The Atlantic Council of Canada – 2010 High School Student Essay Contest
The Atlantic Council of Canada is pleased to announce its 2010 High School Essay Contest. This contest will offer high school students the opportunity to become more involved in the study of Euro-Atlantic issues and we look forward to reading their perspectives and points-of-view.
Title: Why NATO? The Alliance Then, Now and Later
The goal of this essay is to have you explore the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). As a military alliance created in the late 1940s to stop the threat posed by the Soviet Union, the Alliance has played a pivotal role in European and North American security over the last six decades. It has been, and still is, very important in Canada’s own national security policies. As the Alliance celebrates its 60th Anniversary, many are beginning to question if it is still necessary, especially when there is no more Soviet Union. Your goal is to answer this question.
In your answer, you should explore why NATO was created in the first place. Ask yourself what were its main goals and if they still remain relevant. Apply this to the Alliance and its actions today, particularly in Afghanistan. Finally, ask yourself what the future might look like, and if you see NATO playing a role in keeping the peace then. To do this, you may consider exploring what the future threats may be and if there is another way of dealing with them aside from NATO. Do you think NATO will be around for another 60 years?
Length: 1000-2000 words, typed using Times New Roman, 12pt font
Award: The winning essays will be published in the ACC’s Newsletter and on the ACC website. The winners will also receive a membership in the Atlantic Council of Canada, enabling them to receive all information distributed by ACC events.
Due Date: June 30th 2010
The Atlantic Council of Canada – 2010 Undergraduate Student Essay Contest
The Atlantic Council of Canada is pleased to announce its 2010 Undergraduate Student Essay Contest. This contest will offer undergraduate students the opportunity to participate in the study of Euro-Atlantic issues and we look forward to reading their perspectives and points-of-view.
Natural Resources and Conflict in the 21st Century
Ownership and use of natural resources have long been a source of tension between peoples. Indeed valuable resources have contributed both directly and indirectly to civil war and have often been a source of interstate tension. For the most part, past disagreements over natural resources have tended to invoke episodes of friction rather than outright conflict. However over the last 20 years the global security environment has evolved rapidly as populations have become increasingly interconnected and security threats now proliferate more freely across borders. In the contemporary security environment, threats stemming from population growth, climate change and resource scarcity produce more unpredictable and non-linear effects for the global community.
The complex relationship between natural resources and conflict has been illustrated by the global initiative to ban the sale of blood diamonds, the widely publicized link between foreign oil extraction and civil conflict in Sudan, and the 2009 coup in Madagascar which was prompted by the controversial leasing of farm land to a South Korean logistics company. Other examples include China’s crackdown on Tibet – the source of Asia’s ten largest rivers – Russia and Canada’s increased presence in the Arctic in response to thawing waterways, and quarrels throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia over oil pipelines and energy security. The thread that connects these seemingly disparate conflicts is the trade of valuable resources and the fear that raw materials, land, water and fuel might soon become unavailable or unaffordable. With the world’s population estimated to increase by up to a third over the next 20 years, demand for natural resources will increase exponentially and so too will related global security concerns.
Identify a pressing resource based security threat(s) facing the world today. What regions/states are affected by this issue(s)? What factors impact the risk associated with this threat? What role – if any – should the international community play in mitigating the risks associated with this threat?
Length: 5,000 word maximum, Times New Roman, 12pt font
Award: Essays received before April 1 will be considered for a partial travel subsidy and free admission to the Atlantic Council of Canada Spring Conference. Essays received by June 1 will be considered for a partial travel subsidy and admission to another upcoming academic conference. All winners will also receive a free one year membership to the Atlantic Council of Canada and have their winning piece published on the Atlantic Council of Canada’s website.
2009 Winners:
Hillson Tse, ”A Focused and Targeted Expansion of NATO and ISAF Involvement in Afghanistan Counternarcotics” (University of British Columbia).
Tom Shephard, “The Lion and the Sheep: Ending the War in Afghanistan” (York University at Glendon).
Erin Fitzgerald, “Fumbling the Great Game: The Challenges Facing NATO’s Mission in Afghanistan” (University of Toronto).
2009 Honourary Mention:
Kamil Mroz, “The Af-Pak Strategy: A New Hope for Afghanistan” (University of Ottawa).
Ania Barycka, “NATO’s Mission in Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Opium Poppy Overflow” (University of Ottawa).
