CIC National Capital (Ottawa) Branch presents…

THE NEW GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE AND THE NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO FOREIGN, DEFENCE AND SECURITY POLICY

AN INFORMAL CONVERSATION WITH MR. RICHARD FADDEN

26 March 2024, 5:30 pm EST

Delta Hotels by Marriott Ottawa City Centre, 101 Lyon St. N, Ottawa

OVERVIEW

The international and geopolitical landscape has become more volatile in recent years due to a variety of factors such as: rise of populist nationalist leaders; perceived or real decline in social justice and democracy; stagnating global economy and the widening gap between rich and poor; renewed superpower rivalry between NATO members and the PRC, Russia, and rising regional powers; climate change; rapid developments in cybersecurity and AI; extremist and fundamentalist views; organized crime; and corruption.

While these factors affect Canada, a number of events/characteristics are unique to this country: a general lack of interest in foreign/defence/security policy, a special range of concerns in respect of the USA, a belief that Canada is less at risk of threats than our allies, etc. Our ability to deal with these issues is hampered by our treating foreign, defence and security issues in silos and as transactions. The practical result of this approach is to continue to diminish our influence in the world.

Diplomatic, defence and intelligence successes and failures fill our history – as they do the history of our allies. Some of these will be reviewed but an emphasis will be placed on how this country might improve its ability see more clearly how to advance its interests while remaining grounded in the “West”.

In this informal conversation, Mr. Richard Fadden will discuss these and other related issues to help CIC members and the public to appreciate the need for Canada to utilize all the tools at its disposal in a comprehensive and co-ordinated fashion if it is to advance our national interests as effectively as possible.

SPEAKER

Mr. Richard Fadden, Former National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada (2015-2016) and Deputy Minister of National Defence (2013-2015)

REGISTRATION

This event is in-person, and it is open for everyone to join!

To register, please purchase a ticket on Eventbrite (click here). Tickets cost $50 for the public, $30 for CIC members, and $20 for students. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email.