At War Over the Peace Bridge. A Case Study in the Vulnerability of Binational Institutions

Bridges are powerful symbols of the overcoming of differences. This is particularly true of the Peace Bridge that spans the international border formed by the Niagara River and links together southern Ontario and western New York. When it was dedicated on August 7, 1927, the Peace Bridge was named to commemorate more than a century of peaceful relations and prosperity between Canada and the United States. Illustrating the close ties the bridge has helped foster, the structure has become the second busiest crossing on the Canadian–American border. Yet, precisely as the two countries commemorated two centuries of peaceful and (largely) harmonious relations since the end of the War of 1812, the governance of the Peace Bridge descended into a crisis that a journalist dubbed the “war of 2012”. This paper will describe the circumstances that led to the deterioration of relations between the five Canadian and five American members of the facility’s governing board. What emerges from a close account of the debacle is a portrait of the fragility of binational organizations and a reminder of what is required for them to operate smoothly.