A Special Military Relationship? Canada’s Role in Constructing US Military Power

Authors

  • Stephen Clarkson University of Toronto
  • Erin Kelly Fitzgerald University of Toronto

Abstract

Since World War II, the United States’ military capabilities have surpassed those of any other country. However, its room for manoeuvre is not infinite. Through their interactions with the United States, other countries provide assistance for and place limitations on it. Given its medium-sized economy and its supportive but not uncritical strategic assistance, Canada can be seen to have made a significant contribution to American offensive capacity at certain historical moments. In the realm of continental defence, however, no other country has played a more important role. By virtue of geographic contiguity to its southern neighbour, Canada is uniquely placed to serve either as a buffer against external threats to the United States or as a conduit of insecurity. Its participation (or lack thereof) in US continental defence initiatives lowers or raises the costs of US security. This paper will explicate whether Canada plays a role in assisting the US in its overseas operations and in providing for US security against continental threats – ranging from the Axis Powers to the Soviet Union to terrorist cells – and if so, to what extent.

Author Biographies

Stephen Clarkson, University of Toronto

Stephen Clarkson is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Toronto, Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. His published works are primarily concerned with two areas of academic interest: the evolution of North America as a continental state, reinstitutionalized by NAFTA and two decades of neo-conservatism; and the impact of globalization and trade liberalization on the Canadian state. His most recent publication, Does North America Exist? (University of Toronto Press, 2008) asks whether North America 'exists' in the sense that the EU has made Europe exist. In the field of International Relations, his works primarily focus on the relationships between states and institutions based on class structure, placing Canada as a peripheral or semi-peripheral state in comparison to the core state to which Canada is dependent.

Erin Kelly Fitzgerald, University of Toronto

Erin Fitzgerald is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto, pursuing a B.A. (Honours) in International Relations. Her research interests revolve around the strategic, organizational, and legal dimensions of counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. She currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the G8 Research Group at the Munk Center for International Studies.

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Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2009): Fall 2009

Section

Articles