How Does Globalization Affect Canada
Canada has now been in Kandahar for almost six years fighting by the sides of the strongest country, the United States. The attacks of September 11, 2001 undoubtedly affected not only the United States but the rest of the world as well. Canada, being their neighbours, took an oath and stepped in. There, of course, are controversies facing Canada taking part in this war. Some being that we should stay, being as we are dependent on U.S.A. Others being we should withdraw because the people of Canada are dependent on their government to make the right choice. To which is more important creates this ultimate controversy.
Canada has most definitely looked towards our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, for some answers about Afghanistan. He provides us with a statement …show more content…
indicating that he will pull our Canadian troops out of the war. People have wondered why he has not done this sooner but I believe the phrase “as we’ve known it” from the 2008 quote gave him an out. It is very vague but I think it means Canada only knows what they want to know. For example, Canada knows it is a good mission based on keeping our allies, or Canada knows it is a bad mission for the fact that we are sacrificing our country. Beyond this, Canada does not know. However, Stephen Harper knows there are pros and cons to either side but I believe the people of Canada influenced his decision.
The final decision that the Prime Minister has made is absolutely associated with politics. The decision to withdraw is more based on political culture and the citizen’s expectations for the government. Canada has inherited the concept of post-materialism after World War II, and this is what I believe to be the root of the decision. Post-materialism “…attaches comparatively greater importance to human needs…” (Brooks, 67). The human needs in this situation are for our troops to come home, to get our loved ones back and to not lose another soldier. To fulfill our human needs will only make our faith in the government grow, and this is what our political culture is based upon. It also helps that Canadians are “…more likely to accept state actions that they dislike, instead of mobilizing against such policies and the governments that institute them” (Brooks, 65). I believe this is because Canadians do not want to discourage the faith in the government and believe the Prime Minister will recover from any poor decisions.
Unfortunately, contrary to withdrawing, there are many more political factors associated with Canada staying in Afghanistan.
The core political aspect for Canada to stay is globalization. Globalization is “The increasing interdependence of states, economies and societies throughout the world…” (Brooks, 564). A quote found in the book that defines Canada’s globalization is “The central feature of Canada’s economic condition is the degree to which it is dependent on markets outside of Canadian borders” (Brooks, 483). A major part of Canada’s globalization is the United States, which is what influences us to stay in this war. This is also because “Canada has been the major export market for American goods for over half a century…”(Brooks, 493). On top of this, “The United States has long been the largest source of foreign investment in Canada, currently accounting for close to two-thirds of all foreign investment…” (Brooks, 493). The Canadian government fears that if they withdraw they will lose their trade agreements with U.S.A. as this is what Canada’s economy is dependent on. As proven here, it creates great political stress on our government to make the right decision for the long
run.
Canadians absolutely value the political culture that has been set in this country and fortunately we have a government that values this belief. This is what creates the strong faith that we have in our system. The underlying reason for such strong faith is because in the end, the government will meet our expectations. Although there are several more reasons for the Canadian government to keep their troops in Afghanistan, the human needs and well being of Canada will always outweigh these factors as the Prime Minister has proven.
Canada has most definitely looked towards our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, for some answers about Afghanistan. He provides us with a statement …show more content…
indicating that he will pull our Canadian troops out of the war. People have wondered why he has not done this sooner but I believe the phrase “as we’ve known it” from the 2008 quote gave him an out. It is very vague but I think it means Canada only knows what they want to know. For example, Canada knows it is a good mission based on keeping our allies, or Canada knows it is a bad mission for the fact that we are sacrificing our country. Beyond this, Canada does not know. However, Stephen Harper knows there are pros and cons to either side but I believe the people of Canada influenced his decision.
The final decision that the Prime Minister has made is absolutely associated with politics. The decision to withdraw is more based on political culture and the citizen’s expectations for the government. Canada has inherited the concept of post-materialism after World War II, and this is what I believe to be the root of the decision. Post-materialism “…attaches comparatively greater importance to human needs…” (Brooks, 67). The human needs in this situation are for our troops to come home, to get our loved ones back and to not lose another soldier. To fulfill our human needs will only make our faith in the government grow, and this is what our political culture is based upon. It also helps that Canadians are “…more likely to accept state actions that they dislike, instead of mobilizing against such policies and the governments that institute them” (Brooks, 65). I believe this is because Canadians do not want to discourage the faith in the government and believe the Prime Minister will recover from any poor decisions.
Unfortunately, contrary to withdrawing, there are many more political factors associated with Canada staying in Afghanistan.
The core political aspect for Canada to stay is globalization. Globalization is “The increasing interdependence of states, economies and societies throughout the world…” (Brooks, 564). A quote found in the book that defines Canada’s globalization is “The central feature of Canada’s economic condition is the degree to which it is dependent on markets outside of Canadian borders” (Brooks, 483). A major part of Canada’s globalization is the United States, which is what influences us to stay in this war. This is also because “Canada has been the major export market for American goods for over half a century…”(Brooks, 493). On top of this, “The United States has long been the largest source of foreign investment in Canada, currently accounting for close to two-thirds of all foreign investment…” (Brooks, 493). The Canadian government fears that if they withdraw they will lose their trade agreements with U.S.A. as this is what Canada’s economy is dependent on. As proven here, it creates great political stress on our government to make the right decision for the long
run.
Canadians absolutely value the political culture that has been set in this country and fortunately we have a government that values this belief. This is what creates the strong faith that we have in our system. The underlying reason for such strong faith is because in the end, the government will meet our expectations. Although there are several more reasons for the Canadian government to keep their troops in Afghanistan, the human needs and well being of Canada will always outweigh these factors as the Prime Minister has proven.