preferences. We consider sectoral and monthly variability of the reduced entry price and the preferential tariffs. Quantitative limits for these preferences are also accounted for. our results show that trade preferences are significant in determining positively the trade flows from morocco to the Eu (empirical evidence in line of ...

Even as the evidence of global warming mounts, the international response to this serious threat is coming unraveled. The United States has formally withdrawn from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol; other key nations are facing difficulty in meeting their Kyoto commitments; and developing countries face no limit on their emissions of the gases that cause global warming. In this clear and cogent book-reissued in paperback with an afterword that comments on recent events--David Victor explains why the Kyoto Protocol was never likely to become an effective legal instrument. He explores how its collapse offers opportunities to establish a more realistic alternative. Global warming continues to dominate environmental news as legislatures worldwide grapple with the process of ratification of the December 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The collapse of the November 2000 conference at the Hague showed clearly how difficult it will be to bring the Kyoto treaty into force. Yet most politicians, policymakers, and analysts hailed it as a vital first step in slowing greenhouse warming. David Victor was not among them. Kyoto's fatal flaw, Victor argues, is that it can work only if emissions trading works. The Protocol requires industrialized nations to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases to specific targets. Crucially, the Protocol also provides for so-called "emissions trading," whereby nations could offset the need for rapid cuts in their own emissions by buying emissions credits from other countries. But starting this trading system would require creating emission permits worth two trillion dollars--the largest single invention of assets by voluntary international treaty in world history. Even if it were politically possible to distribute such astronomical sums, the Protocol does not provide for adequate monitoring and enforcement of these new property rights. Nor does it offer an achievable plan for allocating new permits, which would be essential if the system were expanded to include developing countries. The collapse of the Kyoto Protocol--which Victor views as inevitable--will provide the political space to rethink strategy. Better alternatives would focus on policies that control emissions, such as emission taxes. Though economically sensible, however, a pure tax approach is impossible to monitor in practice. Thus, the author proposes a hybrid in which governments set targets for both emission quantities and tax levels. This offers the important advantages of both emission trading and taxes without the debilitating drawbacks of each. Individuals at all levels of environmental science, economics, public policy, and politics-from students to professionals--and anyone else hoping to participate in the debate over how to slow global warming will want to read this book.

Arild Underdal has been at the center of an important community of scholars studying global environmental governance. Since the 1990s that community, along with many other scholars globally, has offered important insights into the design and management of international institutions that can lead to more effective management of environmental problems. At the same time, diplomats have made multiple attempts to create institutions to manage the dangers of climate change. This essay looks at what has been learned by both communities—scholars and practitioners—as their efforts co-evolved. It appears that despite a wealth of possible insights into making cooperation effective very few of the lessons offered by scholars had much impact during the first two decades of climate change diplomacy. Indeed, basic concepts from cooperation theory and evidence from case studies—many developed in Arild's orbit—can explain why those two decades achieved very little real cooperation. The new Paris agreement may be changing all that and much better reflects insights from scholars about how to build effective international institutions. Success in the Paris process is far from assured and scholars can contribute a lot more with a more strategic view of when and how they have an impact.

Arild Underdal has been at the center of an important community of scholars studying global environmental governance. Since the 1990s that community, along with many other scholars globally, has offered important insights into the design and management of international institutions that can lead to more effective management of environmental problems. At the same time, diplomats have made multiple attempts to create institutions to manage the dangers of climate change. This essay looks at what has been learned by both communities—scholars and practitioners—as their efforts co-evolved. It appears that despite a wealth of possible insights into making cooperation effective very few of the lessons offered by scholars had much impact during the first two decades of climate change diplomacy. Indeed, basic concepts from cooperation theory and evidence from case studies—many developed in Arild's orbit—can explain why those two decades achieved very little real cooperation. The new Paris agreement may be changing all that and much better reflects insights from scholars about how to build effective international institutions. Success in the Paris process is far from assured and scholars can contribute a lot more with a more strategic view of when and how they have an impact.