Sub-Saharan Africa and Canada's Post-Cold War International Policy
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A HESITANT FIREFIGHTER: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND CANADA’S POST- COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL POLICY Major A.T. Spott JCSP 37 PCEMI 37 Master of Defence Studies Maîtrise en études de la défense Disclaimer Avertissement Opinions expressed remain those of the author and do Les opinons exprimées n’engagent que leurs auteurs et not represent Department of National Defence or ne reflètent aucunement des politiques du Ministère de Canadian Forces policy. This paper may not be used la Défense nationale ou des Forces canadiennes. Ce without written permission. papier ne peut être reproduit sans autorisation écrite. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the © Sa Majesté la Reine du Chef du Canada, représentée par le Minister of National Defence, 2011. ministre de la Défense nationale, 2011. CANADIAN FORCES COLLEGE - COLLÈGE DES FORCES CANADIENNES JCSP 37 - PCEMI 37 MASTER OF DEFENCE STUDIES - MAITRISE EN ÉTUDES DE LA DÉFENSE A HESITANT FIREFIGHTER: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND CANADA’S POST-COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL POLICY By Maj A.T. Spott This paper was written by a student attending La présente étude a été rédigée par un stagiaire the Canadian Forces College in fulfilment of du Collège des Forces canadiennes pour one of the requirements of the Course of Studies. satisfaire à l'une des exigences du cours. L'étude The paper is a scholastic document, and thus est un document qui se rapporte au cours et contains facts and opinions, which the author contient donc des faits et des opinions que seul alone considered appropriate and correct for l'auteur considère appropriés et convenables au the subject. It does not necessarily reflect the sujet. Elle ne reflète pas nécessairement la policy or the opinion of any agency, including politique ou l'opinion d'un organisme the Government of Canada and the Canadian quelconque, y compris le gouvernement du Department of National Defence. This paper Canada et le ministère de la Défense nationale may not be released, quoted or copied, except du Canada. Il est défendu de diffuser, de citer ou with the express permission of the Canadian de reproduire cette étude sans la permission Department of National Defence. expresse du ministère de la Défense nationale. Word Count: 21,984 Compte de mots : 1 ABSTRACT Many of the issues currently plaguing sub-Saharan Africa are a product of the two tumultuous decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Although the early 1990s released the region from the Cold War’s ideological struggle, the dawn of the new millennium witnessed a prevalence of famine, genocide, poverty, disease and war which have largely continued until the present day. Canada, one of the few Western nations unaffected by lingering Cold War and colonialist legacies, has proven to be a mercurial international policy actor. This paper will argue that post-Cold War Canadian engagement in sub-Saharan Africa has been decidedly inconsistent, with a marked ebb and flow which has demonstrated an abdication of a middle power leadership role within the region. Based upon the cumulative narrative of over 20 years of defence, development and diplomacy policy, sub-Saharan Africa has only intermittently risen to the fore of Canada’s conscience. Now more than ever, Canada has shown itself to be a hesitant international policy actor in the region whose initiatives are governed more by political expediency than by selfless humanitarianism. To delineate the erratic nature of Canadian international policy, the nation’s major initiatives over the last twenty years will be critically and chronologically reviewed. The paper will culminate with a summary of Canada’s historical international policy record in sub-Saharan Africa and the lessons learned from its previous military involvement on the continent. Prospects for future engagement will also be addressed as Canada cannot accrue long term interests, goodwill or influence in sub-Saharan Africa without both an assumption of risk and a renewed commitment to reinvigorate the nation’s foreign policy towards the region. