Diplomatic Circles

Autocratic Lives Matter? Saudi Arabia and the sovereignty card

In a time when all politics are global, Riyadh’s tactical tantrum over Canada’s principled human rights stand aims to isolate moral leadership.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to back down after Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland’s tweet about human rights sparked a diplomatic spat with Saudi Arabia. They’re pictured heading to a press conference in Ottawa on May 31. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY LISA VAN DUSEN

August 15, 2018

One of the many ironies of our current political moment is that while, for the first time since 1970, sovereignty isn’t on the ballot in the upcoming Quebec election, it seems to be catching on in the rest of the world. But the sovereignty that has become an incantation among autocrats seeking re...

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