By Susan Scott

York's Centre for International and Security Studies (CISS) has launched the Canada-Japan Security Cooperation Program to foster collaborative projects with the Asian country and invited one of Japan's top security analysts to deliver the inaugural lecture.

David Dewitt, CISS Director and professor of political science, said the Canada-Japan Security Cooperation program aims to explore ideas and policy options in both countries for more appropriate and effective responses to global crises. "There is a lot of confusion in foreign policy circles today with the prevailing, more aggressive, view about when to intervene in a country's internal conflict. And there is a concern in Canada that we are not really clear about what we should be doing," he said.

Masashi Nishihara, professor of International Relations and Chair of the School of Social Sciences at the National Defense Academy in Japan, was at York in November, as the inaugural lecturer. He spoke at a dinner co-sponsored by York, the Japan Society and the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. The program will also feature future lectures and Dewitt said CISS has received base funding from the federal government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAIT) for a collaborative research project with Japanese scholars.

While in Toronto, Nishihara also delivered two lectures to York's CISS on Asian Values Revisited and Japan-Asian Relations.

Nishihara said that while the threat of global nuclear war has greatly diminished, other security issues have surfaced. He pointed to the 1997 Asian financial crisis which caused political turmoil in several countries in the region including Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea. He suggested that South Korean President Kim Dae Jun might not have been elected at all if there had not been a financial crisis, and that the newly-elected government in Jakarta was a consequence of the financial crisis in Indonesia which topped the 30-year-old Suharto government.

"The financial crisis in Indonesia has even expanded to become a social and political crisis," explained Nishihara. "It allowed East Timor to become independent with the help of the United Nations." He said the situation in East Timor has "settled down now" but admitted peace is still far off.

Nishihara cited China as another potential threat, especially to Japan. The Chinese economy has grown quickly over the past 20 years - throughout most of the 1990s the economy has grown about eight percent. However, more recently, China has developed "serious domestic problems" including lower growth (estimates are pegged at seven per cent but even the country's prime minister admitted this figure was optimistic) and higher debt. Other problems include lower foreign investment and increased air pollution.

At the same time, China's military capabilities have also expanded with the addition of nuclear weapons and more sophisticated missiles, he said. Naval power has is more "impressive" and there is also the growing power of fundamentalist groups and religious sects such as Falun Gong which Nishihara said could pose a threat to China's internal stability.

One other region that Japan and indeed the rest of the world must watch out for is North Korea. Nishihara said the country's president, Kim Jong-Il does not appear or speak in public.

"We probably know less about North Korea than about any other country in the world," he said. "We don't know what the leaders are planning for their country's future or how they view their relations with their neighbours." He warned that while the country's economy is in "ruins", the government seems preoccupied with developing missiles. He also suggested North Korea's arsenal of biochemical weapons is "just as dangerous as its nuclear weapons...we must watch North Korea carefully, monitoring its development of weapons of mass destruction."

Aside from these hot spots, Nishihara said tensions could arise caused by shortages of food, fresh water, increased disease and lack of education that may lead to regional ethnic conflicts, ethnic cleansing, or religious clashes.

In trying to work together to help solve these and other security questions, Nishihara said Canada and Japan share some common interests including similar political and economic systems. The two countries also share similar views on peace and security issues such as relations between North and South Korea and between China and Taiwan. As well, Japan and Canada emphasize the importance of "human security," said Nishihara.

"The Canadians champion the idea of peace-building, and Japan emphasizes the need to prevent terrorism, piracy, drug trafficking, and environmental damage," he said. "Both our current and previous prime ministers have talked about human security in speeches to the United Nations General Assembly."

Japan can also gain from working more closely with Canadians. Nishihara said his country could gain access to international institutions of which Japan is not a member such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Commonwealth, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

"Because of Japan's partnership with Canada, these institutions may now be readier to acknowledge Japan's interest in and views on arms control, environmental security and human security. Canada's reputation and image as a country devoted to peace also makes a partnership with Canada attractive to Japan," he said.

Nishihara cited a few differences between the two countries regarding security issues including the way Canada and Japan approach peacekeeping. Canada entrenches this role in its foreign policy at all stages of a conflict whereas Japan's policies focus only on post-conflict involvement. In another example, when the military government in Myanmar (Burma) refused to hand over power in 1990 to the democratically-led government of Aung San Suu Kyi (Novel Peace Prize winner), Canada imposed strict sanctions against the military government and closed its embassy there. Nishihara said by contrast, Japan kept its embassy open and maintained contact with the military government and even partially relaxed economic sanctions earlier this year.

Despite these differences, Nishihara is still optimistic the two countries should be able to work more closely.

"Equally important is the intellectual exchange in these areas," he said. "Scholars and specialists of the two countries should play more prominent roles in promoting peace and security cooperation. Canadian universities may offer courses on Canadian-US security relations, but probably very few offer courses on Canadian-Japanese economic, political and security relations."

He said many Canadian security specialists tend to look towards Europe, NATO and the US, and Japanese security experts concentrate on the US and Asia. However, perhaps the US, Japan and Canada could forge a "triangular relationship" to strengthen their alliance.

