Grant Dawon IPRG-IHRG talk: "'Who wants a mission?' Canadian Forces’ Resistance to Peacekeeping in Namibia, 1978"

Dr Grant Dawson, Department of International Politics, argued for a re-examination of Canadian peacekeeping during the Cold War. Past research suggests that Canada contributed to every UN mission untill the end of the Cold War because of domestic political, nationalist, and Cold War strategic considerations, but his paper on Namibia in 1978 points to strong resistance when these factors were present. This talk took place in the Main Hall of the International Politics Building on 10 October.

 

Short bio: Grant Dawson joined the Department in July 2009 as Deputy Director of the DDMI. He is also Editorial Assistant of International Relations, the International Relations. He previously taught history and political science at the undergraduate and graduate level at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

 

Photograph: Members of UN reconnaissance team for UNTAG in Namibia (August 1978). Leftmost is SADF Major-General Jannie Geldenhuys (Commander of the South West Africa Command encompassing Namibia), beside him is Austrian Major-General Hannes Philipp (UNTAG Force Commander-designate), wearing the blue beret is Canadian Colonel Dick Day (Chief of Staff Logistics-designate), and the two others unknown.