Dr. Edward Akuffo is the department head and associate professor of the Political Science Department at UFV. He studied at the University of Alberta where he earned his PhD in International Relations and Comparative Politics in Developing Countries.
On Jan. 20, Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the World Economic Forum at Davos, located in Switzerland. The forum hosts a meeting in Davos every year, where world leaders from a number of countries come to discuss and address world problems and call for collective action to solve them. Carney attended the event to speak directly to global, political, and business leaders about changes in today’s world.
During his speech, Carney illustrated a world that was experiencing a dramatic shift, suggesting that the existing system is vanishing, and to pretend otherwise is risky.
“It seems that every day we’re reminded that … the rules-based order is fading. That the strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must.”
Rather than framing current instability as a temporary disruption, Carney described it as a fundamental break in the norm.
“Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.”
However, Dr. Akuffo explained that this shift isn’t a sudden occurrence, as Carney suggested, but a slow, ongoing process that has already been happening for years.
“When you talk about rupture, it is like a sudden break from the past, but that is not exactly what we are witnessing. We are witnessing a gradual, deep structural transformation from this liberal, international, economic order to a form of order that we are yet to see and yet to put a name.”
Carney described a lie that countries like Canada have been participating in, which is the belief that the international rules based order applies equally to all countries, which is not the case.Â
“We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false. That the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient.”
This marks a departure from the usual language and attitude utilized by Canadian leaders, who have historically emphasized the importance of the rules-based order, and have never questioned its legitimacy. However, Dr. Akuffo explained that while Carney’s speech is new in its fairly direct criticism of the United States and his questioning of the rules-based international order, the actual content of his speech harkens back to traditional, realist international politics.Â
“He is playing on an old, tried and tested idea of international politics and the way states behave, and bringing that to give it a new kind of understanding and application to the economic relationship between Canada and other countries.”
Canada’s place on the world stage has often been described as a middle power — one that relies heavily on multilateralism, institutions, and alliances to navigate the international world. Carney embraces this identity and advocates that middle powers go further and work closer together to reduce their vulnerability as the great powers increasingly excuse themselves from the rules. Â
“The question for middle powers, like Canada, is not whether to adapt to this new reality. We must. The question is whether we adapt by simply building higher walls — or whether we can do something more ambitious.”
Rather than building a fortress, Carney calls for the middle powers to build new relationships, creating a counterbalance to great powers such as the U.S. and China. He warned that economic coercion is increasingly being used by the powerful to control smaller nations, making cooperation a defensive necessity.Â
“We know the old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy. But we believe that from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, and more just. This is the task of the middle powers, the countries that have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and the most to gain from a world of genuine cooperation.”
Dr. Akuffo explained that as Canada pursues friendships with other countries, it may need to expand its idea of “middle power” to include non-traditional members, such as those on the African continent and the African Union.Â
“[Middle powers] will include countries beyond that traditional group of states. Countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt; those could be potential allies in trying to build a coalition of states or a new kind of economic relationship that will help to advance the interests of the Canadian state. But to make it even more interesting is the point that there seems to be a more unified voice from the African continent, so it is possible that the term will also include regional [and] sub-regional groupings from the African continent.”
Whether Carney’s address at Davos has embarked Canada in a new direction, or is a simple rehash of past strategy, remains to be seen.
