Hand in Hand? Canada at the Human Rights and Peacebuilding Nexus

This book includes contributions from both Canadian academics and civil society leaders. Drawing from critical international relations theory, it examines the policy and practice of Canadian state, civil society and Indigenous approaches to the emerging human rights and peacebuilding nexus. Chapters in this volume address themes including traditional foreign policy, inclusion, international justice and corporate accountability as they relate to the nexus. In so doing, it fills a gap in the Canadian foreign policy literature related to peacebuilding and human rights and seeks to refine and deepen the existing literature on the nexus through its exploration of policy and practice. It concludes that while Canada has developed a strong capacity to address emergent human rights and peacebuilding concerns, particularly at their points of intersection, that its ambitions are inconsistent and often overshadowed by domestic political priorities, economic interests and security concerns.

Kirsten Van Houten is an early career academic whose research interests include peacebuilding, human rights and inclusion. She is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Live Work Well Research Centre at the University of Guelph.

Alex Neve is an Officer of the Order of Canada and the former Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada. He currently is appointed to positions at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, and Faculties of Law, University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University.