Canada-Afghanistan Foreign Relations

This paper examines the Foreign Policy of Canada in light of Canada’s colonial roots and its foreign policy with respect to that of Afghanistan. It analyzes the role of the Canadian Government in trying to solve the conflict ridden issues affecting Canada.

Running head: CANADA-AFGHANISTAN FOREIGN RELATIONS
Canada-Afghanistan Foreign Relations
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The country of Canada is often perceived to be a land of peace. It is believed that the
nation of Canada features as one of the rare countries who has a positive foreign relation policy
with nearly all the nations of the world. Canada does not have any conflict of interest with any
other nations’ national interest and often works as a facilitator for the other countries to achieve
their aims and objectives (Holsti, 2015). The main aim of the paper is to examine the Foreign
Policy of Canada in light of Canada’s colonial roots. It will further discuss Canada’s foreign
policy with respect to that of Afghanistan. Afghanistan has been a land of conflict for many
decades now and this paper will analyze the role of the Canadian Government in trying to solve
the conflict ridden issues affecting Canada. The paper concludes with the nature of Canada’s
foreign policy framework in the contemporary times and how it affects both the nation itself and
the world, at large.
Canada has its colonial roots based in the European imperialistic endeavor. The
aboriginals of North America initially occupied the land of Canada (Paris, 2014). When
Christopher Columbus discovered America in the fifteenth century, the European imperialist
powers invaded the land of Canada and America (Holsti, 2015). They established their base there
by torturing and killing the native people of the land and setting up their power houses. The
country of Canada as we know it today, gradually expanded and was finally consolidated in the
year 1949 (Fayerweather, 2017).
The Government of Canada formulated a foreign policy of its own which was, in essence,
aligned to the common interest of the countries of the Western Hemisphere of the world. The
newly formed State of Canada was not able to detach itself from its colonial legacy and followed
the footsteps of the imperialist powers. As a consequence, Canada participated in the First World

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War and the Second World War on the side of the Allies Forces. It even responded positively to
the invitation the United States to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO, which
is an alliance organization formed to counteract the spread of socialism in the world (Alden &
Aran, 2016). Thus, Canada, in reality, emerged as a defender of the capitalist form of power
structure. This is heavily reflected in the foreign policy framework of Canada
Canada’s foreign policy with respect to Afghanistan is a reflection of Canada’s colonial
roots (Lagassé & Mello, 2018). The conflict ridden problems of Afghanistan is known
throughout the world. Many countries have taken sides on the issue where Afghanistan is
concerned and Canada too has done so. The foreign policies strategy of Canada, in concern with
Afghanistan, has a capitalist leaning and is aligned with the objectives of the foreign policy
strategies of the Western powers, especially those of the United States and the United Kingdom.
Canada started to show interest in Afghanistan after the end of the Cold War.
Afghanistan was one of the last vestiges upholding Communism after the demise of the Soviet
Union (Lagassé & Mello, 2018). This situation was not to the liking of the Western Powers who
were essentially capitalist in their outlook. They believed that if communism is allowed to be
continued even in a remote part of the earth, it would spread to the other regions of the globe,
which is in absolute contrast to the spirit of capitalism. As such, the Western Powers launched a
war on Afghanistan spearheaded by the United States of America. Canada first joined the War on
October 2001 and this led to the beginning of the Canada Afghanistan Bilateral Relations
(Lagassé & Mello, 2018).
The initial relation between the two nations was one that of military occupation. During
those times, Afghanistan was in a grave crisis due to the rise of the Taliban. The Taliban is
referred to a group of educated religious people in Afghanistan who wanted to take up the duty

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to free the nation from the internal problems faced by the country after the collapse of the Soviet
Union (Massie, 2016). Canada sent its military armed forces to Afghanistan to control the
internal crisis of the nation. The armed forces of Canada were stationed in the two most
important places in Afghanistan, such as Kabul, the Capital of Afghanistan and Kandahar
Province (Massie, 2016). Initially, the aim of the Canadian armed forces was peace keeping and
peace building, but soon, the military started to change its objectives and started to train the
Afghan National Army.
Canada also played a significant role in the administration of Afghanistan during this
time. It gave the required support to the Government of Afghanistan. The Government of Canada
mentored the desirable candidates for the elections of the country and also gave the financial aid
needed (Fergusson & Furtado, 2016). Canada had an important part to play in several important
elections in Afghanistan, such as the presidential elections of 2009 and the parliamentarian
elections of 2010 (Fergusson & Furtado, 2016). In both the campaigns, Canada gave
indispensable support to the State-backed legitimate Afghan candidates.
Canada tried its best to improve relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a
neighboring country of Afghanistan. The rise of Taliban had long lasting effective changes
within the whole subcontinent and Pakistan, as a result, got affected (Saideman, 2016). Relations
between Afghanistan and Pakistan, as a consequence, turned sour. Canada took an important
initiative to change this relation for the better and played an effective part in several confidence
building measures between the two countries. The Afghanistan Pakistan Border Region
Prosperity Initiative of 2010 was successful mainly due to activities of the Government of
Canada (Saideman, 2016).

