Centre for International Governance Innovation

Welcome to the Center for International Governance Innovation! We are an independent and non-partisan think tank that offers a unique global perspective. Our research, insights, and public engagement aim to make a meaningful impact on the world today by providing clear and innovative ideas for global policy development. By collaborating with top experts and working across various fields, we set the standard for impactful research and reliable analysis. Our research initiatives concentrate on the governance of the global economy, international security and politics, and international law, all in partnership with several strategic allies. We are proud to receive support from the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and Jim Balsillie.

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Articles

A Tariff Crisis Is Exactly the Right Time to Reform the WTO

1 week ago | cigionline.org | Hector Torres |Héctor Torres

“Liberation day,” as US President Donald Trump triumphantly branded his tariff announcement last week, could deal a fatal blow to the already faltering international trading system governed by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Built on two fundamental principles — “national treatment” and “most favoured nation” (MFN) — the WTO was designed to provide predictability to trade, and therefore to investment.
Canada’s Legal Recourse Options in Response to US Tariffs

2 weeks ago | cigionline.org | Bernard Colas

The United States’ 25 percent tariff on certain Canadian goods, including cars, steel and aluminum, and 10 percent tariff on energy and fertilizers raise significant questions about legal courses of action available to Canada. In addition, whether Canada will face the all-encompassing 25 percent tariff announced in March or “reciprocal” US tariffs remains unclear at this stage.
The Citizen Lab’s Brave Fight Against Spyware

1 month ago | cigionline.org | Matt Malone

It was almost immediately after the release of DeepSeek’s large language model that users began sharing reports of disturbing censorship. The episode reminded me of a personal memory from 2006. As a 19-year-old student at the University of Toronto, sitting in the balcony of Convocation Hall, I watched my professor bring to life his course about human rights online by demonstrating a tool he had helped build that could compare search results from google.com and its Chinese counterpart, google.cn.
Ukraine’s Fate Hinges on Its English-Language Influence Operations

2 months ago | cigionline.org | Kyle Hiebert |Jordan Miller

Ukraine is in a fragile state. February 22 marks the three-year anniversary of its war with Russia — now with Donald Trump back in the White House. The president claims he’ll broker a ceasefire. And signs indicate Trump will push Kyiv to concede territory it has lost to Russia in exchange for vague promises of security guarantees. But it remains unclear what endgame he and his advisers have in mind, aside from Trump’s desire to be lauded for making a deal. They themselves may not even know.
Canada Can Confront US Tariffs by Liberating Innovators

2 months ago | cigionline.org | E. Richard Gold

Tariffs, which the US president has constantly said he would introduce, are a threat to Canada’s national economic security. If Donald Trump follows through, Canada must respond with all economic weapons at its disposal, a key armament of which is intellectual property (IP) such as patents.
Through a Glass, Darkly: Transparency and Military AI Systems

2 months ago | cigionline.org | Branka Marijan

The need for transparency is often emphasized in international governance discussions on military artificial intelligence (AI) systems; however, transparency is a complex and multi-faceted concept, understood in various ways within international debates and literature on the responsible use of AI. It encompasses dimensions such as explainability, interpretability, understandability, predictability and reliability.
Space Citizen: The Gap Between You, Me and the Governance of Space

2 months ago | cigionline.org | Cassandra Steer

CIGI Paper No. 314 Existing space governance institutions and mechanisms are built on a twentieth-century reality, when states were the main actors and the main, if only, subjects of international law. While international space law and multilateral institutions are facing pressures in the twenty-first-century “spacescape,” they should not be disregarded or replaced entirely. The framework they provide is an important foundation.
Counterspace Capabilities: Renewed Hope for Cooperative Governance?

Jan 23, 2025 | cigionline.org | Almudena Azcárate Ortega |Victoria Samson

Ever since humankind first launched objects into space, counterspace capabilities (also known as “space weapons”) were developed to disrupt or destroy them. Now that space is increasingly being used for both civilian and military applications, space technologies have evolved to meet these needs, but regulations to protect space have lagged behind.
Aftershocks: Disruptive Growth in Low Earth Orbit Creates New Policy Challenges

Jan 21, 2025 | cigionline.org | Ruth Stilwell

The emergence of large constellations of small satellites has disrupted the field of space safety services and changed how we think about the risk of collisions in space. The risk from space debris is compounded by the growing congestion from operational satellites in low-Earth orbit, particularly between 300 and 700 km above the Earth. These satellites have created an opportunity for commercial operators to assume roles that were once the exclusive domain of military or other state actors.
Tariffs Are an Own Goal: The Best Retaliation is to Stand Fast

Jan 20, 2025 | cigionline.org | Dan Ciuriak

Donald Trump has stated his intent to impose 25-percent tariffs on all imports from Canada on his first day in office. Let’s consider what we did the last time Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian exports. In 2018, Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian exports of steel and aluminum under the national security provision (section 232) of the US Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Canada retaliated tit-for-tat, and the American tariffs were withdrawn under a deal that put a ceiling on increases in Canadian exports.