50 Years of NPSIA: reflections from directors

Abstract

Following World War II, Canada enjoyed an international standing unprecedented in the young nation’s history. Canada’s involvement in the foundation of the International Monetary Fund, and its contribution to the Marshall Plan and the engineering of the United Nations Emergency AQ5 Force, demanded new generations of specialized and skilled foreign policy-minded civil servants. With a donation from Senator Norman Paterson, the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) was founded to address the issues of the post-war global environment. As a professional school of international affairs located in Canada’s capital, the School has emerged as an integral part of the nation’s international affairs community. To celebrate NPSIA’s 50th anniversary, the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, in partnership with its policy outreach platform iAffairs, asked past and present Directors of the School about their views on its evolution throughout the years. The following is a brief compilation of transcripts from interviews with Christopher Maule, NPSIA’s Director from 1988 to 1993; Maureen Molot, Director from 1993 to 2002; Fen Hampson, Director from 2002 to 2012; and the present Director, Dane Rowlands, whose tenure began in 2012. The objective of the excerpts is to enrich our understanding of NPSIA’s past and future role as a professional school in the training of Canadian entrepreneurs, advisors, analysts, diplomats and policymakers.