Relações bilaterais Ottawa-Washington: uma análise sobre a autonomia da política externa canadense frente à guerra ao terror

Abstract

The course of international politics has suffered and still suffers with the unfolding from the War on Terror, officially initiated a few days after September 11th, 2001. Two of the main events to the war were the military incursions in Afghanistan in 2001, and in Iraq, in 2003. The United States, beyond being a global and regional power, is the main commercial partner of its northern neighbor, Canada. This paper aims to analyze the foreign policy decision made by Canada towards these events, taking into account the context of deep economical interdependence on its main ally, the United States. We explore the consequences to the bilateral relationship from the decisions made by Canada to take part in the armed intervention in Afghanistan, and not in Iraq. In order to do so, we analyze the internal and external political aspects relating to Canada, as well as the economical and social impact deriving from the pressure towards its participation in the War through IR theories.