The Herbert C. Kelman Seminar on Internati
onal Conflict Analysis and Resolution presents a virtual seminar with Ronal
d Niezen\, Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of Sociology\
, University of San Diego
Professor Emeritus in Anthropology\, McGill
University.
Niezen's talk will focus on the history of "sovereignty s hocks" in Canada and the U.S. that have resulted from U.S. President Donald Trump's expressed intention to annex Canada. This talk considers the histo ry of “sovereignty shocks” in and between Canada and the U.S. as a way to u nderstand the current crisis better. Indigenous peoples experienced such sh ocks when European colonists first recognized them as sovereign nations and later subjected them to narrative dehumanization\, treaty violations\, and usurpation of territory. Consistent with the pre-World War II era of state -sanctioned territorial ambition\, the new U.S. government promotes a story of American sovereignty that defies the rule of law and prepares the way f or crimes of aggression. Understanding these histories and developing thoug htful responses to narratives of aggression strengthens resilience against expansionist ambitions.
CATEGORIES:Speaker/Panel LOCATION:Zoom GEO:40.712728;-74.006015 ORGANIZER;CN="Diane Long":MAILTO:dlong@law.harvard.edu URL;VALUE=URI:https://hls.harvard.edu/events/sovereignty-shock-canada-us-re lations-in-a-new-world-order/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://hls.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Ronald-Niezen-headshot.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:20250309T070000 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR