Trade and Conflict

This book aims to reframe the broader debate on the recent globalization backlash and its implications for middle-powers such as Canada. Protectionists have been accused of unraveling the multilateralist world order. The United States pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and a series of tariffs imposed by both the United States and China threaten global economic integration. Fierce protectionist rhetoric risks gridlocking a fragile trade system that faces rising discontent, especially in light of the recent globalization backlash. American geopolitical hostilities are also influencing trade policies, notably punitive tariff and trade sanctions. Meanwhile, these fears are not limited to trade. The ongoing challenge to American hegemony and rising globalization backlash are dangerous signals of economic unpredictability that could perilously escalate towards outright conflict. This edited volume, then, tackles the trends of rising economic nationalism, unilateralism and protectionism to shed light on these vital foreign policy issues. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal.

Samuel MacIsaac is PhD candidate at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and is a Research Economist within the Canadian federal public service. His most recent work focuses on migrant remittances among other topics in international affairs. Buck Duclos is a PhD student at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. His research focuses on the link between migration and outbound foreign direct investment flows.

Introduction: Trade and conflict: trends in economic nationalism, unilateralism and protectionism 1. Rival economic nationalisms: Brexit and the Scottish independence movement compared 2. Sino-Canadian relations in the age of Justin Trudeau 3. Trade, conflict, and opportunity: taking advantage of others' protectionism and isolationism - the case of MERCOSUL 4. NAFTA renegotiations and support for Canada-China FTA 5. Conflict in the absence of war: a comparative analysis of China and Russia engagement in gray zone conflicts 6. Canada's quixotic foreign policy in the shifting global landscape 7. A skeletal review of the Sino-U.S. "trade war": contentious issues, trade multilateralism and policy recommendations