The end of 2020 is near but not near enough. The academic calendar has both obvious and less obvious implications for our pace. The obvious is that the semester is ending, which means the end of lectures (I actually have one live one left), the start of grading season, and, oh wait, preparing the new term. The less obvious is that people seem to pile on conferences and meetings around this time. And this week was a busy one for me and the CDSN.
Our YearAhead2021 conference was a big success. It was entirely virtual due to the spike in Ottawa, but, aside from the Dean's message crashing, it went really well. We opened with a panel on China that was really interesting, shedding light on what Canada could possibly do despite the asymmetries between the two countries. Always smart to lead off with Roland Paris (U of Ottawa), a pal and the sharpest IR guy in the country. Dawn Murphy of the US Air War College provided a good perspective on what China has been doing and why. Cesar Jaramillo of Project Ploughshares presented a more fine grained analysis by talking about how China's involvement in the Arms Trade Treaty revealed a bit of how China's soft/hard power combo is playing out. The next panel focused on global perspectives on health/pandemic organized by Erin Gibbs Van Brunschot (Calgary) and Andy Knight (Alberta) with Jonathan Luckhurst of Soka U, Winston Dookeran of U of West Indies, Srikanth of U of Ottawa, and Christopher Afoke Iske of U of Zululand.
The keynote speaker was Ambassador for Women, Peace, and Security Jacqueline O'Neill, and she wanted a conversation so Beth Woroniuk of the WPS Network-Canada did a great job of doing more than moderating but having a great conversation. Beth then moderated our Fireside Diversity Chat with Sgt. Karen Pelletier of the RCMP, LtColonel (ret) Bill Shead, and Artur Wilcynski of Communications Security Establishment (kind of Canada's NSA). Again, a great conversation discussing their experiences and perspectives as the first two are Indigenous Canadians working in law enforcement and the military, while Artur is gay and working in a national security institution. They discussed the contradictions and challenges they have faced throughout their careers.
The last panel was on Greyzone warfare with Philippe Dufort of St. Paul University and head of one of the MINDS networks, Marina Miron of King's College London, and Isabelle Duyvesteyn of Leiden U. They not only addressed Russia's efforts to mess with pretty much everyone, but also the challenges posed by asymmetric warfare. The virtual experience enabled us to bring in people from the Caribbean, Europe, and South Africa, which might have stretched our budget in ordinary times, but, alas, we could not have the networking experience. The dinner beforehand, the coffee breaks and lunch during the event--those didn't exist. And because zoom can be tiring, we had to keep the presentations and q&a shorter. Still, the event went very well. The CDSN/CSIDS staff did all of the heavy lifting so I could just focus on being nervous about the whole thing. And I was so busy worrying and fussing that I didn't take any pictures. At a physical event, I tend to be the photographer for the CDSN. Not this time. We will have to get some screen shots once we get the video from the AV firm.
The busy-ness accelerated as a grant competition I had been preparing for was announced far earlier than I was expecting. Which means an earlier deadline and a far busier Steve over the holidays. It also means more mid-December meetings, with me being the organizer. Sorry, folks.
The joy of the election is that we can go an entire week and only think about Trump once or twice. Yes, he is doing more damage on his way out, clearly seeking to tie Biden's hands in places like Afghanistan and Iran. But he is mostly moping and golfing. If he wants to spend the next few years "running" for 2024, that is money and attention going to him and not the rest of the GOP. Which is fine. He might run in four years, but he might also be just extracting the last few dollars out of the gullible folks. He didn't enjoy being president, and he is going to be really old and even more addled in four years. So, I don't expect him to campaign, but I do expect him to make everyone in the party suck up to him. Which is why only a handful of GOP Representatives have recognized the election outcome.
The other joy of the election is watching how bad lawyering can be. Oh my.
This weekend will be very winterfest-y as we need to get the cards out, and the family baking challenge (my brother's idea!) is cupcakes. So, I will sign off as I have three cupcake recipes I am going to be trying.
Be well!
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