Philippe Lagassé is associate professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa and a senior fellow with the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute. His research focuses on Canadian defence policy and politics, civil-military relations in Westminster democracies, machinery of government related to foreign policy and national security affairs, and the nature and scope of executive power in the Westminster tradition. He holds a B.A. in philosophy from McGill University, an M.A. in war studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a Ph.D in political science from Carleton University. He also works as an occasional contract defence and procurement policy analyst for government, industry, and political parties. His current research examines national defence and executive-legislative relations in Canada.