Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has hurt Macron’s re-election bid
In the 2017 French presidential election’s second round of voting, Republic On The Move leader Emmanuel Macron defeated National Front leader Marine Le Pen by 66.1 to 33.9 per cent of the vote. Five years later, they face each other in another run-off. Portions of the French electorate are pulling for a Macron victory. While…
Surest way to restore free movement across borders and reboot ailing economies
As the world looks to a post-pandemic future, a global COVID-19 vaccine certification program might be the surest way to restore free movement across borders and reboot ailing economies, according to University of Alberta political scientist Andy Knight. “We need to develop an international protocol – especially for small, more vulnerable states – that will allow…
The ties that bind aren’t what they used to be – at least for some of us. For others, they are increasingly intense
I’m old enough to remember when nationalism was viewed as a good thing. And I’m not just referring to my Irish childhood. In the Canada of 40 to 50 years ago, many high-profile progressives self-described as nationalists. People like former finance minister Walter Gordon, journalist Peter C. Newman and the luminaries gathered around the Committee…
We must be on guard as China carves a disturbing global role that goes well beyond trade malfeasance
As China and the United States escalate their trade talks (or trade war), China is carving a disturbing global role that goes well beyond trade malfeasance. China has emerged as an old threat revived, the authoritarian seducer. The latest Human Freedom Index, published by Canada’s Fraser Institute, the U.S. Cato Institute and Germany’s Friedrich Naumann…
Of all the alternatives that have been tried and rejected, nationalism seems like the best possibility
You don’t have to be an anthropologist to understand that multiculturalism as the cohabitation of multiple distinct cultures is a non-starter. If ‘culture’ is understood in its simplest meaning, as a distinct way of life, then the idea of many distinct and mutually contradictory ways of life sharing the same space is obviously nonsensical. One…
Many thought his staunch nationalism would kill the economy and spark international conflict. They were wrong
“In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” U.S. President Donald Trump recently told the United Nations. His overstatement inspired some chuckles, to which he quipped, “So true. … Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay,” he smiled as the laughter grew, overtaken…
It’s difficult to detach the World Cup from patriotism, even among the most disenfranchised of citizens
The penetrating question of the 2018 World Cup of soccer is: Why do the large, powerful nations have short national anthems while the smaller countries have ones that go on forever? God Save the Queen (England) is over faster than you can say Bobby Charlton. But songs of Iceland and Peru seem more like six-part…
From the homeless crisis to Quebec's Bill 62 to the murder of 4,232 First Nation women, the signs are everywhere
When do you cease to be a country? When do you stop being a people, a nation? Former governor general and Liberal cabinet minister Romeo LeBlanc had an answer. “When children sleep on the streets,” he said to us once. “When they have nothing to eat. That is when you are no longer a country,…
Across the globe, a deep and growing frustration with the nationalist status quo is driving regional politics
The Spanish government's response to the Catalonian independence movement is a reminder of just how fragile nation states have become in the modern world. Mind you, it's hard to imagine a less helpful response than Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's chosen option, arrogantly removing popular regional leaders and imposing direct rule. This is just the…
Nationalistic politicians' attacks on free markets and economic freedom driven primarily by the support and desires of rural voters
As France and Turkey show, populism and deepening urban/rural splits represent dangerous and confusing threats to prosperity. The populist economic urge is cropping up around the world, however dissimilar the countries may seem to be. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured his recent constitutional power grab through rural votes, while losing in the big three…