UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000298
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, SOCI, SCUL, KPAO, CA
SUBJECT: REMNANTS OF ANTI-AMERICANISM IN CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES
REF: Vancouver 45
1. (SBU) Summary: As President Obama noted in Strasbourg on April
3, anti-Americanism in developed countries is sometimes both "casual
and insidious." Canada's traditionally liberal universities have
often displayed some anti-American biases, as emboff discovered
first-hand as a part-time graduate student at the University of
Ottawa in 2008. Students criticized the U.S. human rights record
and international human rights stances, and professors claimed that
international organizations had become ineffective "captives" of the
U.S. The new administration of President Obama has provided a
notable respite from such rhetoric nationwide (reftel), but Canada's
perennial desire to differentiate itself from its larger neighbor
means that some anti-Americanism will inevitably creep back in
academic and public discourse. End summary.
CANADIAN ANTI-AMERICANISM NOT A NEW PHENOMENON
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2. (SBU) In many ways lacking a strong national identity, Canadians
often define themselves simply by stating what they are not --
American. According to one University of Ottawa professor, Canadian
identity is based largely on those things Canadians feel they "do
better" than the U.S.: e.g., implementing government-run social
welfare programs; abiding by moral underpinnings; establishing a
harmonious yet multicultural and diverse population; and,
peacekeeping rather than peacemaking.
3. (SBU) In Strasbourg on April 3, President Obama was speaking to
Europeans about Europe but he could just as well have substituted
the words "Canada" and "Canadians" when he said, "But in Europe,
there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be
insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often
does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to
blame America for much of what's bad. On both sides of the
Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common. They are not
wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the
divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated. They
fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth that America cannot
confront the challenges of this century alone, but that Europe
cannot confront them without America."
4. (SBU) Apart from surges of solidarity after 9/11 and after
President Obama's election and -- even more so, his February 19
visit (reftel) -- many Canadian politicians, pundits, and, most of
all, academics at traditionally liberal universities have resorted
too easily to a shallow anti-Americanism. The war in Iraq and the
detentions at Guantanamo Bay further added fuel to this fire, which
is at distinct odds from the overwhelmingly friendly partnership
between our nations and people. Emboff witnessed such attitudes
first-hand as a part-time graduate student at the University of
Ottawa from winter 2007 through summer 2008.
STUDENTS CRITICIZE U.S. HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD...
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5. (SBU) During an international human rights law class at the
University of Ottawa, students and the professor frequently lobbed
criticisms of the U.S. human rights record, claiming that the U.S.
was unwilling to support international human rights measures and
that the U.S. was not a strong defender of human rights. At least
once each class session, the professor would ask which country was
"once again noticeably absent" from the list of countries that had
ratified a particular international human rights document, i.e., the
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
QOptional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
UN Convention Against Torture, or the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Rather than answering
verbally, students would point at emboff -- their way of saying that
the U.S. was once again the "culprit." The professor, also a
visiting fellow at the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade, even apologized to emboff on multiple occasions
and at times made concerted efforts to explain to students the
reasoning behind U.S. human rights policies. Even after such
explanations, however, students remained extremely critical of U.S.
human rights policies. Students stated they could not understand,
for example, how the U.S. could be opposed to a convention
supporting the elimination of discrimination against women, or
defending the rights of children. Emboff often attempted to further
explain the U.S. point of view (although generally without much
success), emphasizing that the U.S. had unique concerns considering
its geo-political position.
6. (SBU) Class members proudly expounded on their view of Canada
as a proponent of peaceful conflict resolution, focusing on examples
such as former Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson's
pioneering peacekeeping under the United Nations, and Canadian
Senator Romeo Dallaire's leadership of the ill-fated UN peacekeeping
force in Rwanda. Students and the professor also highlighted
Canada's membership, and the U.S.'s lack of membership, in the UN
Human Rights Council. (This was before the USG's recent decision to
seek a seat in 2009.) In addition, students constantly criticized
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the U.S. for its treatment of Omar Khadr, a Canadian detainee at
Guantanamo, arguing that the U.S. should return him immediately to
Canada and claiming he faced no possibility of a fair trial or
humane treatment in the U.S. (The Canadian government has never
requested his repatriation, indicating instead that it will await
the outcome of ongoing judicial processes.)
...AND DISCUSS DECLINE OF U.S. HEGEMONY
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7. (SBU) At a summer 2008 global economic issues class also at the
University of Ottawa, the professor opened the first class session
by explaining that the course would focus on how the U.S. had lost
its economic and political "hegemony," and how China and the EU had
become leaders in a new multi-polar world. The professor asserted
that the "U.S.-led agenda" had failed, and stated that the World
Bank, IMF, and UN had become ineffective "captives of the U.S."
After a two-hour lecture on the loss of U.S. economic power and the
negative impact of the U.S. on the world economy, the professor
closed the first day of class by claiming that then-President George
W. Bush and the Republican Party were responsible for a drop in the
percentage of women in the workforce, and that the U.S. was an
"embarrassment" regarding equality and equal opportunity.
8. (SBU) In subsequent classes, the professor repeatedly blamed the
U.S. for the "failed world economic situation" and for the
"ineffectiveness" of international institutions. While criticizing
the U.S. for controlling international institutions, however, the
professor also claimed the U.S. had lost its power and influence in
the world. He asserted that people throughout the world no longer
watched American movies or paid attention to U.S. culture, and that
the EU had replaced the U.S. as the world's cultural leader.
Students argued only over whether it was the EU or China that had
replaced the U.S. as the world's most influential economy, and
discussed why the U.S. "attempt at world domination" had failed.
The professor claimed that since the loss of U.S. hegemony in
approximately 2000, the world had entered the most "decentralized"
period in history.
9. (SBU) The professor and students were especially critical of the
Republican Party and then-President George W. Bush. The professor
asserted that the Republican Party had "thrown people under the bus"
to keep capitalism going, and called the Republican Party an
"unnatural union" that economic and social conservatives had created
to gain popular support. Students engaged in similar rhetoric,
claiming the Republican Party was opposed to "idealism," and blaming
the U.S. government (especially the George W. Bush administration)
for allowing so many Americans to go without health insurance and
other social benefits so commonly provided to Canadian residents.
COMMENT
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10. (SBU) Since the end of both 2008 university courses, Canada has
experienced a wave of excitement and pro-U.S. sentiment in
connection with the election of President Obama. Canada was
enraptured by the U.S. presidential election campaign, with media
and citizens paying more attention to the U.S. election than to
Canada's own October 2008 parliamentary election, and Canadians
expressing overwhelming support for President Obama. Canadians also
displayed a marked level of interest and excitement during President
Obama's February 2009 visit to Ottawa -- his first foreign trip in
office and a return to what Canadians saw as a tradition of U.S.
presidents making Canada their first foreign visit. However, as the
Qpresidents making Canada their first foreign visit. However, as the
excitement of the U.S. presidential election wears off and as the
reality of the world economic downturn sets in, Canadians --
including not only academics and media commentators but often
politicians -- may well be unable to resist reverting to their
long-standing concern about U.S. "domination" and their need to
differentiate themselves from Americans.
BREESE