The presence of only one great power and the fact that the power in question is the United States, has and will continue to play a significant role in the formulation and execution of Canadian foreign policy pursuits, including Afghanistan (Kirkey, & Ostroy, 2010). Presently, as of 2002, Canadian troops have taken more responsibility in the war by engaging themselves against Taliban forces in an open conflict. The Canadian mission to Afghanistan is scheduled to end in February 2011, but there is divisive debate in Canada as to whether the mission should be extended. In 2009, statistics demonstrated that 138 Canadian soldiers had been killed in the Afghanistan War. Successive governments in Ottawa (led by Prime Ministers Chrétien, Martin, and Harper) have renewed and/or extended Canada's military commitment to Afghanistan on Several occasions, most recently in March 2008 when the House of Commons approved an Extension until December 2011(Kirkey, & Ostroy, 2010). This poses the question; why would the Canadian government impose the death of numerous Canadians in a War that was far from being a Canadian issue? This essay will demonstrate how many factors explain Canadian involvement in Afghanistan, by relating to issues such as National Security, Global alliances and power within the international system. It will also analyze this involvement from a Realist and liberal perspective.
Firstly, realism (in the context of International Relations) is defined as prioritizing security and national interest without necessarily making social reconstructions and morals an important factor in their decision making. In this point, it demonstrates that Nations are unitary actors within a larger international sphere, where the main objective is to valorize national interest to finally obtain "power" internationally. The theory says that states are the primary actors in international affairs instead of IGOs, NGOs or MNCs, making states the most powerful actors.