Canadian Military Mobilization

In: Armed forces & society: official journal of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society : an interdisciplinary journal, Band 16, Heft 1, S. 37-57

Abstract

An analysis of military mobilization in Canada from 1867 to the present, focusing on factors that influence security needs. External factors that affect the supply of & demand for mobilization include: (1) type of threat (eg, nuclear vs conventional); (2) response flexibility required to meet various types of threat; (3) response time likely to be available following the threat; & (4) requirement gap, ie, difference between peacetime & wartime requirements. Internal factors that affect requirements by influencing government policy include: costs, public opinion, & internal politics. The relative strength of these factors has varied throughout Canada's history, & their collective influence is more important than that of either group of factors by itself. Traditional hostility toward military approaches has discouraged excessive militarism. Although current internal policy factors prevent a large peacetime commitment, more effective mobilization would enhance Canada's deterrent capability in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. J. W. Stanton