Canada in Kandahar : an expression of internationalism

Abstract

This thesis examines the decision by the government of Prime Minister Paul Martin in March of 2005 to deploy Canadian troops to the Kandahar region of Afghanistan – a region that is considered to be one of the most perilous in the country. Indeed, the Kandahar mission has produced the highest number of deaths of Canadians in combat since the Korean War. Prior to this engagement, the Chretien government had sent Canadian troops on other missions in Afghanistan, which neither were as dangerous nor involved combat against insurgents. This thesis will seek to provide an explanation for the change in policy under the Martin government. It will argue that the decision to engage Canada in combat in Afghanistan can be understood as an expression of internationalism, whose meaning had been altered by the forces of globalization growing out of the 9/11 attacks. The methodological approach that will be used in the thesis is a case study, which draws upon established theories regarding Canadian foreign policy.