“How do we develop an agenda for peace?” This was the central question posed by former Canadian minister of foreign affairs Lloyd Axworthy on Monday evening, as a mixture of local academics, community members, and students assembled to ponder this question with one of Canada’s most notable speakers.
Sponsored by a variety of student and religious organizations, the talk was an attempt to offer a closer glimpse into the nature of international security and the most significant problems that currently confront the international community.
Axworthy began his talk by informing those of the broad scope of international terrorism. The “network of a global underworld,” he argued, is much broader and more extensive than simply that of terrorism, as many assume; drug cartels, rebel groups, and smugglers are among those groups that challenge the peaceful existence of world citizens. Bringing the argument closer to home, Axworthy said that although these groups exist in places like Colombia (where drug cartels are annually collecting billions of dollars), similar groups are also exploiting young women in Canada. The unfortunate reality, he concluded, was that “we are all so deeply linked together”; a reality, he said, that many Canadians prefer to ignore.
However, despite the fact that citizens are being increasingly connected through transnational forces, Axworthy argued that Canadians are also becoming “increasingly disconnected” from civil society. This reality of disconnection, he stresses, is one of the biggest problems in achieving peace and security. The disconnection can be illustrated through what he views as being the single greatest threat to world peace in the next 20 years: climate change. Axworthy speculated that conflicts over scarce resources such as water will be the next big threat to national security. The US’s refusal to allow a viable climate-change policy to take hold, he added, shows our disconnection to issues that are “vital and deep and affect us all,” issues that he said are on par with previous concerns like landmines.
Axworthy lamented that the problem is that the “democratic flow isn’t working,” and that this is caused by a lack of imaginative effort on Canada’s part. “We were at one time imaginative,” he said. However, fundamental reforms to democracy are needed, reforms that take some bold creative steps. One of the issues he raised was the degree of equity in our electoral system. “Only 21% of the senate has been comprised of women for the last 25 years,” he stated. Yet, the problem is that “guys don’t support the peace agenda-women do.”
“People have to start changing who pays for politics,” he said.
The crowd applauded when Axworthy suggested a more radical idea: “What if the Senate actually elected people of the International Monetary Fund, so then they would have to give reports and be accountable? If war can change our institutions, then so can peace.”
Axworthy suggested the establishment of a Ministry of Peace in Canada that would be in charge of conflict resolution and prevention. He said that a grassroots movement is already underway to see this prospect realized (his wife is one of those advocates.)
“Public decisions should trump market decisions from time to time. Resources are needed to mobilize people; pragmatics we have. Yet, how do we do it? How do we make it happen?” He left the question hanging, simply concluding, “we need a peace agenda so that we can realize just how much we can change the world.”
A brief question-and-answer session followed the talk. The crowd seemed to respond positively to Axworthy’s message. One audience member, Julie Sermer, a third-year peace and conflict studies major, said that Axworthy “comes from a position of experience, but I like the fact that he has young and passionate ideas, and has the courage to say them.” Elaya Fremes, a first-year student, said that “he has amazing ideas and is a good voice for Canada and for what is possible.”
The talk, for many, seemed to accomplish what Hart House Warden Margaret Hancock had intended-one that served, in her words, to “energize both the mind and the soul.”
