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The mission of the CIC is to promote an understanding of international affairs and Canada’s role in a changing world by providing Canadians with a non-partisan, nationwide forum for informed discussion, analysis and debate. Accordingly, the cornerstone of the CIC’s work is our events program. The CIC national office and our branches hold more than 150 events per year in cities across the country. In particular, our branch events give members an opportunity to directly engage with global issues that often intersect with local concerns. The CIC also supports events outside of Canada, often in partnership with other global think tanks, that can introduce Canadian perspectives to global audiences. CIC events take on many different forms, from academic lectures and panel discussions to town hall meetings and pub nights. Please consult our events calendar for a listing of CIC-organized and sponsored events.

If you have an idea for a CIC event, please contact us at info@thecic.org.

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  • This event has passed.

CIC Victoria: Could the Global Tide be Turning in Favour of Democracy?

August 27, 2024 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm PDT

When: Tuesday, 27 August

Where:  The Victoria Forum / University of Victoria

Time: 2:45 to 4:00 pm

Our Speakers: Please see below

Register: Just for this panel – cic.victoria.sec@gmail.com  ///   For the entire Victoria Forum event: Victoria Forum 2024 – Victoria Forum

Cost: None

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We look forward to welcoming you to the University of Victoria and as part of the three-day Victoria Forum, CIC Victoria will have its own panel event that is open to everyone.

What will we be discussing? Here goes…

Despite recent democratic gains, some say it is far too early to declare the global retreat of democracy as being over. Instead, they argue that surmounting the deep roots of democracy’s global woes will require a sustained effort to prove that democracy can and will deliver. And democracy has undoubtedly been in retreat for over a decade now, typified most recently with a renewed invasion of a democratic European country by an authoritarian regime in 2022. At a global level there has also been an erosion of trust in international institutions and their capacity to address issues of international concern. This session will discuss the state of democracy and the rules-based order, along with the international trends that are increasingly becoming evident.

Our speakers (alphabetically):

Dr. Chris Kilford – Queen’s Centre for International and Defence Policy / President CIC Victoria

Marc Lortie – former Ambassador to France, Spain and Chile / CIC Victoria

Dr. David Malone – former UN Under-Secretary-General, Rector of the United Nations University Tokyo / CIC Victoria

Dr. Reeta Tremblay – former Provost, University of Victoria / CIC Victoria

Moderator

Francesca Guetchev – Analyst with the Multi Operational Security Agency Intelligence Company (MOSAIC) / CIC Victoria

Panel procedure

After a topic introduction/overview by the Moderator, and a panel introduction, the first 45-minutes of the panel will involve short presentations by panel members, followed by 30-minutes for a panel discussion/audience Q & A. After the Moderator introduction and panel introductions are complete, the focus will turn to three recent elections where things did not go entirely to plan for the incumbents, especially in the first two instances. Dr. Kilford will speak to recent municipal elections (with national overtones) in Turkiye where the opposition prevailed, Dr. Tremblay will discuss India’s recent national election setback for Prime Minister Modi and Ambassador Lortie will discuss the implications of recent national elections in France.  Dr. Malone will then offer a broader view of the challenges facing democracies and international institutions along with some possible solutions / a way forward as to how Canada, and the rest of the world, can help ensure democracies, and the international rule-of-law, prevail.

Details

  • Date: August 27, 2024
  • Time:
    2:30 pm - 4:00 pm PDT

Venue

Organizer

  • CIC Victoria Branch