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Articles

Soft contributions are hard commitments: NATO and Canada’s global security agenda

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ABSTRACT

Since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) creation in 1949, Canada has been a consistent contributor to the Alliance but has frequently been criticized as a free rider. This article asks: what fuels this perception about Canada’s commitments to NATO? To answer this question, we introduce a typology of burden-sharing commitments inspired by the conceptual literature on power (hard, soft and smart) to explain why Canada’s role within NATO may be understated or even inaccurately portrayed. This framework also offers insights into Canada’s reputation at NATO. We show Canada’s contributions to NATO are more consistent than is usually acknowledged, though contextual factors significantly impact perceptions about those commitments. We also suggest strategies through which Canada can aspire to be a “smarter” contributor to NATO. The implication of our argument is to consider the spectrum of contribution types (with our typology) to reframe the nature of Alliance commitments and burden-sharing debates.

RÉSUMÉ

Depuis la création de l’Organisation du Traité de l’Atlantique Nord (OTAN) en 1949, la Canada a constamment contribué à cette alliance, mais a souvent été accusé de faire cavalier seul. Cet article pose la question : qu’est-ce qui alimente cette perception des engagements du Canada vis-à-vis de l’OTAN ? Dans l’objectif de répondre à cette question, nous présentons une typologie des engagements en faveur d’une répartition des charges, inspirée de la littérature conceptuelle sur le pouvoir (hard, soft et smart), pour expliquer pourquoi le rôle du Canada au sein de l’OTAN peut être sous-estimé, voire décrit de manière inexacte. Ce cadre offre aussi une vue d’ensemble de la réputation du Canada à l’OTAN. Nous démontrons que les contributions du Canada sont plus régulières que ce qui est habituellement admis, bien que des facteurs contextuels aient un impact significatif sur les perceptions concernant ces engagements. Nous suggérons également des stratégies à travers lesquelles le Canada peut aspirer à être un contributeur « plus smart » à l’OTAN. L’implication de notre argument est une prise en compte de l’ensemble des types de contributions (à partir de notre typologie) pour le recadrage de la nature des engagements auprès de l’Alliance et les débats autour de la répartition des charges.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sara Greco is a doctoral candidate of political studies at Queen’s University, an R.S. McLaughlin graduate fellow, and a student fellow at the Centre for International and Defence Policy.

Stéfanie von Hlatky is an associate professor of political studies at Queen’s University. She has published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, International Journal, European Security, Asian Security, as well as the Journal of Transatlantic Studies and has a book with Oxford University Press entitled American Allies in Times of War: The Great Asymmetry (2013).

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