NATO and NORAD in the Sino-Russo-American Configuration of Power

Both the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) and the Canada-United States North American Air Defence Command, later Aerospace Defence Command, (NORAD) not only respond to specific threats but are also products of global great power relations. Important changes in these relations are in progress. The resurgence of Russian ‘sphere of interest’ politics in Eastern Europe and China’s comprehensive march to great power status are chief among these. At the same time, we realize limits to power in both North America and NATO Europe. NATO, with Canada’s active participation, is responding to its new threats. However, NORAD is struggling to address the full range of defence needs confronting North America. This chapter argues that Canada’s own security logic of working closely with allies by means of integrated operations, which it has sought in NATO and NORAD since their beginnings, is increasingly at risk. The imbalance between Canada’s pro-active approach in NATO and its self-limitations in NORAD do not serve Canada’s security interests in an international system where the power of the United States is challenged by Chinese power and by Sino-Russian ad hoc cooperation.