This is probably one of my last blog entry for this course. The presentation is done and it went really well. Now I am working on my paper and my goal is to finish it by the end of this week so my friend can proof read it.
I really hope I can attain my goal so I can move on to the next stage, which is vacation! :o)
I am done looking over the first part of my paper, now I am working on the case study.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
presentation today
so today is my presentation. I think I am ready. I am just really nervous so im trying to relax at this point. I have not done a important presentation since high school therefore i hope i did not forget how to act in that kind of situation.
Of course I hope that you will enjoy the presentation and that you will learn about Canada's foreign policy and Haiti.
so I will be there in 4 1/2 hours...yes that is how nervous I am!
:o)
Of course I hope that you will enjoy the presentation and that you will learn about Canada's foreign policy and Haiti.
so I will be there in 4 1/2 hours...yes that is how nervous I am!
:o)
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
YEAH!!!!
okay!
I am very excited right now because the first draft of my paper is pretty much completed :o) !
Hence for the next 5 hours or so, I will be putting everything together and proofreading. Tomorrow (tuesday) I am planning on finishing the AV portions of my presentation, that is adding subtitles and transitions. By wednesday night, I want my presentation to be wrapped, hence I can get ready to present friday.
I am very nervous as several of my friends want to see the presentation. I do not know if they will follow through but if they do, it makes me very nervous. I must add that presenting in front of you (professor) adds to the pressure.
Enough for today, I am going to work.
I am very excited right now because the first draft of my paper is pretty much completed :o) !
Hence for the next 5 hours or so, I will be putting everything together and proofreading. Tomorrow (tuesday) I am planning on finishing the AV portions of my presentation, that is adding subtitles and transitions. By wednesday night, I want my presentation to be wrapped, hence I can get ready to present friday.
I am very nervous as several of my friends want to see the presentation. I do not know if they will follow through but if they do, it makes me very nervous. I must add that presenting in front of you (professor) adds to the pressure.
Enough for today, I am going to work.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
It is soon coming to an end...
The semester is pretty much done. It is not because I do not write in the blog that I am not doing anything. On the contrary! At this point, things being wrapped up. Thus, all the clips I need for my presentation are on digital format and in "final cut". I just need to render and compress them so I can put them in my powerpoint presentation. I am feeling nervous that I might encounter technical difficulties in my presentation, but maybe I am over reacting. Before I forget, for my presentation, depending the room we will use, I will need a computer (where we could also hear the clips) and access to internet. I did all my work on the Macs, therefore I am not sure if everything will work on PC. Just let me know.
I must admit that despite the fact that I am exhausted at this point, I learned a lot in this course. Anyhow I will most likely write something about that in about a week when everything will be done.
I must admit that despite the fact that I am exhausted at this point, I learned a lot in this course. Anyhow I will most likely write something about that in about a week when everything will be done.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
update on the past week
For the past week, I was working in the computer lab putting all my footage on digital format and getting all my notes organized. Yesterday, I created my 1st draft for my presentation and today I will be working on putting it all together (meaning taking the extracts of the interviews that I want and putting them throughout my presentation). I really hope that I do not encounter too many technical difficulties in the process since I do not have much time left.
At this point, I am only missing references for the historical part of my paper (context after WWII and shift in foreign policy) which I should work on thursday.
At this point, I am only missing references for the historical part of my paper (context after WWII and shift in foreign policy) which I should work on thursday.
multilateralism
Canada amongst nations:1992-93
'The New Multilateralism and evolving Security System' by David A. Welch pg 67-93
In the post Cold War world, their were 2 different views that were clashing for the international relations theorists. The first school of thought was structural realism which had a dark perspective of the future and the second one was a believer in cooperation, therefore much more optimistic (pg.67).
Structural realism
The breakdown of bipolarity calls for the return of chronic instability and violence which was characteristic of the multipolar system of the 1st half of the 20th century; it led to the 2 World Wars as well as the most severe economic depression ever known in modern history. Although the extend of the difficulties nowadays might be lesser than in the 1930s and 40s, according to this view, there are grounds for serious concerns. The destruction of the Soviet Unions in 1989 led to the rise of nationalism in Europe and the disappearance of the bond uniting the western Great Powers; namely the fear of Soviet attack. Simultaneously, the decline of the United States, particularly economically, prevented the US' ability to maintain harmony everywhere at the same time (pg 67-68).
In addition, this world of uncertainty in a post Cold War context will certainly undermine trust and increase the general fear. Several characteristics of the old world were not desirable. For instance, "the domination of the superpowers within their respective blocs, the balance of nuclear terror, ideological polarization and militarization of peacetime economies". Despite this list, realists theorists recognize and admit that these characteristics preserve long and stable peace (pg. 68).
