Canada and the Shattering of World Order
=0D=0A=Presenter: Mark Williams
=0D=0A=The Prime Minister of Canada delivered a eulogy for the Rules-Based International Order at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Mr. Carney described the RBIO as a “fiction” that was “partially false,” and suggests that we should not mourn its passing, but the implications of the shattering of world order are immense for a middle power like Canada. We are now in a world characterized by the return of great power conflict; a great economic regression; and a global democratic recession. It’s time for Canada to wake up from its decadent assumptions and get serious about strategic leadership for our country.
=0D=0A=October 31, 2026: The World Economy in Transition
=0D=0A=Presenter: Paul Bowles
=0D=0A=The world economy has been evolving for a long time. This talk will briefly review how and then discuss five key features of the contemporary world economy. If and how they are being reframed or upended by US policy will be analysed. The talk will conclude with some observations on the future of the world economy in light of U.S.-China geoeconomic rivalry.
=0D=0A=December 5, 2026 On Democracy
=0D=0A=Presenter: Michael MacKenzie
=0D=0A=Is democracy (as we know it) an endangered species? In this talk, Michael K. MacKenzie examines the state of democracy in the world today, as well as its past and potential futures. He argues that democracy is a way of doing politics that treats people as autonomous beings to be reasoned with instead of objects to be moved, manipulated, or used. When we navigate our disagreements using persuasion, deliberation, negotiation, compromise, or voting, we are acting democratically. But democracy is difficult to do well. It involves working with others, tolerating disagreements, and embracing the fact that people have potentially legitimate but divergent interests and perspectives. Democracies around the world are being threatened by autocratic leaders such as Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin who deny election loses or use violence and intimidation to get what they want. We may see the end of electoral democracy as we know it, but we will not see the end of democracy (just as we cannot clearly establish its beginnings). Democracy — like violence — is part of the human condition. We act democratically when it is pragmatic to do so. The challenge, then, is to create conditions that are conducive to democracy while making other forms of politics, such as intimidation and violence, more costly and thus less pragmatic and less desirable.
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