Hedging against China: formulating Canada’s new strategy in the era of power politics

Kawasaki, Tsuyoshi

doi:10.1080/11926422.2021.1901755

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Similarly, Kawasaki (2021) presents engagement, hedging, and confrontation as the three strategic options available to Canada, where hedging is seen as the preferable option. Within this lens, China is seen as a risk rather than a threat and, consequently, Ottawa seeks to manage its relationship with Beijing rather than eliminate it.…”

Section: Implications For Canadamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within this lens, China is seen as a risk rather than a threat and, consequently, Ottawa seeks to manage its relationship with Beijing rather than eliminate it. Hedging confers on Canada extensive flexibility with regards to its relations with both China and the United States and avoids the pitfalls of a bandwagoning approach or opting for a balancing framework; the former which relegates Canada to a small power role subject to Chinese and American coercive behaviour and the latter which negates the vested socio-economic interests Canada has to gain from collaborating with the PRC (Kawasaki, 2021). The main issue with Kawasaki's argument is that adopting ''engagement'' as substitute for bandwagoning confuses Canada's historical approach to China as one premised on supporting Chinese geopolitical interests.…”

Section: Implications For Canadamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Canada-China Relations in the Age of Great Power Competition: An Assessment of Canadian Foreign Policy Decision Making and Strategic Outlook

Denis¹

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Canada has, so far, awkwardly navigated the current U.S.-China geopolitical competition undertaking an ambiguous position, often labeled as inaction in policy circles, that has rendered any foreign policy decisions difficult to assess from a strategic perspective. Despite bilateral frictions that saw Sino-Canadian relations brought to their lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1970, the Canadian government has yet to embark on a policy direction that would see it in strategic opposition to China regardless of the path its closest ally and current hegemon, the United States, has set for itself. The Canadian government has, in fact, adopted a hedging approach to the U.S.-China rivalry. Canadian foreign policy decision making, despite being in contradiction to traditional international theories that would see it balance with Washington, is consistent with Canada's policy of engagement towards China which emphasizes the need to work constructively with Beijing and the irrationality of containment for Canadian interests. Structural level theories, in treating middle powers like Canada as policytakers in the same manner as lesser powers, forgo their very role as supporters and builders of the Liberal International Order and, hence, their strategic commitment to enforcing its core tenets even in the absence of an American buttress. The current state of Canadian foreign policy exhibits an approach to great power competition anchored in the established order that recognizes the drawbacks of both balancing and bandwagoning in light of the framework Washington and Beijing have adopted to their rivalry.

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Section: Implications For Canadamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications For Canadamentioning

confidence: 99%