Harper's New Northern Narrative
Author
Lindberg, Osmund
Term
4. term
Publication year
2016
Submitted on
2016-02-01
Pages
56
Abstract
Mange kommentatorer har beskrevet Stephen Harpers tid som Canadas premierminister (2006-2015) som et skifte fra fredsbevarere til krigere, fra liberal Øst til konservativt Vest og fra liberalisme til realisme. Denne afhandling argumenterer i stedet for, at Harper forsøgte at erstatte Canadas mangeårige fortælling om fredsbevaring med en ny fortælling centreret om landets nord og suverænitet dér. For at undersøge dette anvender studiet tematisk analyse af tekster, især premierministerens taler og akademiske artikler, samt delvist kvalitativ indholdsanalyse af udvalgte taler. Resultaterne fortolkes gennem teorier i international politik (neoliberalisme og neorealisme) og gennem perspektivet nation branding, det vil sige hvordan stater udvikler og formidler deres image i udlandet. Tre spørgsmål styrer undersøgelsen: (1) Hvad vil det sige, at Canada er en mellemstor magt, en stat der ikke er en supermagt, men udøver indflydelse via diplomati og alliancer, og i hvor høj grad passede Canada ind i den rolle under Harper? (2) I hvilket omfang rebrandede Canada sig internationalt under Harpers regeringstid? (3) Hvor tæt stemte dette nye brand overens med den udenrigspolitik, der faktisk blev ført? Afhandlingen konkluderer, at Canada historisk kan betragtes som en mellemstor magt, men at denne status blev noget svækket under Harper. I takt med at den fredsbevarende indsats, som også har fungeret som en samlende national identitet, gik tilbage, promoverede Harper en nordlig fortælling om suverænitet i det canadiske nord som erstatning. Handlinger, der til tider virkede usammenhængende, var ifølge afhandlingen præget af valgstrategiske hensyn: udenrigspolitiske valg blev ofte udformet for at vinde opbakning hjemme. Det overordnede mål var, hævdes det, at erstatte den liberale fredsbevaringsfortælling med en konservativ nordlig fortælling.
Many commentators describe Stephen Harper’s time as Canada’s prime minister (2006–2015) as a period of shifts: from peacekeepers to warriors, from a Liberal East to a Conservative West, and from liberalism to realism. This thesis makes a different case: that Harper sought to replace Canada’s long-standing peacekeeping story with a new narrative focused on the country’s North and sovereignty there. To examine this, the study uses thematic analysis of texts, mainly prime ministerial speeches and academic articles, and, in parts, qualitative content analysis of selected speeches. It interprets the findings through international relations theories of neoliberalism and neorealism, and through the lens of nation branding, meaning how states craft and project their image abroad. Three questions guide the research: (1) What does it mean for Canada to be a middle power, a state that is not a superpower but exerts influence through diplomacy and alliances, and how much did Canada fit that role under Harper? (2) To what extent did Canada rebrand itself internationally during Harper’s tenure? (3) How closely did this new brand match the foreign policy that was actually pursued? The thesis concludes that, although Canada has historically been a middle power, this status was somewhat weakened under Harper. As peacekeeping declined—an identity that had also unified the nation at home—Harper promoted a Northern sovereignty narrative to take its place. Actions that sometimes appeared inconsistent were, it argues, shaped by electoral calculations: foreign policy choices were often designed to win domestic support. The overall aim, it suggests, was to replace the Liberal peacekeeping narrative with a Conservative Northern narrative.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]