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Canada and Defence Against Help: The Wrong Theory for the Wrong Country at the Wrong Time

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Canadian Defence Policy in Theory and Practice

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Abstract

The chapter revisits Nils Ørvik’s 1973 trope “defence against help”: the idea that the provision of defence in Canada is fundamentally motivated by the fear of a United States take-over of sorts. The authors argue that defence against help is not now, nor was it ever, the right theory for Canada-US defence relations. Future developments, starting with North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) modernization, might yet prove Ørvik’s theory right, however. The authors conclude that “borrowed help” offers superior insights into the nature of Canada-US defence relations.

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Correspondence to Andrea Charron .

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Charron, A., Fergusson, J. (2020). Canada and Defence Against Help: The Wrong Theory for the Wrong Country at the Wrong Time. In: Juneau, T., Lagassé, P., Vucetic, S. (eds) Canadian Defence Policy in Theory and Practice. Canada and International Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26403-1_7

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