By Nishat Karim

Glendon College

Glendon Hall was the name the Wood family gave their estate and family home located on the west branch of the Don River. Originally a suburban, country estate with a landmark manor house and 84 acres of breathtaking gardens, parklands and natural areas, the now Glendon College, continues to stand tall, despite serving a different purpose.

Edward Rogers Wood (1866-1941) and Agnes Euphemia Smart (1868-1950) spent thirty-five years in Toronto before moving to Glendon Hall. Beginning in 1920, the Wood family underwent a four-year process of acquiring, laying out, building and eventually moving into Glendon Hall.

It was only after Agnes Euphemia had passed away in 1950, that it was discovered that she and her husband had surpassed their long record of generosity and support to a host of institutions with a final grand gesture -- leaving their estate to the University of Toronto. Later in 1959, with provincial backing, the University of Toronto's board offered to turn over the Glendon estate to York University's new Board of Governors. Taking effect from 1961, what is now known as Glendon College became the home of York's distinctive liberal arts college.

Applications and/or nominations for the position of Master of Winters College are now being accepted for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2000. The search committee, chaired by Professor Rachel Schlesinger, will welcome formal applications and nominations or suggestions of suitable candidates. The successful candidate will be a tenured member of the full-time faculty of the University who is capable of providing to the college community both academic leadership and competent administrative management. Candidates who wish to enable the college mandate and connection with the Faculty of Fine Arts are most welcome. Nominations, applications, suggestions and comments may be sent to the Search Committee for a New Master, Winters College, addressed to its Chair, Professor Rachel Schlesinger, c/o the secretary, at S932 Ross. Nominations, applications, suggestions and comments may be sent in confidence to rachels@yorku.ca or nacc@yorku.ca.

By Michael Cvitkovic

York University Swimming is taking the lead in the pool. With the goal of moving our program to the next level of elite swimming, York University has entered into a partnership with the Etobicoke Swimming Club (ESWIM).

Creating an alliance with ESWIM adds a new dimension to York's swim team. As part of the elite development program for high performance athletes in swimming, the newly formed partnership will enable a full-service club to offer training opportunities for first time entry-level six-year- olds, Yeomen or Yeowomen swimmers and the international competitor. In their career, swimmers will be able to compete for York University in (OUA) Ontario University Athletics and the (CIAU) Canadian Inter-Varsity Athletic Union, receive their post- secondary education, and still be an active member of ESWIM.

"We are delighted to welcome the Etobicoke Swimming Club to York University," said Professor Patricia Murray, Director of Sport and Recreation. "This relationship has given York the opportunity to become a swimming powerhouse in the OUA and CIAU."

Kevin Thorburn will head the swimmng program. In addition to his coaching duties at ESWIM, head coach Thorburn will be responsible for the overall operation of the York University swimming program. He has coached for Canada at international competitions such as the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. Notable swimmers Thorburn has developed include: Canadian record holder and Commonwealth silver medalist Kelly Stefanyshyn; and Olympian Riley Mants. Thorburn's coaching philosophy is a gradual, long-term development of the swimmer.

"The coming together of York University Swimming and the Etobicoke Swimming Club will provide an opportunity for student-athletes to continue serious training and school in the Toronto area instead of spreading out over all four corners of North America," said Thorburn. "The new organization is the first in Toronto to allow for continuity from young age swimming to university years and older. I am very excited about the future of York/Etobicoke Swimming."

York's current head coach, Victor Verblac will continue to coach with the Yeomen and Yeowomen squads. Verblac, a York alumnus, was a student-athlete with the Yeomen from 1981-1986 and has been the head coach since 1996. He has also been a coach with the York Swimming Club in the city of Toronto for the past 12 years.

"This is very exciting for our program at York," Verblac said. "We are on the right track for swimming success and I look forward to working with Kevin [Thorburn] as we take the Yeomen and Yeowomen to even greater heights."

With the ESWIM partnership, York University will be on a level playing field with the likes of Toronto and McMaster who have similar joint programs with club teams and have enjoyed a successful swimming history within the CIAU.

In this 1999-2000 season, York has already qualified one athlete, Yeomen captain Michael Arzaga for the national championship in Guelph by meeting the CIAU standards for the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke. As a result of the York/ESWIM alliance, York will have an enlarged field of athletes to draw from, qualifying full teams to represent the University at future CIAU competitions. The agreement comes into effect September 2000, just in time for the start of next year's swimming season.

One additional benefit from the partnership could be the construction of a new facility on campus. The York/ESWIM alliance will hopefully advance the initial stages of a business development plan to house adequate swimming facilities at York.

Michael Cvitkovic is York's sports and recreation information officer. This is the first in a regular series of articles from The School of Physical Education.

This is a reminder that the York Libraries have prepared a survey for full-time and part-time faculty on various library issues. The survey is at a non-public Web address, which you can obtain by calling Margaret Jeffery in the University Librarian's office at ext. 22375 -- or e-mail mjeffery@yorku.ca. If you prefer, a paper copy can be mailed to your office address.

We have extended the deadline for completion of the survey to Jan. 21, 2000 -- so please take a few minutes to share your views with us!