Citizen involvement in Canadian foreign policy: the summit of the Americas experience 2001

ID:	HARP-340
Title:	Citizen involvement in Canadian foreign policy: the summit of the Americas experience 2001
Source:	International Journal , v.57(3) Summ’02 pg 323-339
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Dispute Resolution Organ:
Year:	2002
Pages:	0
Author(s):
Keywords:	Canada, decision making, democracy, globalization, government, human rights, Quebec, World Trade Organization (WTO), institutions, politics, civil and political rights, security, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, self-determination, liberty, assembly and association
Abstract:	HOW TO INVOLVE CITIZENS in foreign policy in an age of globalization when international institutions are assuming increasing importance is one of the great challenges facing democracies. Some believe that globalization has created a `democratic deficit’ by transferring power to the top; that more and more decisions are escaping the control of the parliamentarians and even the executive branch of national governments because those decisions are being made by international organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Efforts by governments to influence globalization are frequently treated with suspicion. The summits that take place around the world are seen as either so far removed from ordinary citizens as to be irrelevant or, worse, dangerous in their implications. For the countries of the western hemisphere, the third Summit of the Americas, held in Quebec City, 20-22 April 2001, represented a collective effort to maximize the benefits of globalization and take up the challenges associated with it. The new global reality influenced the process of the Summit of the Americas and the undertakings made by the heads of state and government of the 34 democracies that inhabit the hemisphere. As chair of the summit, the Canadian government opted for a different way of doing things by introducing greater transparency, both in the process and in the substance of the summit. This approach not only helped to develop a more effective Plan of Action, but also raised the level of citizen involvement in hemispheric affairs.
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