Optimistic view
On the other hand, optimists believe that the end of the Cold War signals a new phase of peaceful international cooperation that will enable countries to adress a broad range of problems that requiries concerted actions on a global scale ie regional conflicts and environmental degradation. Several arguments were made to justify this optimism:
1- the rise of interdependence and the institutionalisation of world affairs inclines states toward cooperation and collective response to international problems
2- the spread of democracy and the decline of militarism will increasingly coerce worldwide governments to devote greater attention and resources to welfare issues.
3- the globalization of the telecommunication has increased the Awareness and sensitivity of peoples with respect to other cultures and to cosmopolitan issues.
4-leaders learned from mistakes that occoured in 1914, 1929 and 1939 and will avoid to repeat the same gestures.
5- development of nuclear weapons has revolutionized states and the attitude of society towars war and rendered major wars too costly to fight and thus to risk (p.69).
The big interrogation lies in the applicability of multilateralism in the future. One fact is that multilateralism will depend on the collective ability of the Great Powers to maintain it. Although it will face challenges to moderate to excitment of the optimists(p. 69).
The world has witnessed Canada's major involvement in multilateralism in the past decades. Hence, Canada is amongst its biggest supporter.
'The New Multilateralism and evolving Security System' by David A. Welch pg 67-93
In the post Cold War world, their were 2 different views that were clashing for the international relations theorists. The first school of thought was structural realism which had a dark perspective of the future and the second one was a believer in cooperation, therefore much more optimistic (pg.67).
Structural realism
The breakdown of bipolarity calls for the return of chronic instability and violence which was characteristic of the multipolar system of the 1st half of the 20th century; it led to the 2 World Wars as well as the most severe economic depression ever known in modern history. Although the extend of the difficulties nowadays might be lesser than in the 1930s and 40s, according to this view, there are grounds for serious concerns. The destruction of the Soviet Unions in 1989 led to the rise of nationalism in Europe and the disappearance of the bond uniting the western Great Powers; namely the fear of Soviet attack. Simultaneously, the decline of the United States, particularly economically, prevented the US' ability to maintain harmony everywhere at the same time (pg 67-68).
In addition, this world of uncertainty in a post Cold War context will certainly undermine trust and increase the general fear. Several characteristics of the old world were not desirable. For instance, "the domination of the superpowers within their respective blocs, the balance of nuclear terror, ideological polarization and militarization of peacetime economies". Despite this list, realists theorists recognize and admit that these characteristics preserve long and stable peace (pg. 68).
Optimistic view
On the other hand, optimists believe that the end of the Cold War signals a new phase of peaceful international cooperation that will enable countries to adress a broad range of problems that requiries concerted actions on a global scale ie regional conflicts and environmental degradation. Several arguments were made to justify this optimism:
1- the rise of interdependence and the institutionalisation of world affairs inclines states toward cooperation and collective response to international problems
2- the spread of democracy and the decline of militarism will increasingly coerce worldwide governments to devote greater attention and resources to welfare issues.
3- the globalization of the telecommunication has increased the Awareness and sensitivity of peoples with respect to other cultures and to cosmopolitan issues.
4-leaders learned from mistakes that occoured in 1914, 1929 and 1939 and will avoid to repeat the same gestures.
5- development of nuclear weapons has revolutionized states and the attitude of society towars war and rendered major wars too costly to fight and thus to risk (p.69).
The big interrogation lies in the applicability of multilateralism in the future. One fact is that multilateralism will depend on the collective ability of the Great Powers to maintain it. Although it will face challenges to moderate to excitment of the optimists(p. 69).
The world has witnessed Canada's major involvement in multilateralism in the past decades. Hence, Canada is amongst its biggest supporter.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
back from the interviews...
Last week I completed 3 interviews for the research as explained in the previous postings: with Ms. Martin, Mr Laurent and Ms. Ambroise. I had an amazing time interviewing these different people about the topic of my paper.
Before meeting Ms. Martin, I was very nervous since I had never interviewed high profile people. I went in the office with preconceived ideas of the way government runs the foreign affairs department and how Canada has been helping Haiti (or lack of). I must say that I was pleasantly surprised after the 1st interview since Ms. Martin had extensive knowledge of Haiti and its situation. I try at several occasions to ask her tricked question about her department but she was always very good at answering my questions with extensive diplomacy. She was also extremely knowledgeable about her own department (namely the foreign affairs). In this interview I clearly understood that Canada's main goal is to rebuild the whole country since it is chaotic. The government put the emphasizes on the infrastructures (political and economic). I also learned about the fact that the government does not advertise the 3Ds anymore but instead a pan governmental effort. Moreover, Ms Martin's points correlated with my readings; Canada is focusing in multilateral missions. Ms. Martin talked to me about the extensive involvement of other countries such as Brazil and EU. ms Martin also admitted that the help provided so far by the Canadian government has not fixed the problems occurring in Haiti but at least it has brought some positives like the positive economic growth for the first time in decades and the decline of HIV. Her department biggest achievement according to her was the elected government with Rene Preval as the winner. After the interview, I thought that the foreign affairs department is realistic when it comes to its involvement in Haiti.
