Middle-power internationalism in-between European ‘paradise’ and American ‘power’? Canada’s political role in an age of Trumpism and Brexit

Hyper forms of globalization have contributed to the diffusion and de-institutionalization of state power (Chin and Mittelman, 1997) and to growing populism, nationalism, and authoritarianism in Europe thathave questioned the liberal international order’s effectiveness, legitimacy and authority. What has come under threat is not only the order itself, but the economic prosperity, security, peace, and normative foundations that has nurtured it. In this context of a emerging world order we examine what function so-called middle powers on both sides of the Atlantic could play?While often overseen in recent years, middle powers are important units of analysis to study because during the times of the ‘old’ order in the aftermath of WWII they had benefitted most of the stable liberal international order, and as a result they have the most to lose today in case that order changes dramatically or even disappears. In looking back at middle power’s presence at creation of the liberal international world order in the aftermath of WWII, we suggest, helps us to comprehend what function middle powers could play in this current wave of changing transatlantic orders. Especially their intraalliance bridgebuilding function is important in this regard that in the past helped to balance the interests of the major powers. Canada is discussed as a case study

The comprehensive approach to EU crisis management: Contexts, lessons identified, and policy implications

Contemporary military operations take place in complex environments that are populated by multiple civilian and humanitarian actors facing an array of challenging issues that are not precisely 'military' in nature. This has increased the importance of addressing and managing the civil-military interface, particularly that between military and humanitarian organisations. In recognising that their relationship is not harmonious, organisations such as the EU have developed a so-called 'Comprehensive Approach' (CA) to better align the military and civilian responses to fragile states. Surprisingly, the EU's CA has been understudied while its counterparts at NATO and the UN have received much of the attention. This article fills that gap, and shows that although the CA is clearly visible in official EU documents, the EU's practical challenges with implementing and 'living' it remain immense

Role of competition between polarity sites in establishing a unique front

Polarity establishment in many cells is thought to occur via positive feedback that reinforces even tiny asymmetries in polarity protein distribution. Cdc42 and related GTPases are activated and accumulate in a patch of the cortex that defines the front of the cell. Positive feedback enables spontaneous polarization triggered by stochastic fluctuations, but as such fluctuations can occur at multiple locations, how do cells ensure that they make only one front? In polarizing cells of the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, positive feedback can trigger growth of several Cdc42 clusters at the same time, but this multi-cluster stage rapidly evolves to a single-cluster state, which then promotes bud emergence. By manipulating polarity protein dynamics, we show that resolution of multi-cluster intermediates occurs through a greedy competition between clusters to recruit and retain polarity proteins from a shared intracellular pool

Parallel Actin-Independent Recycling Pathways Polarize Cdc42 in Budding Yeast

The highly conserved Rho-family GTPase Cdc42 is an essential regulator of polarity in many different cell types. During polarity establishment, Cdc42 becomes concentrated at a cortical site, where it interacts with downstream effectors to orient the cytoskeleton along the front-back axis. To concentrate Cdc42, loss of Cdc42 by diffusion must be balanced by recycling to the front. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor (GDI) Rdi1 recycles Cdc42 through the cytoplasm. Loss of Rdi1 slowed but did not eliminate Cdc42 accumulation at the front, suggesting the existence of other recycling pathways. One proposed pathway involves actin-directed trafficking of vesicles carrying Cdc42 to the front. However, we found no role for F-actin in Cdc42 concentration, even in rdi1 Delta cells. Instead, Cdc42 was still able to exchange between the membrane and cytoplasm in rdi1 Delta cells, albeit at a reduced rate. Membrane-cytoplasm exchange of GDP-Cdc42 was faster than that of GTP-Cdc42, and computational modeling indicated that such exchange would suffice to promote polarization. We also uncovered a novel role for the Cdc42-directed GTPase-activating protein (GAP) Bem2 in Cdc42 polarization. Bem2 was known to act in series with Rdi1 to promote recycling of Cdc42, but we found that rdi1 Delta bem2 Delta mutants were synthetically lethal, suggesting that they also act in parallel. We suggest that GAP activity cooperates with the GDI to counteract the dissipative effect of a previously unappreciated pathway whereby GTP-Cdc42 escapes from the polarity site through the cytoplasm

A Safe and Secure Canada : Politique et enjeux sécuritaires au Canada depuis le 11 septembre 2001

International audienc

A Safe and Secure Canada : Politique et enjeux sécuritaires au Canada depuis le 11 septembre 2001

International audienc