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION _______________________________________________________ 3 CHAPTER 1 – A MOVE TO MARGINALIZATION _______________________ 9 1.1 Introduction _____________________________________________________ 9 1.2 Defence _______________________________________________________ 10 1.3 Development ___________________________________________________ 13 1.4 Diplomacy _____________________________________________________ 18 1.5 Conclusion ____________________________________________________ 20 CHAPTER 2 – DARKNESS AND LIGHT _______________________________ 22 2.1 Introduction ____________________________________________________ 22 2.2 Defence _______________________________________________________ 23 2.3 Development ___________________________________________________ 27 Figure 1 - Bi-lateral ODA Reductions by Region (1990-2001; millions Cdn $) _ 30 Figure 2 - Canadian ODA/GNP Ratio Reductions (1990-2001) _____________ 31 2.4 Diplomacy _____________________________________________________ 32 2.5 Conclusion ____________________________________________________ 40 CHAPTER 3 – A RETURN TO THE PERIPHERY _______________________ 43 3.1 Introduction ____________________________________________________ 43 3.2 Defence – The Martin Years _______________________________________ 44 3.3 Defence – The Harper Government _________________________________ 49 3.4 Development – The Martin Years ___________________________________ 51 Figure 3 - Total and Sub-Saharan Africa Bilateral ODA (1989-2005; thousands Cdn $) __________________________________________________________ 52 Figure 4 - Sub-Saharan Africa Share of Bilateral Canadian ODA ____________ 53 Figure 5 - 2005 New Resources for International Assistance ________________ 56 Figure 6 - 2005 Projected Growth of Canadian Assistance to Africa __________ 57 3.5 Development – The Harper Government _____________________________ 60 Figure 7 - Canadian Sub-Saharan Africa Countries of Focus 2009 ___________ 65 Figure 8 - Canadian All Source ODA by Region (2007 prices; millions Cdn $) _ 66 Figure 9 - Canadian ODA/GNI Ratio (2000-2008) _______________________ 67 3.6 Diplomacy – The Martin Years ____________________________________ 68 3.7 Diplomacy – The Harper Government _______________________________ 73 3.8 Conclusion ____________________________________________________ 80 CHAPTER 4 – A RECORD OF FAILURE _______________________________ 83 4.1 Introduction ____________________________________________________ 83 4.2 Somalia _______________________________________________________ 83 4.3 Rwanda _______________________________________________________ 91 4.4 Zaire _________________________________________________________ 97 4.5 Sudan ________________________________________________________ 104 4.6 Conclusion ___________________________________________________ 111 CONCLUSION _____________________________________________________ 113 BIBLIOGRAPHY ______________________________________________________ 118 3 Africa is a continent in flames. And deep down, if we really accepted that Africans were equal to us, we would all do more to put the fire out. We're standing around with watering cans, when what we really need is the fire brigade.1 Bono, Bono's Call to Action for Africa INTRODUCTION Bono’s 2005 TED Prize2 acceptance speech provides poignant insight into the international community’s response to modern Africa’s plight. Many of the issues plaguing the continent are a product of the two tumultuous decades following the fall of the Berlin Wall. The early 1990s released Africa from the Cold War ideological struggle between the world’s superpowers. Later, as the 20th century waned, conditions of famine, genocide, poverty, disease and war progressively worsened for the inhabitants of sub- Saharan Africa. As the region slipped further into despair, political scientists such as John W. Harbeson adroitly underscored that “one bitter legacy of the Cold War’s end became the stark reality of collapsed and gravely weakened states wherein effective governance ceased, nearly vanished, or dissolved in civil war.”3 1 TED.com, “Bono's Call to Action for Africa,” http://www.ted.com/talks/bono_s_call_to_action_ for_africa.html; Internet; accessed 01 February 2011. 2 TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design and was started as a 1984 conference to bring together professionals from the three constituent sectors. The TED prize is an annual award to a prominent member who receives $100,000 and an opportunity to present a wish for possible follow-on action by the TED community. See TEDPrize, “About the Ted Prize,” http://www.tedprize.org/about-tedprize/; Internet; accessed 06 May 2011. 3 John W. Harbeson, “Intimations of an African Renaissance,” in Africa in World Politics: Reforming Political Order, ed. John W. Harbeson and Donald Rothchild, 1-15 (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2009), 5. The effects that the end of the Cold War had on those developing nations which inhabited regions such as sub-Saharan Africa is a common thread throughout Canadian foreign policy literature. Also see Brian W. Tomlin, Norman Hillmer, and Fen Osler Hampson, Canada’s International Policies: Agendas, Alternatives, and Politics (Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press, 2008), 162. 4 Canada, one of the few Western nations unaffected by lingering Cold War and colonialist legacies, has been an inconsistent international policy actor in sub-Saharan Africa. At best, Canada has proven to be a hesitant fireman. Instead of leading international efforts to douse the