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Varner, Joe. Canada's Asia-Pacific Security Dilemma. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Maritime Affairs. NIOBE Papers, vol. 10, 1999. 80pp. (no price given)
Haydon, Peter T. Navies in the Post-Cold War Era. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie Univ. Centre for Foreign Policy Studies, 1998. 97pp. $10.50
Varner's Canada's Asia-Pacific Security Dilemma is a series of essays that discuss Canada's position in the rapidly developing post-Cold War order. It is also a call to the Canadian government to commit itself, through defense spending and diplomacy, to providing security for its interests in the Asia-Pacific region. Varner begins by presenting a snapshot of world powers as a new order evolves, marked by dwindling Russian influence and shifting U.S. interests. Painting a bleak picture of escalating instability and growing military spending among smaller powers throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Varner offers a new concept of international struggle. He presents a convincing argument that as global oil, waste, and toxin spills threaten vital supplies of fresh water and fisheries, disputes over possession and rights may lead to armed conflict. Additionally, he contends that ethnic divergence, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and the illicit drug trade will also significantly contribute to global instability, resulting in a fundamental shift from hegemonic expansionism to homeland defense. Based on these concepts, Varner reasons that the Canadian government must reaffirm its commitment to the 1994 Defence White Paper, which outlined military spending and...