IS - Essay 2

Canada has been known as a peaceful country throughout the years. Its modest image has kept them from being attacked by terrorist. In Robert W. Murray and John McCoy article, “From Middle Power to Peace Builder: The Use of the Canadian Forces in Modern Canadian Foreign Policy,” it talks about how Canada wanted to be established as the peacekeeper between other international powers. Robert W. Murray and John McCoy discusses ideas about a Canadian foreign policy that was created to maintain a middle ground between large and minor powers. Canada did a lot to dedicate itself to ensuring its national security by faithfully participating within many international institutions. McCoy and Murray article discusses about the idea of Canada’s peacekeeping and being the middle man power, and how it was established during their involvement in Afghanistan. In the beginning of the article, it explains Canada’s transformation of foreign policy and how it went from being a middle power force to becoming an active force in the policy of peacebuilding.

Canada’s foreign policy intent was limited because of deployments that kept the military from being unequipped and becoming a high power. They are only put into conflicts that they are able to control the environment. During this time, Canada’s military had little capabilities. They were not known as a world power. Even though they were not as powerful as most countries, they wanted to take on a role as a middle power which was good for them.

Murray and McCoy discussed the security of having a middle power foreign policy and why it is bad to have a co-peace-building foreign policy. During the Cold War, Canada had a protection strategy on how to protect itself while at the ...

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...ore harmful, then helpful. There was a huge cost that Canada paid for trying to transition their policy from peacemaker to peace builder. People started wondering why Canada kept putting themselves in tough situations that they were not prepared for.

Murray and McCoy discussed facts and give a history timeline on how Canada’s change of foreign policy was not effective and how it hindered the country. Their deployment into places like Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia and Yogoslavia put their policy on display and showed how it affected Canada for the worst.

The Murray and McCoy article, From Middle Power to Peace Builder: The Use of Canadian Force in Modern Canadian Foreign Policy discussed Canada’s foreign policy and how it changed Canada. This article exposes the mistakes Canada went through as a nation and the consequences of what happened when wrong decisions were made.