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One of the most important aspects of the foreign policy of Canada is the provision of
humanitarian assistance. No matter the nation, Canada is usually always the first country to come
to the aid and assistance of the people worldwide. The internal crisis in Afghanistan has resulted
in the deaths of many people. Many families lost their loved ones, millions of worth of property
has been destroyed and children has lost their parents in the on going war (Richmond, 2014). The
Government of Canada has taken up important steps to provide support and assistance to such
people. Engaging in the development of the community and building shelter homes for the
vulnerable people are some of the noteworthy steps taken by Canada (Richmond, 2014). The
nation is also interested in improving the standard of living of the people of Afghanistan. For this
purpose, the Government of Canada, at regular intervals, sends food and water to the people of
Afghanistan (Richmond, 2014). Medical help is also provided to the people in urgent need. In
this decade alone, the Government of Canada has provided around forty five million dollars
worth of humanitarian assistance (Richmond, 2014).
The foreign policy of Canada had far reaching impact on the social and economic
conditions of Afghanistan. The Government of Canada helped to reconstruct the Dahla Dam in
Afghanistan (Spearin, 2014). It also helped in the restructuring of the Arghandab Irrigation
System, which was essential in the facilitation of sustainable agricultural production (Spearin,
2014). The education system in Canada was in shambles due to the on-going war on terrorism in
Afghanistan waged by the Western powers. Canada took up the initiative to build up the much
needed educational system in Afghanistan. For this purpose, the Government of Canada donated
huge funds to the Government of Afghanistan (Richmond, 2014). Moreover, Canada took up the
challenge to provide education to the future generation of the country, and taught them the vales
of peace and compromise.

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From 2001 to the present time, the Government of Canada has invested near about three
billion dollars in the Afghanistan economy (Ankersen, 2014). Canada has invested heavily in
Afghanistan for the purposes of development. However, the condition in Afghanistan has
deteriorate so immensely that in the opinion of the world leaders, it will be decades before the
condition in the country is normalized (Mutimer, 2016). Afghanistan is also unpopular because
of the rampant violations of the human rights. Canada has taken on itself the cause of the
protection of the rights of the citizens of Afghanistan and thus, to this effect, it helps the State
machinery to undertake important actions to protect and uphold the basic human rights. For
instance, the Government of Canada has invested heavily for the protection of the women and
children of Afghanistan while also trying to grant them their fundamental human rights
(Williams, 2016). Canada has also taken up the cause of education of this vulnerable group of
women and children.
The foreign policies undertaken by Canada with respect to Afghanistan is a clear
indication of the alignment of Canada’s thought process to that of the Western capitalist world.
The power structure of Afghanistan is that of socialism and the western powers involved are
trying to break this power structure and instill capitalism in its place (Smith, 2014). The
presence of the Taliban is posing a major concern to the Western powers. The armed resistance
provided by the Taliban is resulting in the harming and killing of the innocent civilians, many of
whom are killed by the foreign armed forces stationed in Afghanistan. However, the Western
powers are still continuing with their agenda. This is having large scale adverse repercussions on
the entire society of Afghanistan. The educational system is completely ruined, there is rampant
human rights violation and there is negligible development of industries. The non-presence of
infrastructural facilities in the economy has greatly stagnated the economic development of the

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country. The Gross Domestic Product of the country has been plummeting since the beginning of
the twenty first century, with no signs of it becoming stable (Smith, 2014).
The formulation of foreign policies of Canada is thus, rooted in its colonial legacy.
Canada did not have the power to formulate is own foreign policies till around the 1930s as,
during those times, it was the British Parliament, especially the British Monarch, who had
control over the lands where they were present. Thus, after Canada became a truly independent
country, it continued with the colonial baggage of the past. It did not introduce drastic changes in
the strategies of its foreign policy conduction, choosing to remain true to the ideals of the
Western capitalist world. Thus, the image of Canada as a benevolent power whose aim is to
neutrally judge the other powers of the world and to provide them aid and assistance whenever
needed, it a false one. Canada is committed to the cause of the perpetration of the motives of its
colonial masters.

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