Ms. Ambroise interview was also very good. When I started, I thought that she was going to criticize Canada's implication in Haiti with tremendous fervor. In the contrary, Ms. Ambroise 's arguments correlated with Ms. Martin. That was a big surprise for me. Of course, there are some aspects of the issue that Ms. Ambroise put more emphasize on and since she is Haitian herself, it is understandable to see where she comes from with her arguments. Ms. Ambroise also emphasized a lot on the brain drain happening in Haiti because of the political situation. She also stated that Haiti will only get better when its own habitants will work together. Because of her main position in the Embassy (she is responsible for the culture portfolio), she thinks that it is imperative that Haitians sell their culture abroad in order for others to enjoy it while helping Haitians to get back on their feet. 2 weeks ago, there was a conference in Montreal held by CIDA and apparently the speaker stated that Haiti had no resources whatsoever. Ms. Ambroise took the time to tell me how much Haiti had to offer but that the country just needs structure.
Mr. Laurent's interview went also well. He was very courteous. He had extensive knowledge of the political situation in the country and since he is himself part of the big worldwide Haitian diaspora, he was able to give me certain perspectives concerning Haitians feelings towards Canada. He also talked about the brain drain. I will thus assume from my interviews and personal experience that it is a plague in Haiti and also in a lot of Less Developed Countries. He concluided the interview by saying that the aid coming from Canada and other countries needs to be better managed.
________________________________________
I must say that I am very happy of the opportunity I had to meet with these people for my research. Their input are definitely helping me to have a good grasp of the topic.
Before meeting Ms. Martin, I was very nervous since I had never interviewed high profile people. I went in the office with preconceived ideas of the way government runs the foreign affairs department and how Canada has been helping Haiti (or lack of). I must say that I was pleasantly surprised after the 1st interview since Ms. Martin had extensive knowledge of Haiti and its situation. I try at several occasions to ask her tricked question about her department but she was always very good at answering my questions with extensive diplomacy. She was also extremely knowledgeable about her own department (namely the foreign affairs). In this interview I clearly understood that Canada's main goal is to rebuild the whole country since it is chaotic. The government put the emphasizes on the infrastructures (political and economic). I also learned about the fact that the government does not advertise the 3Ds anymore but instead a pan governmental effort. Moreover, Ms Martin's points correlated with my readings; Canada is focusing in multilateral missions. Ms. Martin talked to me about the extensive involvement of other countries such as Brazil and EU. ms Martin also admitted that the help provided so far by the Canadian government has not fixed the problems occurring in Haiti but at least it has brought some positives like the positive economic growth for the first time in decades and the decline of HIV. Her department biggest achievement according to her was the elected government with Rene Preval as the winner. After the interview, I thought that the foreign affairs department is realistic when it comes to its involvement in Haiti.
Ms. Ambroise interview was also very good. When I started, I thought that she was going to criticize Canada's implication in Haiti with tremendous fervor. In the contrary, Ms. Ambroise 's arguments correlated with Ms. Martin. That was a big surprise for me. Of course, there are some aspects of the issue that Ms. Ambroise put more emphasize on and since she is Haitian herself, it is understandable to see where she comes from with her arguments. Ms. Ambroise also emphasized a lot on the brain drain happening in Haiti because of the political situation. She also stated that Haiti will only get better when its own habitants will work together. Because of her main position in the Embassy (she is responsible for the culture portfolio), she thinks that it is imperative that Haitians sell their culture abroad in order for others to enjoy it while helping Haitians to get back on their feet. 2 weeks ago, there was a conference in Montreal held by CIDA and apparently the speaker stated that Haiti had no resources whatsoever. Ms. Ambroise took the time to tell me how much Haiti had to offer but that the country just needs structure.
Mr. Laurent's interview went also well. He was very courteous. He had extensive knowledge of the political situation in the country and since he is himself part of the big worldwide Haitian diaspora, he was able to give me certain perspectives concerning Haitians feelings towards Canada. He also talked about the brain drain. I will thus assume from my interviews and personal experience that it is a plague in Haiti and also in a lot of Less Developed Countries. He concluided the interview by saying that the aid coming from Canada and other countries needs to be better managed.
________________________________________
I must say that I am very happy of the opportunity I had to meet with these people for my research. Their input are definitely helping me to have a good grasp of the topic.
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