Should Canada Increase Its Involvement in Peacekeeping Missions?
Participating in multidimensional peacekeeping operations enables involved countries to maintain peace and security and promote human rights protection initiatives. For example, various peacekeeping missions Canada has participated in have stabilized post-conflict zones and implemented peace accords. However, the recent decline of Canada’s involvement in peacekeeping missions has resulted in debates on whether it should increase its involvement in peacekeeping efforts. Canada’s involvement in peace affairs, despite its linked risks, has resulted in a debate where advocates argue that it aligns with significant values and enhances its standing on the world stage. Additionally, advocates argue that increasing Canada’s involvement will effectively demonstrate its leadership in global affairs and foster diplomatic relationships. On the other hand, opposers associate involvement increases with risks and resource allocation. Therefore, arguing for and against Canada increasing its involvement in peacekeeping missions, this article settles on increasing considering national interests, effectiveness, international obligations and the emerging nature of conflict resolution.
Arguments for Increasing Involvement
Canada, having an international responsibility to foster global stability and security, should increase its involvement in peacekeeping missions. By increasing its engagement in peacekeeping missions, Canada will have played a pivotal role and successfully discharged its international duty in collective endeavours (Young, 2019, p. 159). Increased involvement in peacekeeping operations enhances the successful maintenance of stability and prevention of conflicts, enabling a country to participate in resolving disputes experienced in regions of unrest. Therefore, Canada’s fortifying the collective pursuit of security and upholding its commitment to global welfare will uphold its stature and advance the cause of peace and security on a global scale (Global Affairs Canada, 2023). Canada, aiming to mitigate the likelihood of terrorism, extremism, and organized crime spilling across borders, should increase its involvement in peacekeeping missions.
Secondly, to strengthen its international influence and enforce Canadian laws effectively to ensure justice and stability for its citizens, it should increase its involvement in peacekeeping operations. Canada is mandated to strengthen its international influence, which can only be achieved by participating in peacekeeping programs. Therefore, Canada’s participation in peacekeeping missions would serve as a conduit for human rights, core values of democracy and international adherence to the rule of law. Increasing reputation would enable Canada to surge its influence on the global stage and leverage various diplomatic aspects that shape international policies and decisions (Fuhr, 2019, p. 51). Therefore, Canada’s role in peacekeeping missions, standing as a testament to its status, should increase its involvement in shaping discourse and outcomes of peace and security initiatives.
Thirdly, to uphold humanitarian imperative, Canada should prioritize increasing its participation in peacekeeping programs. Effective participation in peacekeeping missions facilitates easy delivery of humanitarian aid, promoting peaceful resolution of conflicts and protecting civilians from violence. Thus, Canada increasing its enhanced engagement in peacekeeping operations would significantly tackle underlying drivers of conflicts and save lives (Young, 2019, p. 162). Canada amplifying its participation in peacekeeping endeavours would effectively bolster international efforts to promote sustainable peace and restore stability. In addition, Canada should increase its commitment to peacekeeping operations to uphold international values and norms that enhance its reputation (Kimiayjan, 2020). Significantly, the humanitarian imperative achieved from Canada’s involvement in peacekeeping missions fosters peace and stability, which directly contributes to its security and prosperity.
Fourth, Canada’s increasing its involvement in peacekeeping missions would project soft power and advance its values and global interests (Kimiayjan, 2020). Through active participation in peacekeeping operations, Canada would demonstrate its devotion to fostering peace and reinforce its position as a leading advocate for stability and justice. Supporters of increased Canada’s involvement in peacekeeping missions associate it with its credibility as a principled actor in international affairs (Fuhr, 2019, p. 91). Therefore, Canada’s deploying peacekeeping forces will effectively showcase its willingness to shoulder the burden of global challenges by solidifying its reputation for maintaining security and humanitarian endeavours.
Lastly, Canada, to offer Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and security personnel an opportunity to gain valuable experience in conflict resolution, crisis management, and peacebuilding, should increase its involvement in peacekeeping missions. Increasing participation in peacekeeping in Canada will profoundly bolster its interoperability with international counterparts. Enhancing capacity building a country develops a sense of ownership and empowerment, which enables community partners to gain greater control over their security development (Global Affairs Canada, 2023). By enhancing personnel within peacekeeping missions, a country exposes its citizens to diverse scenarios, enabling them to refine their abilities to foster dialogue among conflicting parties. Therefore, Canada’s increasing involvement in peacekeeping missions will align its national interests with its commitment to global stability and demonstrate leadership and solidarity in solving shared global challenges.
