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

Minerals for Weapons: Is Ukraine Making a Deal with the United States on Its Own Terms?

3 weeks ago | cigionline.org | Anna Romandash

In May 2025, Ukraine and the United States signed a minerals deal. A first-of-its-kind agreement, it allows future revenues from the extraction of Ukraine’s critical minerals to be used to finance defense procurement. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine — the parliament — ratified the document on May 8 and a bilateral Joint Investment Fund for Reconstruction is expected to be created this year.
The Promises and Perils of Predictive Policing

1 month ago | cigionline.org | Jennifer Tang |Kyle Hiebert

In his 1956 novella, The Minority Report, American author Philip K. Dick describes a world where mutant psychics aid police to stop crimes before they occur. Seven decades later, “precrime prediction” is no longer entirely fictional thinking, as some law enforcement agencies are betting artificial intelligence (AI) can manifest Dick’s fantasy into reality. Police departments worldwide are already embracing AI-powered tools to advance the field of predictive policing.
Trump 2.0 Will Escalate the Contest for Military AI Supremacy

1 month ago | cigionline.org | Kyle Hiebert

Days after re-entering the White House, Donald Trump tore up Joe Biden’s directives on the US government’s oversight and use of artificial intelligence (AI). Trump has instead ordered America’s AI industry be fully unleashed. Enormous ripple effects on the technology’s development and its impacts will soon follow. And they may include reshaping the future of war. A fragmenting international order has spurred a new global arms race.
A Tariff Crisis Is Exactly the Right Time to Reform the WTO

2 months 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 months 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

Mar 24, 2025 | 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

Feb 20, 2025 | 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

Jan 30, 2025 | 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

Jan 29, 2025 | 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

Jan 28, 2025 | 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.