Trading Secrets: Canada's Comparative Advantage in Signals Intelligence Sharing, 1947 to Present

Date
2015-04-29
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Abstract
Canada is a member of the world’s strongest intelligence-sharing relationship, the Five Eyes. Why has Canada been a valued partner for the United States and the United Kingdom, states with greater absolute intelligence capabilities? Canada’s intelligence capabilities are understudied; existing scholarship has suffered from a lack of access to material. The declassification of archival materials surrounding the establishment of Five Eyes allow this thesis to make a new contribution to the literature, illuminating Canada’s unique value to its strategic partners. This thesis demonstrates that Canada has a comparative advantage in signals intelligence (SIGINT). While directly benefiting national security, Canadian SIGINT was built and leveraged to ensure value to its most powerful intelligence-sharing partners. Canada has acted on gains from trade, identifying comparative advantages in geography and analytical capabilities and capitalizing on them to access intelligence and military support and enhance political relationships, thereby furthering national security.
Description
Keywords
Economics--Commerce-Business, History--Canadian, Military Studies
Citation
Robson, M. A. (2015). Trading Secrets: Canada's Comparative Advantage in Signals Intelligence Sharing, 1947 to Present (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28500