Opposing Arguments
Arguments against Canada increasing its involvement in peacekeeping missions argue that increasing its participation would impose Canada’s military resource constraints. As Canada faces competing demands for its limited resources, increasing its involvement in peacekeeping missions could strain the country’s budget and divert resources away from other pressing needs (Legion Magazine, 2023). Resource constraints would compromise the readiness and preparedness of Canadian armed forces for unforeseen contingencies. Canada increasing its involvement in peacekeeping endeavours would deny the country an assessment of adequate resources needed for domestic defence and security requirements (Young, 2019, p. 164). Therefore, to avoid strain and diversion of resources away from other pressing needs, Canada should avoid increasing its involvement in peacekeeping missions.
Secondly, by increasing its involvement in peacekeeping missions, Canada would face significant security risks and other threats. Therefore, to protect its citizen’s safety and well-being, Canada needs to reduce its involvement in peace discussions. Canadian personnel participation in peacekeeping missions will lead Canada to substantial security risks stemming from their antagonistic settings. Therefore, Canada does not need to play a bigger role in peacekeeping. Instead, it should focus on the bigger roles of elevating its place on the world stage (Global Affairs Canada, 2023).
Additionally, Canada’s engagement in peacekeeping missions would intensify and amplify apprehensions regarding their welfare and the likelihood of casualties. Canada’s escalating involvement in the above endeavours would inevitably elevate the level of risk and necessitate a meticulous assessment of strategies to safeguard deployed personnel’s well-being. Therefore, to protect Canadian security personnel, Canada should avoid increasing its involvement in peacekeeping missions because increased participation within the military would have implications for morale, recruitment, and retention.
Thirdly, Canada increasing its involvement in peacekeeping missions would burden the country financially because peacekeeping operations are costly. Considering its potential escalation in involvement, this risk is more pronounced in Canada (Kimiayjan, 2020). Therefore, the government will face resource allocation challenges if Canada amplifies its presence in peacekeeping tasks. Canada’s increasing involvement in peacekeeping will divert funds from crucial domestic sectors essential for societal well-being and development (Fuhr, 2019, p. 103). increasing involvement in peacekeeping necessitates careful consideration and balancing priorities to ensure the nation’s internal stability and development are not compromised. Canada’s participation in peacekeeping will compromisethe delicate balance between global responsibilities and domestic imperatives that protect the country and its citizens’ welfare.
Rebuttal to Counterarguments
The advantages of increasing involvement in peacekeeping missions outweigh the potential risks; Canada should consider increasing its involvement nationally and internationally (Legion Magazine, 2023). risks associated with peacekeeping missions do not necessarily require a significant expansion of resources. Thus, Canada should increase its participation in peacekeeping. Canada’s increasing participation will leverage its existing capabilities and collaborate with other countries to maximize the impact of its contributions and prevent conflicts from escalating.
Moreover, Canada’s increasing involvement will give it an opportunity to work with other stakeholders to ensure peacekeeping operations are well-defined and supported by clear mandates (Young, 2019, p. 167). Canada’s involvement should inform its approach to future peacekeeping engagements and enhance conflict prevention and resolution effectiveness. Sovereignty and national interest being valid considerations, Canada increases its involvement to recognize its interests in the global realm (Global Affairs Canada, 2023). The above-supporting argument emphasizes the importance of Canada increasing its participation in peacekeeping missions nationally and internationally.
Conclusion
In the modern world, Canada, standing at a pivotal juncture to elevate its involvement in peacekeeping missions, should consider increasing its commitment to peace discussion to strengthen its diplomatic ties, advance national interests, and boost international peace and security. Critics raise concerns regarding Canada’s increased involvement in peacekeeping missions demonstrates various advantages the country would achieve for affirming its commitment. Thus, to address domestic priorities and safeguard its national interests, Canada should increase its involvement in peacekeeping missions. Additionally, aiming to engage proactively in peacekeeping endeavours, Canada should increase its involvement to address potential threats and promote stability in regions critical to risks. Therefore, Canada’s participation in multilateral efforts to resolve conflicts and mitigate would build partnerships with like-minded nations and bolster Canada’s diplomatic standing internationally.
References
Fuhr, S. (2019). Improving diversity and inclusion in the Canadian Armed Forces. Report of the Standing Committee on National Defence. 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. 7-133.https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/NDDN/Reports/RP10491893/nddnrp16/nddnrp16-e.pdf
Global Affairs Canada (2023). Backgrounder: Canada’s Commitments at the 2023 United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial. https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2023/12/backgrounder-canadas-commitments-at-the-2023-united-nations-peacekeeping-ministerial.html
Kimiayjan, P. (2020). The Need to Revive Canadian Peacekeeping Missions. https://peacediplomacy.org/2020/03/27/the-need-to-revive-canadian-peacekeeping-missions/
Legion Magazine, (2023). Should Canada Continue to Participate in Peacekeeping? https://legionmagazine.com/face-to-face-should-canada-continue-to-participate-in peacekeeping/
Young, G. (2019). Political decision-making and the decline of Canadian peacekeeping. Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 25(2), 152–171.https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/209399/7/209399.pdf
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