This Week: A New Pope and a New President

On Thursday, A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a bill to approve TransCanada’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline. While the bill’s passage is not guaranteed, the continued push to bring Keystone online would no doubt dismay Henry Shue, who wrote “we need the tar sands oil like we need a dagger in the back” in his essay for OpenCanada this week. In Shue’s estimation, the oil sands have transformed Canada from leader to threat in the fight against climate change.

In Rome, the conclave chose Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina to be the new Pope. We talked to Andrew Preston, the award-winning author of Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith, about the role of the Vatican in international relations today.

In this week’s other ‘election’, Xi Jinping was appointed president of China. Jinping is a world leader Canadians will likely get to know a lot better as China becomes more and more of a global force argues David Dyment.

And I consider the psychological impact of living in drone-prone regions like Pakistan, Yemen, or Gaza, where the these flying robots have become omnipresent.

Canada and Climate: From Leader to Threat
Henry Shue on why burning through our limited carbon budget is going to cost us dearly.

Faith and Foreign Policy
Andrew Preston, author of the award-winning book, Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith, on the role of religion in U.S. foreign policy.

Teeter-Tottering Between Contending Perceptions of China
David Dyment on why the country represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Canada.

Why NATO is the Worst Alliance (Except For All the Others)
Steve Saideman on why NATO is still a good deal for Canada, even if we don’t always need what we pay for.

Buzz Kill
What does being constantly watched sound like? Taylor Owen on the under-appreciated costs of living under drones.