the CIDP Undergraduate Mentorship Program presents: Discussion on defence with the CIDP's Visiting Defence Fellows.

Join us as the VDFs discuss the Complexities of Coalition Air Operations.

George's new book, Cold War 2.0, comes out in March, 2024. George will discuss in this session some of the key themes of the book, including: what it means for the democracies and the autocracies to be in a cold war, especially one that is technologically driven; why the democracies do technology and innovation better than the autocracies; and what the democracies have to do to leverage their edge in technology and innovation in order to prevail in Cold War 2.0.

Bio:

George S. Takach is a graduate of the University of Toronto (including IEP, Aix-en-Provence) (BA), the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (MA), and the Faculty of Law University of Toronto (JD). George is a former partner and national Technology Industry Leader at the McCarthy Tétrault law firm, where for 35+ years he represented Canadian and international technology companies (with financings, M&A and commercial matters) and traditional companies and governments with their sophisticated technology transactions and projects. George was an Adjunct Professor of computer law at Osgoode Hall Law School for 22 years. He is the author of Computer Law and two other books on the business of technology. He is now writing books on technology and geopolitics for a general audience, including Cold War 2.0: Artificial Intelligence in the New War Between China, Russia and America (pub date March 5, 2024, available from Simon & Schuster.com).

In this presentation, Megan MacKenzie will draw out the key contributions of her recent book, Good Soldiers Don't Rape (Cambridge University Press), which focuses on sexual violence within defence forces. The book uses feminist theories of 'rape culture' and institutional gaslighting to identify the key stories, myths, and misconceptions about military sexual violence that have obstructed addressing and preventing it. It includes an analysis of nearly thirty years of media coverage of military sexual violence in three case countries – the US, Canada and Australia. MacKenzie will relate her book to the recent scandals and high profile cases of sexual misconduct that have plagued the Canadian Forces over the past three years.

*A light lunch will be served, registration for this Event is not required.

Biography:

Megan MacKenzie is a feminist scholar interested in war, security studies, post-conflict recovery and reconstruction, and military culture. Her work is broadly focused on the ways that gender matters in understanding war and insecurity and the ways that experiences of war and insecurity are shaped by gendered norms and sexism.

Megan has been studying military culture and gender integration in the military for over a decade, which includes projects on military sexual violence, the integration of women into combat roles, and military suicide. She also has worked on issues related to post-conflict transitions and feminist solutions to ending war. This work includes projects on disarmament programs, amnesty provisions in peace agreements, truth and reconciliation commissions, and a series and edited book on feminist solutions to ending war. Megan is also involved in a research hub on images and international relations, based at the University of Copenhagen.

Megan’s research has been funded by the Australian Research Council, the Independent Research Fund Denmark, and the Sydney Social Sciences and Humanities Advanced Research Centre. She held a fellowship at the Belfer Centre Center for Science and International Affairs and the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Ian Garner’s research focuses on Russian culture and propaganda of war. He is particularly interested in combining methodologies from cultural studies, history, and political science to understand the changing impacts of communications and propaganda forms on subjects at war.

Garner completed his PhD in the Slavic Department at the University of Toronto after graduating from the University of Bristol (UK) and St. Petersburg Conservatory (Russia). His first book, Stalingrad Lives: Stories of Combat & Survival (McGill-Queen’s University Press), explored the nascence and afterlife of the myth of Stalingrad as a propaganda tool both historically and under the current Russian regime. His most recent work, Z Generation: Into the Heart of Russia’s Fascist Youth, charted experiences of burgeoning neo-fascist youth militarism since the year 2000, especially in light of the war in Ukraine. In his next project, tentatively titled I Killed For the Motherland, Garner seeks to chart a history of the ways in which propaganda and propagandists have (de)motivated Othered soldiers who have fought for the Russian state and to conceptualize how shifting digital landscapes may alter soldiering in the coming years.

Garner has written for media outlets including the Guardian, The Times, Foreign Policy, and The Washington Post, and makes regular appearances on global TV and radio networks including the BBC, CBC, Al Jazeera, and TVP World. He has worked with think tanks and policymakers in the UK, Canada, USA, Ukraine, and across Eastern Europe, and currently teaches in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University.

The purpose of this workshop is to explore the options for Canadian defence policy in the changing geostrategic environment of the Indo-Pacific region in the 2020s.

Workshop Briefs Coming soon...

Workshop Agenda

Thursday, 25 January

10h00–10h15: Welcome and introductory remarks

10h15–11h15: Presentation and discussion of briefs by Stephanie Carvin and Thomas Juneau, Deanna Horton, Stephen Nagy

11h15–11h30: Health break

11h30–12h30: Presentation and discussion of briefs by James A. Boutilier, Charlotte Duval-Lantoine

12h30–13h30: Lunch

13h30–15h15: Presentation and discussion of briefs by Jeremy Paltiel, Adam P. MacDonald, Ross O’Connor

15h15–15h30: Health break

15h30–16h30: Keynote address: Professor John Blaxland, Australian National University,

      “Canada’s defence challenges in the Indo-Pacific: A view from Down Under”

Friday, 26 January

9h00–10h15: Keynote plus-one: Responses to Professor Blaxland

10h15–10h30: Health break

10h30–11h45: Discussion of proposed policy paper

11h45–12h00: Concluding remarks and next steps

12h00: Workshop concludes

This workshop has been co-organized by the Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen’s University, and the Canadian Defence and Security Network. We are most grateful to the Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) program of the Department of National Defence for funding. Cover visual courtesy of Global Affairs Canada.

The workshop is being held under the Chatham House Rule (https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/chatham-house-rule): participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of any participant may be revealed.

We acknowledge that the workshop is being held on the traditional, unceded territories of the Algonquin nation;
we recognize the Algonquin peoples as the traditional custodians of the land on which we are meeting.

Visit the Events Calendar for an overview