2009 The Atlantic Council of Canada – 2009 Graduate Student Essay Contest
Closed – Winners Announced Below. 2010
Essay Contest to be posted in coming months.
The Atlantic Council of Canada is pleased to announce its 2009 Graduate Student Essay Contest. This contest will offer graduate students the opportunity to participate in the study of Euro-Atlantic issues and we look forward to reading their perspectives and points-of-view.
Title: Crisis Management Scenario – Afghanistan
In preparation for the annual Queen’s University Trans-Atlantic Crisis Simulation, this essay contest is designed to help you begin thinking critically about how to handle emergency situations. Your challenge will be to pick one (1) of the crisis scenarios described below and correctly identify the problems, causes and the best way to resolve or diffuse the situation. Essays will be judged on the merit of their arguments and their understanding of all the variables contributing to the crisis and its resolution. As the crisis relates to Canada’s current involvement in Afghanistan, you are encouraged to use the latest policies and strategies being employed or proposed by Canada, NATO, or any other NATO members.
Scenarios:
1) After months of attempting to bring stability to its North-Western border region with Afghanistan, Pakistan’s civilian government, led by President Asif Ali Zardari collapses. He is replaced by a young radical Islamist who is loyal to the jihadist cause. He has publicly vowed to use his new power to help drive the American and NATO “occupiers” out of Afghanistan. Within hours of his seizing power, satellite images show a rapid influx of insurgent fighters crossing into Afghanistan. It also appears that they are now openly collaborating with factions of the Pakistani military and intelligence services. It is possible that the insurgents may not only have access to Pakistan’s conventional arsenals, but also its nuclear ones. Yet reports also indicate that the nuclear sites remain secure and the guards are still loyal to Zardari, but this might not last long. The situation threatens to not only destabilize Afghanistan further, but now potentially arm terrorists with nuclear weapons. As the Canadian Permanent Representative (Ambassador) to NATO, what do you and your NATO colleagues do?
2) You are US President Barack Obama. You have pledged to make Afghanistan and the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban your new priority. You are already in a difficult position as your visit to the NATO Summit in Strasbourg-Kehl failed to generate more troop contributions from fellow NATO allies. Suddenly, you get reports that three near simultaneous explosions hit Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin, killing over 300 people with casualties still mounting. A pro-Taliban faction claims responsibility and vows to blow up more major European capitals if the nations do not pull their troops out of Afghanistan immediately. Riots break out in the streets of Germany, France and the Netherlands, as citizens who are already suffering financially from the economic recession demand that their countries pull out of Afghanistan. Bowing to the pressure, all three countries announce they will pull out of Afghanistan immediately. Meanwhile, Canada and Britain, the other Afghanistan troop contributing countries, also fearing terrorist reprisals while suffering troop and equipment fatigue, say they will pull out by January 2011. Faced with the prospect of going-it alone in Afghanistan, what do you do?
3) The cultivation of opium and the subsequent selling of heroine has been a major source of income for the Taliban. However, it has also been an area where the US and NATO forces have failed to take stringent action, recognizing that the revenue made in poppy cultivation keeps many farmers employed and away from the insurgency.
Meanwhile, the Canadian campaign has been meeting with great success since the new Air Wing Division was put into service in early 2009. The number of IED attacks have dramatically decreased as troops mostly travel by helicopter. As a result, the Canadian and other NATO forces are more successful in attacking Taliban and al-Qaeda locations.
Suddenly, several Canadian and coalition helicopters are hit with Stinger missiles. Moreover, these same missiles have been used to shoot down troop and supply-carrying military transport planes. The loss of troops and equipment is staggering, and the same down-turn effects as experienced by the Soviets in their ill-fated Afghan war are beginning to appear. Sources determine that the Stinger missiles have been purchased by the Taliban using its drug money. If something is not done soon to stop the inflow and use of Stinger missiles, the war in Afghanistan can be lost within months. As the Canadian Permanent Representative (Ambassador) to NATO, what do you and your NATO colleagues do?
Length: 3000-5000 words, typed using Times New Roman, 12pt font
Award: The winners of the essay contest will receive an all-expense paid trip to the Queen’s University Trans-Atlantic Crisis Simulation Exercise in Kingston, Ontario.
2009 Winners:
Anita Singh, “A Taliganized Pakistan? Policy Recommendations for Canada’s Permanent Representative to NATO (Dalhousie University).
Graham Brown, ”The Collapse of Pakistan and the NATO Response: The Intersection of Interests” (University of Guelph).
