Security Aid Canada and the Development Regime of Security

Canada is actively involved through various agencies in the domestic affairs of countries in the Global South. Over time, these practices – rationalized as a form of humanitarian assistance − have become increasingly focused on enhancing regimes of surveillance, policing, prisons, border control, and security governance.

Drawing on an array of previously classified materials and interviews with security experts, Security Aid presents a critical analysis of the securitization of humanitarian aid. Jeffrey Monaghan demonstrates that, while Canadian humanitarian assistance may be framed around altruistic ideals, these ideals are subordinate to two overlapping objectives: the advancement of Canada’s strategic interests and the development of security states in the “underdeveloped” world. Through case studies of the major aid programs in Haiti, Libya, and Southeast Asia, Security Aid provides a comprehensive analysis and reinterpretation of Canada’s foreign policy agenda and its role in global affairs.

Jeffrey Monaghan is an assistant professor in the Institute for Criminology and Criminal Justice at Carleton University.