Citizen Involvement in Canadian Foreign Policy

HOW TO INVOLVE CITIZENS in foreign policy in an age of globalization when international institutions are assuming increasing importance is one of the great challenges facing democracies. Some believe that globalization has created a 'democratic deficit' by transferring power to the top; that more and more decisions are escaping the control of the parliamentarians and even the executive branch of national governments because those decisions are being made by international organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Efforts by governments to influence globalization are frequently treated with suspicion. The summits that take place around the world are seen as either so far removed from ordinary citizens as to be irrelevant or, worse, dangerous in their implications.Although some of its critics reject it altogether, globalization is a reality that asserts itself daily in the lives of all citizens with an increasingly internationalized economy and the development of information and communication technologies. It is neither the source of the world's ills nor their panacea. It raises many important issues for societies, not least about governance.For the countries of the western hemisphere, the third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, 20-22 April 2001, represented a collective effort to maximize the benefits of globalization and take up the challenges associated with it. The new global reality influenced the process of the Summit of the Americas and the undertakings made by the heads of state and government of the 34 democracies that inhabit the hemisphere. As chair of the summit, the Canadian government opted for a different way of doing things by introducing greater transparency, both in the process and in the substance of the summit. This approach not only helped to develop a more effective Plan of Action, but also raised the level of citizen involvement in hemispheric affairs.INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIESPeople today have access to an almost infinite range of information through the internet. With a mere click of the mouse, they can express and publish their feelings, opinions, and concerns instantaneously to thousands of people from all walks of life and in all parts of the world. The result is an unprecedented volume of information and ideas in circulation, most of it beynd the direct control of the state.The new technology has a definite impact on governance. In authoritarian regimes, it curtails efforts to restrict free speech. In democracies, it presents a new channel for public opinion. It enables citizens to form direct ties across national boundaries and to mobilize in large numbers and in record time. Young people and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are most adept at using the medium effectively.The instantaneous availability of so much information may make people more sceptical when information is not accessible to them. With access to a variety of sources of information, citizens are far less inclined to take the information provided by governments on faith. Even as they are critical of the information they do receive from governments, they are outraged when information is denied them. In the summit process, one major demand of NGOs was for access to the negotiating texts of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) before the negotiations were over. In an age of scepticism, greater transparency tends to allay public apprehension of government intent by shedding light on how decisions are made and allowing citizens to judge for themselves. At the same time, the dissemination of relevant, current information opens the way for genuine involvement by potential players who are interested and want to be more engaged. As we prepared for the summit, we were aware of this fact and hence were able to make considerable progress on this front.INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE ECONOMYNational economies are more sensitive than ever to the dynamics of the global economy, particularly to flows of global finance

Development economics · Economics · Foreign policy · Geography · Physical geography · Political science · Politics · Summit · Canadian Identity and History · Canadian Policy and Governance · Law · Public Administration

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