Smart Power in The Phillipine-Canadian Trash "War"
In 2013, a large shipment of what was supposed to be recycling was sent from Canada to the Philippines, and it turned out a large amount of it was unrecyclable trash (Gutierrez). Despite the mistake, Canada made no moves to rectify it, and 6 years later the trash was still in the Philippines (Gutierrez). Things culminated in May 2019 when the Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte withdrew diplomats from Canada and declared he'd be shipping back the trash, threatening war if Canada tried to stop it ("Philippines ships trash back to Canada after heated row."). Soon after, Canada had profusely apologized and taken back the trash ("Philippines").
This resolution demonstrated an effective use of smart power by the Philippines and President Duterte. They came from a disadvantageous position; many other Asian countries also had unwanted trash from Western countries they couldn't seem to force the senders to take back ("Phillipines"). A big issue for the Philippines was compared to Canada, they were very lacking in many of the types of power that would have allowed them to assert themselves in the conflict. They certainly lacked the economic power to influence Canada, and although they had some cultural power, it would be tough for them to make their voices heard on the international level as much as some other countries would be able to in their situation. Despite the challenge, they combined a soft power and hard power solution into an assertion of smart power that gave them the leverage to force Canada's hand. First withdrawing their diplomats, to demonstrate culturally that the issue they faced, and in fact their nation as a whole, would not be taken lightly. They made the issue unignorable by making Canada's inaction an active and shameful choice. Second, they were able to exert hard military power, despite their technically smaller military presence than Canada's. This was through using their relational power, as members of an intergovernmental treaty called the Basel Convention alongside Canada and many of their shared allies ("Philippines"). Although it was questionable whether their was any seriousness to the threat of war, the situation was nonetheless presented, and it was clear that as signees of the treaty, which put Canada in the wrong, the allied nations would be obligated to sign with the Philippines.
Together, other countries' worry about conflict escalation and judgement of Canada's choices came as a result of the Philippines' strategic asseriton of smart power and allowed them to successfully pressure Canada into conceding their will in a difficult conflict.
Resources
Gutierrez, Jason. "Canada Agrees to Take Back Trash Sent to Philippines Years Ago." The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 23 May 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/world/asia/philippines-canada-trash.amp.html
"Philippines ships trash back to Canada after heated row." DW, Deutsche Welle, 31 May 2019, m.dw.com/en/philippines-ships-trash-back-to-canada-after-heated-row/a-48982130"
This resolution demonstrated an effective use of smart power by the Philippines and President Duterte. They came from a disadvantageous position; many other Asian countries also had unwanted trash from Western countries they couldn't seem to force the senders to take back ("Phillipines"). A big issue for the Philippines was compared to Canada, they were very lacking in many of the types of power that would have allowed them to assert themselves in the conflict. They certainly lacked the economic power to influence Canada, and although they had some cultural power, it would be tough for them to make their voices heard on the international level as much as some other countries would be able to in their situation. Despite the challenge, they combined a soft power and hard power solution into an assertion of smart power that gave them the leverage to force Canada's hand. First withdrawing their diplomats, to demonstrate culturally that the issue they faced, and in fact their nation as a whole, would not be taken lightly. They made the issue unignorable by making Canada's inaction an active and shameful choice. Second, they were able to exert hard military power, despite their technically smaller military presence than Canada's. This was through using their relational power, as members of an intergovernmental treaty called the Basel Convention alongside Canada and many of their shared allies ("Philippines"). Although it was questionable whether their was any seriousness to the threat of war, the situation was nonetheless presented, and it was clear that as signees of the treaty, which put Canada in the wrong, the allied nations would be obligated to sign with the Philippines.
Together, other countries' worry about conflict escalation and judgement of Canada's choices came as a result of the Philippines' strategic asseriton of smart power and allowed them to successfully pressure Canada into conceding their will in a difficult conflict.
Resources
Gutierrez, Jason. "Canada Agrees to Take Back Trash Sent to Philippines Years Ago." The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 23 May 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/05/23/world/asia/philippines-canada-trash.amp.html
"Philippines ships trash back to Canada after heated row." DW, Deutsche Welle, 31 May 2019, m.dw.com/en/philippines-ships-trash-back-to-canada-after-heated-row/a-48982130"
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