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Partnerships in Military Interventions and the Canadian Public

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2016

Theodore McLauchlin*
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal
*
Départment de science politique, Université de Montréal, 3150, av Jean-Brillant, Montréal QC, HC3 3J7, email: theodore.mclauchlin@umontreal.ca

Abstract

Do Canadians’ preferences for Canada's role in the world depend on who Canada acts with and not just what Canada does? This question is particularly important in the context of overseas military intervention, which Canada never undertakes on its own. This paper presents a survey experiment measuring how support for a hypothetical peace operation changes with the leader of the mission. Missions led by the United Nations and by Canada's European allies receive more support than American-led missions do, especially among respondents who also favour peace operations for substantive reasons. The finding suggests that the UN and the European connection are alternative ways for a mission to benefit from a preference for multilateralism. While the results confirm some tension between American-led missions and internationalism, European partnerships may offer a way of reconciling an interest in alliances with the internationalist Canadian public.

Résumé

Les préférences qu’expriment les Canadiens relatives au rôle du Canada dans le monde dépendent-elles de ceux avec qui le Canada interagit et non seulement de ce que le Canada fait? Cette question est particulièrement importante dans le contexte de l’intervention militaire outre-mer, ce que le Canada n’entreprend jamais seul. Cet article présente une expérience dans un sondage, mesurant comment l’appui à une opération de paix fictive change en fonction du chef de mission. Les missions conduites par les Nations Unies et par les alliés européens du Canada reçoivent plus d’appuis que les missions conduites par les États-Unis, surtout parmi les répondants qui sont en faveur des opérations de paix pour des raisons substantielles également. Ces constats suggèrent que l’ONU et l’ancrage européen sont deux moyens alternatifs pour qu’une mission bénéficie d’une préférence des Canadiens pour le multilatéralisme. Alors que les résultats confirment une certaine tension entre les missions menées par les États-Unis et l’internationalisme, les partenariats européens peuvent offrir une façon de concilier un intérêt porté aux alliances avec le public internationaliste au Canada.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2016 

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