TMU CSR Institute zoom session: Exploring the Feasibility & Viability of a Canadian-Led Global Middle Power Trade/Security/Digital Alliance, with Yash Kalash, Stephen Nagy & Kernaghan Webb

The foundations of global trade, security, and economic governance are shifting faster and in more profound ways than many middle powers can comfortably absorb. Long-standing assumptions about reliable markets, stable security guarantees, and predictable rules are weakening, while pressure to align with competing great powers is intensifying. For middle powers that have depended on a more-or-less stable, somewhat principles-based international rules-based order, this raises an urgent question: can each thrive as autonomous actors on their own in the increasingly polarized, transactional world—or would acting together give them a better chance at prospering while preserving basic human values?

This discussion brings together three leading commentators who have recently written on subjects exploring how to respond to the changing global governance landscape (for example, Kalash and Webb recently co-wrote Should Canada Lead a Global Middle Power Trade, Security and Digital Alliance? (external link) , and Nagy has written Too nice to fight, Canada’s vulnerability in the age of authoritarian coercion (external link)  ). Drawing on their publications, the discussion will probe the case for developing a collective approach to preserving and furthering middle power sovereignty, the practical aspects of coordinated action, and how a “united front” among diverse middle powers could enhance resilience, influence global rule-making, and reduce vulnerability to great-power pressure. Particular attention will be given to considering the feasibility of linking together current Euro-Americas-Afro-Indo-Pacific regional arrangements, and the viability of Canada playing a leadership role in the alliance.

About the Speakers

Yash Kalash (external link)  is a senior fellow at CIGI and an expert in strategy, public policy, digital technology and financial services. He has experience in emerging markets across India, MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and the Asia-Pacific and a distinguished track record advising governments and the private sector on emerging technologies. His expertise spans various industries, including fintech, AI and digital assets, and their impact on geopolitics. His career includes key roles at Roland Berger, the Government of India, Adani Group and KPMG, where he spearheaded strategic digital projects, advised clients on their digital assets and AI strategy, and informed policy and regulatory developments. With an M.Sc. in management from Imperial College London and a B.Sc. in international relations and politics from the University of Bath, Yash combines deep strategic insight with strong training, making him a versatile and impactful leader in the field of digital economy. Recent publications include: Should Canada Lead a Global Middle Power Trade, Security and Digital Alliance? (co-author, CIGI, Dec. 9, 2025); The Cognitive Network Age: Networks as the Nervous System of Civilization (CIGI, Nov. 27, 2025);

Dr. Stephen Nagy (external link)  is Professor of Politics and International Studies at the International Christian University, specializing in Indo-Pacific geopolitics and great power competition. Concurrently, he holds strategic appointments as a Senior Fellow and China Project lead at the MacDonald Laurier Institute and the Asia-Pacific Foundation, and a Visiting Fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs. His expertise is further recognized through affiliations with the Institute for Security and Development Policy, the East Asia Security Centre, and the Research Institute for Peace and Security. He serves as the director of policy studies for the Yokosuka Council of Asia Pacific Studies (YCAPS), spearheading their Indo-Pacific Policy Dialogue series. He is currently working on middle-power approaches to great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific. The tentative title for his forthcoming monograph is "Navigating U.S. China Strategic Competition: Japan as an International Adapter Middle Power." His latest publications include:

• Nagy, S.R. and Indu Saxena. 2024. Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific Construct. Nova Science Publishers; 
• Nagy, Stephen and Thomas Murphy, 2024. “Middle Power Cyber Security Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific: An Analysis Through the Lens of Neo-Middle Power Diplomacy,” in The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare, Vol. 7 No. 1 (2024), pp. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.21810/jicw.v7i1.6454 (external link)  ISSN 2561-8229; 
• Nagy, Stephen and Nanae Balduff. Reboot, Continuity, or Adaptation? Making Sense of Japan’s FOIP Vision Update in the Context of China and Taiwan. Chinese Political Science Review 78(2024/12), pp.77-121 (Collaboration) 2024/12; 
• Nagy, Stephen R. and Linh Ha, 2024, "Indo-Pacific Connector? Japan’s Role in Bridging ASEAN and the Quad," in The Journal of East Asian Affairs. Institute for National Security Strategies (INSS), Vol. 37., Issue 1, Spring/ Summer. pp.125-160; 
• Nagy, S.R. “Middle-Power Alignment in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Securing Agency through Neo-Middle-Power Diplomacy,” Asia Policy 17, no. 3, 2022; 
• “US-China Strategic Competition and Converging Middle Power Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific,” Strategic Analysis 46, no. 3, 2022; “Sino-Japanese Reactive Diplomacy as Seen Through the Interplay of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision (FOIP),” China Report, 2021: 1–15.

Dr. Kernaghan Webb holds Bachelor's, Masters and Doctorate degrees in law, and is an Associate Professor in the Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Law and Business. He is also the Founding Director of the TMU Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility. Prof. Webb's extensive law and regulation research and publications have among other things been cited and quoted by the Supreme Court of Canada. Dr. Webb has also been employed by or advised governments and inter-governmental bodies, and he has been on the board of directors or otherwise assisted private sector, civil society organizations on regulatory matters. Professor Webb was appointed Special Advisor to the UN Global Compact regarding the development of the ISO 26000 social responsibility standard, he has played leadership roles in the development of international and national social and economic standards, and received international and national recognition for his leadership. Recent publications include: Should Canada Lead a Global Middle Power Trade, Security and Digital Alliance? (co-author, CIGI, Dec. 9, 2025); Attacks on the rule of law and the threat to business and human rights (co-author, International Bar Association Business and Human Rights Committee, Nov. 21, 2025).

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Upcoming TMU CSR Institute Talks

January 16, 2026 - Navigating the Evolving Global Business Environment: In Conversation with Hentie Dirker, Chief Sustainability & Integrity Officer, AtkinsRéalis on Friday, January 16, 2026 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm EST. To REGISTER and more details (no cost, everyone welcome) click HERE (external link)  . To ACCESS THE ZOOM on Friday, January 16 at 12:00 pm EST, click HERE (external link)  to patch in for the live session. This session is exclusively a zoom event: there is no in-person component. The session will be recorded and will be accessible after the fact on the TMU CSR Institute website.

January 23, 2026 -- Understanding Nigeria's Legislated Approach to Impact and Benefit Agreements: In Conversation with Lotanna Nwodo, LLB (Nigeria) LLM (Harvard), on Friday, January 23, 2026 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm EST. To REGISTER and more details (no cost, everyone welcome) click HERE (external link) . Space is limited, so register soon. To ACCESS THE ZOOM on Friday, January 23 at 12:00 pm EST, click HERE (external link)  to patch in for the live session. This session is exclusively a zoom event: there is no in-person component. The session will be recorded and will be accessible after the fact on the TMU CSR Institute website.

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