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The Geopoliticalmonitor’s Joshua McEvoy makes the case for US-Canadian cooperation on Arctic policy and the Northwest Passage.  Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Reluctant Allies: Canada, the US, and the Northwest Passage Joshua McEvoy - Sep 10, 12 Geopoliticalmonitor.com As Prime Minister Stephen Harper made his annual northern trek this month, people interested in Canadian affairs could not have missed the fact that climate change has affected a precipitous transformation of the Arctic’s physical and political landscapes. The impregnable cold of Canada’s northern geography has historically provided security and identity to the country; however, the expeditious rate of physical change necessitates a shift in perspective. Now regarded as a viable area for commercial development and shipping, as well as a valuable revenue stream for future governments, the Arctic is no longer a source of security, but rather a region that is in need of securing. This paradigm shift should have precipitated a similar shift in the strategy and rhetoric of Canadian politicians asserting Arctic claims, but it has not. Current Canadian rhetoric, with its evocation of sovereignty and accompanying legalese discussion, is subjecting the Northwest Passage claim to an illusory measure of legitimization. As the possibility for a process of propriety adjudication is at best uncertain, and the outcome of such a process wholly unknowable, it would be prudent to emphasize an alternative rationale for support. It is thus the pragmatism of security, rather than the legality of sovereignty, that should be made paramount in Canadian Arctic assertions. The most prevalent issue facing Canada in the Arctic is its contested dominion over the constitutive straits of the Northwest Passage (NWP). Canada’s current position, both politically and in terms of physical assets, demands some level of international support and respect for its claim to be credible. To this end, the support of the United States (US)- as Canada’s partner in NWP maritime surveillance through NORAD- must be viewed as critical for success. Current Canadian rhetoric, however, has made it increasingly difficult for the US to acquiesce. US opposition to Canada’s NWP claim is predicated on the US Navy’s concern regarding the possibility for analogous assertions of propriety on behalf of less friendly states over waterways currently deemed “international straits.” The designation of a waterway as an international strait severely impedes the adjacent country’s right to regulate and/or deny transit to vessels of all flags, including commercial and military. The designation is viewed as a necessity to ensure that no one state has the capacity to severely undermine naval operational capacity or international commerce. But in the case of the NWP the legality of the international strait designation remains ambiguous, and its application does not adequately serve the security interest of Canada or the US. To read the full article please visit: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/reluctant-allies-canada-the-us-and-the-northwest-passage-4725/  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2012 Geopoliticalmonitor.com, All rights reserved.  You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website.  Our mailing address is:  Geopoliticalmonitor.com 5700-100 King Street West Toronto, On M5X1C7 Canada