Contrapuntal histories of war resistance: Mapping US war resister migrations, questioning Canada as safe haven.

This paper frames two generations of war resister migration from the United States to Canada and the social movements that supported them as contrapuntal histories, disparate yet woven together, and entangled across space and time. We argue that Canada has functioned at key historical moments as safe haven for war resisters from and others fleeing conflict led by the United States, but that this role was always provisional, historically contingent, and never guaranteed. It is therefore crucial to understand the social movements that arose to support the search for safe haven at different points in geopolitical relations and histories. We develop this argument with empirical research about people who migrated to Canada during wars led by the United States in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In documenting both generations of resister migration, we move across scales to understand the highly embodied geopolitics of these journeys, which run parallel and diverge in key ways. Our analysis thus maps the shifting history of Canada as a safe haven for those seeking refuge from the violence of war and militarism in the United States. Key messages: Two generations of US war resister migrants faced disparate outcomes in their search for protection in Canada.We offer a contrapuntal history of their migrations to Canada, the enforced patriotism, masculinity, and militarism that fueled their flight, and the social movements that supported them.While Canada has functioned as a safe haven historically, this role is always in flux and influenced by shifts in geopolitical relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]