Though often overlooked, unilateralism as a foreign policy approach deserves to be studied, even in the case of Canada, a country that has developed a reputation as a staunch defender of its opposite, multilateralism. This thesis studies does precisely that, and is prompted, by a proposition recently put forward by Allan Gotlieb, the former Canadian Ambassador to the United States, that, when other methods have proven ineffective, unilateralism has been a very real option for Canada. The thesis explores the validity of Gotliebs claim by examining three cases cited by Gotlieb as examples of a unilateral approach taken by Canada: the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act in 1970, its declaration of straight baselines around the Arctic Archipelago in 1985, and the so-called Turbot War launched by enforcement of amendments to the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act in 1995. Were these in fact cases of determined unilateralism, prompted as Gotlieb argues, by a basic need to defend the most basic of Canadas core interests, its territorial sovereignty? <p>Further investigation of the cases cited by Gotlieb reveals that he is correct in one sense but not in another. In all of the cases Canada undeniably acted unilaterally. But Gotliebs analysis misses the larger reality that the three initiatives were pursued within a framework of multilateralism. Canada acted unilaterally not simply for the purpose of protecting Canadas territorial integrity, but in the hopes of reinvigorating a multilateral process.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:SSU.etd-10172006-120149 |
| Date | 17 October 2006 |
| Creators | Stromberg, Rhiannon Erin |
| Contributors | Story, Donald C. |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-10172006-120149/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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