Canada is one of the few countries, which has managed to avoid substantial inter-ethnic conflicts essay
Canada is one of the few countries, which has managed to avoid substantial inter-ethnic conflicts, in spite of a considerable ethnic diversity. In this regard, event the tension associated with Quebec did not evoke a considerable international pressure on Canada. Instead, Canada is one of the countries, which has managed to avoid international sanctions and the pressure from the part of the international community. At the same time, the country has managed to conduct fully independent policies, since Canada has gained independence from Great Britain. In such a way, the government of Canada has managed to conduct policies that allowed the nation to maintain friendly relations with other nations, although the Canadian government has managed to enhance its efforts to avoid internal conflicts within the nation and to breed tolerance in Canada as the milestone of its domestic and international policies.
Canada is the multi-ethnic country and multiculturalism comprises an integral part of the life of the Canadian society (Setting the Record Straight). Nevertheless, Canada has managed to avoid serious ethnic conflicts. Even the case of Quebec may be viewed as being settled. At any rate, the growing tension between the English-speaking and French-speaking communities in Canada resulted in the autonomy of Quebec and settlement of the conflict, as the French-speaking community has obtained larger rights and liberties and has stood on the equal ground with the English-speaking community. More important, this tension between the two major ethnic groups in Canada revealed then ability of the Canadian government to negotiate and settle inter-ethnic conflicts within the nation successfully. At the same time, such a policy conducted by the Canadian government could be the result of its colonial past as well as the possible pressure of the international community. Obviously, if the government of Canada failed to resolve the conflict in Quebec, Canada would likely to face the enormous pressure from the part of the international community, including the pressure from such leading nations as the UK and possible the US as well as France.
The tolerance of the Canadian society prevented Canada from the involvement in international conflicts (Bissoundath, 1994). At the same time, Canada did not suffer pressure from the part of foreign powers. The international community has never imposed sanctions on Canada for the oppression of minorities. At the same time, the government of Canada conducted domestic and international policies in such a way that the international community has never had a reason for imposing sanctions on Canada. In such a way, the government always focused on the maintenance of the tolerance and its policies always took into consideration multiculturalism of the nation.
However, the history of Canada reveals quite tense relations between the white Canadians and the aboriginal population of Canada, since the native population of Canada has suffered exclusion for a long time and the integration of the native population in the mainstream society and culture is still quite challenging (Bissoundath, 1994). In fact, the oppression of the native population of Canada was later compensated by the elaboration of the legislation that protected aboriginal communities of Canada. As a result, the government of Canada has managed to settle the conflict between the mainstream society and the aboriginal population (). In this regard, the government of Canada conducted policies, which met international policies aiming at the elimination of discrimination and oppression of minorities.
Canada has managed to avoid the impact of foreign powers and international community due to the “invented traditions”, which allowed the nation to develop tolerance in relation to different cultural groups and to adopt new cultural norms and traditions (Hobsbaum, 1990).
Furthermore, the Canadian Constitution was the product of bargaining (The Pattern of the Constitution), i.e. the product of negotiations between social and ethnic groups within the nation that eventually allowed Canada to set common rules and principles respected by all citizens, regardless of their cultural background. In such a way, the Canadian Constitution matched interests of virtually all social groups of the Canadian society.
Canada used the experience of developing multiculturalism and inter-ethnic relations in its international relations (). To put it more precisely, Canada has just extrapolated the experience of its domestic policies onto its international policies to build up friendly relations with other nations. The government of Canada promoted tolerant policies in both domestic and international relations. In this regard, Canadian international and domestic policies have proved to be quite efficient, while the government has managed to avoid conflicts with other states and any considerable pressure from the part of the international community.
Thus, the government of Canada conducted responsible policies and promoted tolerance which helped Canada to avoid international conflicts and pressure from the part of the international community. In addition, Canada has managed to maintain internal stability avoiding conflicts between representatives of different cultural and ethnic groups. The development of domestic policies helped the government of Canada to make Canada the country, where multiculturalism has become an integral part of domestic and international policies of Canada.
