The Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) announced the release of Cracks in the Liberal International Order: 2018 Global Trends Report – a Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) Graduate Fellows anthology. The anthology is a compilation of policy briefs prepared by the BSIA masters and doctoral students for officials at Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
“U.S. policies under President Donald Trump have presented further challenges to the current multilateral system,” said John Ravenhill, Director of the BSIA in Waterloo. “Middle powers such as Canada have no choice but to adapt to this changing environment. The need for creative thinking on big global problems is as urgent as ever.”
Cracks in the Liberal International Order is the final output of the 2016-17 CIGI Graduate Fellows program, a professional development program run by the BSIA in partnership with CIGI, Canada’s leading international affairs think tank. Through this project, students prepared briefs on a wide range of global issues: the environment, global health and development, the mass movements of peoples, security, and engagement with the Asia Pacific.
“Innovative ideas are invaluable as governments around the world look for solutions to some of the most pressing issues of our time,” said Aaron Shull, Managing Director and General Counsel at CIGI. “CIGI is proud to support the exceptional graduate students at the Balsillie School as they continue to bring forward-thinking solutions to the ever-evolving global landscape.”
Throughout the program, more than 40 students worked with a dozen senior scholars based at the School and CIGI as they developed innovative policy solutions based on sound, empirical research and incisive analysis. This research was then presented to senior officials at Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa this past summer.
“Our report is very much a ‘whole-of-school’ project. It represents some of the very best thinking taking place at the Balsillie School,” said Ravenhill. “My thanks to faculty in the School for supervising the projects, to GAC for supporting the work of our students, and to CIGI for all of its help in publishing the anthology.”
For more information about the program, contact: Dr. Andrew Thompson, asthompson@balsillieschool.ca, 226.772.3075
Originally published by the Balsillie School of International Affairs.