| ID | 093627 |
| Title Proper | Canada and the bureaucratic politics of state fragility |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Desrosiers, Marie-Eve ; Lagasse, Philippe |
| Publication | 2009. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Canada's 2005 International Policy Statement announced that the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces were committed to "whole of government" interventions in failed and fragile states. This led both the Canadian government and outside observers to declare that Canada was successfully harmonising the aims and practices of its internationally focused departments and crafting a synergised approach to interventions in failed and fragile states. Drawing on Halperin and Clapp's organisational theory of bureaucratic politics, this paper argues instead that the foreign affairs and defence departments embraced the idea of failed and fragile states to reinforce their organisational essences and recycle their existing missions, roles, and capabilities. In addition, the departments used a "whole of government" approach to secure their autonomy, fence their respective functions, and enlarge their unique capabilities, under the guise of greater efficiency. |
| `In' analytical Note | Diplomacy and Statecraft Vol. 20, No. 4; Dec 2009: p.659 - 678 |
| Journal Source | Diplomacy and Statecraft Vol. 20, No. 4; Dec 2009: p.659 - 678 |
| Key Words | Canada ; Bureaucratic Politics ; State Fragility ; International Trade ; Department of Foreign Affairs ; Department of National Defence |