Canadian Identity and the Construction of Arctic Security Policy
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 12-7-2016 Use It or Lose It: Canadian Identity and the Construction of Arctic Security Policy Michael P. McCormack [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the International Relations Commons, and the Other International and Area Studies Commons Recommended Citation McCormack, Michael P., "Use It or Lose It: Canadian Identity and the Construction of Arctic Security Policy" (2016). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3257. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3257 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida USE IT OR LOSE IT: CANADIAN IDENTITY AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF ARCTIC SECURITY POLICY A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS by Michael P. McCormack 2017 To: Dean John F. Stack, Jr. School of International and Public Affairs This dissertation, written by Michael P. McCormack, and entitled, Use It or Lose It: Canadian Identity and the Construction of Arctic Security Policy, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this dissertation and recommend that it be approved. Thomas Breslin Ronald Cox Peter Craumer Mohiaddin Mesbahi, Major Professor Date of Defense: December 7, 2016 The dissertation of Michael P. McCormack is approved. John F. Stack, Jr. ` Dean of School of International and Public Affairs Andres G. Gil Vice President for Research and Economic Development and Dean of the University Graduate School Florida International University, 2017 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my advisor, Dr. Mohiaddin Mesbahi, for his wisdom, consideration, and patience over the course of my research and dissertation process. I would additionally like to thank my committee members, Dr. Thomas Breslin, Dr. Ronald Cox, and Dr. Peter Craumer for their individual and unique insights in helping to shape the ideas that formed the foundation of my dissertation. I would also like to thank Joel Zaslow for taking the time to read the initial draft of my dissertation and providing helpful commentary for the final product. This is not to forget the incredible gratitude I owe to my fellow cohort and the friendships formed during my time at FIU, which provided much-needed relief from the stresses of doctoral work. Most of all, I wish to thank my parents and sister for their love and support over the course of this process and in all that I do. iii ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION USE IT OR LOSE IT: CANADIAN IDENTITY AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF ARCTIC SECURITY POLICY by Michael P. McCormack Florida International University, 2017 Miami, Florida Professor Mohiaddin Mesbahi, Major Professor This dissertation investigates the specific factors that drive state action in Canadian Arctic security policy, particularly in relation to securitization of the Arctic region and historical factors that influence decision-making. The purpose of this research is to develop stronger linkages between securitization processes and actual policymaking. When studying the Arctic as a defined geographical space, we see considerable differences between Arctic states when it comes to how cultural and historical attachment to the Arctic region may serve as a selling point for the ability of national governments to justify allocation of defense resources to their respective publics. Using the Canadian case, this research illustrates the strength of identity factors when compared to day-to-day bureaucratic politics and the influence of public opinion. This dissertation does not follow the ideas of one particular theoretical paradigm, but instead utilizes eclecticism to better illustrate the depth of the various factors that may contribute to policymaking. Additionally, the effects of policymaking and securitization processes are measured through public opinion. The ultimate findings of this research support a hypothesis of linear identity factors as a major influence on Canadian Arctic security policy, but also suggest that research on securitization theory needs to better connect rhetorical iv securitization processes to actual policymaking. Through this, the research not only provides value in using this case as a test for the strengths and limits of securitization theory, but also emboldens understandings of security policy as being driven by a combination of domestic policy, foreign policy, endemic historical factors, and government strategic communication practices. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Building a Canadian Arctic identity 32 Chapter 3: New dimensions of security in the Canadian Arctic, 1993-2015 76 Chapter 4: Measuring the impact of policy in media and public opinion 109 Chapter 5: Conclusion 148 Bibliography 175 VITA 196 vi Chapter 1: Introduction In August 2007, a group of Russian scientists studying the extent of the Lomonosov Ridge used a submersible to plant a Russian flag on the seabed under the North Pole. While the event proved to be little more than a publicity stunt, Western media outlets were quick to see this as a harbinger of a new “resource race” in the Arctic,1 particularly in the context of the general relationship between Russia and the West at the time.2 In the end, this relatively minor incident created greater public attention to the Arctic as a source of “threat” that required action on the part of Arctic states. This is not to say, however, that the impact of climate change in the Arctic was not previously understood and planned for by various governments prior to this incident. Instead, the Russian “claim” on the North Pole opened up more questions regarding the geopolitical significance of the region and the various issues that Arctic states ought to address in developing a strategy for responding to Arctic climate change. Scholars and practitioners 1 This tone was seen in news pieces by major media outlets in covering the Lomsonov Ridge expedition, both during the expedition itself as well as after the “flag-planting.” Examples of this can be found in Jung Hwa Song, “Cold War at North Pole?” ABC News, July 31, 2007, accessed April 19, 2015, http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3432208; Jamie Doward, Robin McKie, and Tom Parfitt, “Russia leads race for North Pole oil,” The Guardian, July 28, 2007, accessed April 19, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/29/russia.oil; and Doug Struck, “Russia’s Deep-Sea Flag- Planting at North Pole Strikes a Chill in Canada,” The Washington Post, August 7, 2007, accessed April 19, 2015, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/06/AR2007080601369.html. Seemingly even-handed descriptions of the event nonetheless contained a suspicious tone of Russian intentions. As seen in CNN, “Russia plants flag on Arctic floor,” August 4, 2007, accessed April 19, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/08/02/arctic.sub.reut/index.html?eref=yahoo, expedition leader Arthur Chilingarov is described as “pro-Kremlin” while also discussing Russian media descriptions of the event as potentially “[raising] tension with the United States in a battle for Arctic gas.” 2 Earlier in the year, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech critical of American foreign policy at the Munich Security Conference that would later be seen as a turning point in souring the Russian- American relationship. See Rob Watson, “Putin’s speech: Back to cold war?” BBC News, February 10, 2007, accessed April 19, 2015, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6350847.stm. Just days after the North Pole flag-planting event, Russia resumed a Cold War practice of undertaking long-range bomber patrols which included flights over the Arctic. 1 have provided answers to many of these questions as of late, although full understanding of the political, economic, and social issues facing the region are still under development. As conceptions of security began to evolve beyond hard materialist concerns following the end of the Cold War, scholarship tying the natural environment to ideas about security also began emerging. This, in turn, increased attention to the study of specific cases in which the effects of climate change could be tied to measurable impacts on human populations. This has precipitated academic work on developing theoretical conceptions of the Arctic space and its relationship to real-world security issues. While the challenges faced by Arctic states have received greater attention on the parts of governments, non-governmental organizations, and think-tanks, academic communities devoted to Arctic issues have also begun forming. As such, academic work that addresses potential security problems in the Arctic in a comprehensive manner has been attempted, although there are still some areas in which even comprehensive approaches to Arctic issues are lacking. This is particularly evident when it comes to understanding the more discursive elements of the issue, such as the ability of governments to draw attention to and prioritize Arctic security issues within their respective bureaucracies and justify expenditure of resources on Arctic issues to their national populations. Additionally, academic work on Arctic security issues has, ironically, straddled the line between “non- traditional” conceptions of security that brought the natural environment into the discussion in the first place and more “traditional” conceptions that focus on power- balancing in the region. The manner in which scholarship about the Arctic is taking shape in many ways mirrors ongoing discussions about how best to frame our understanding of security and what constitutes “threats.” 2 The particular areas of this issue that this work takes interest in concern the specific factors that drive state action when it comes to Arctic security matters.