The Politics of Canadian Foreign Policy, 4th Edition, by Kim Richard Nossal, Stéphane Roussel and Stéphane Paquin

Abstract

Reviewed by: Christopher J. Kukucha (), University of LethbridgeMy first encounter with the second edition of Kim Richard Nossal's now-classic Politics of Canadian Foreign Policy was as a new MA student in Terry Keenleyside's Topics in Canadian Foreign Policy course at the University of Windsor. It is impossible to underestimate the importance of that first semester on my professional and personal life. Tom Keating, who would become my PhD supervisor, had earlier experienced Keenleyside's mentorship, and Duane Bratt would soon follow. Today both are valued colleagues and friends. Nossal's book, with its fascinating discussion of Canadian provincial international activity, would also serve as a catalyst for ideas that continue to shape my career to this day. Several years passed following the publication of the third edition in 1997, and I sadly assumed the project had run its course. Needless to say, I was excited to see a fourth edition in 2015, now with two new highly respected co-contributors (Stephane Roussel and Stephane Paquin). Once again, the latest edition is an extremely important contribution to the study of Canadian foreign policy.Much has changed over the 30-year life span of this book. When it first appeared in the mid-1980s, it was the height of the Cold War; Brian Mulroney was moving from opposition leader to prime minster, and the Pierre Trudeau era, with its foreign policy defined by the recognition of China, reduced commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and often strained Canada-United States relations, was coming to an end. Today, under the nascent leadership of Justin Trudeau, Canada is quickly leaving behind Stephen Harper's mistrust of multilateralism, with a renewed emphasis on climate change, peacekeeping, and once again, closer ties with China. As Nossal, Roussel, and Paquin make clear, however, the argument running through the first three editions remains remarkably consistent in the fourth; Only the milieu, the problems of the time, and the personalities have changed. International anarchy, asymmetrical power relations, the pursuit of self-interest, and pressures from domestic government and societal pressures all remain constant regardless of the era (xv).The organization of the book has also followed a stable path over the years, although it is interesting to compare the first edition with this latest arrival. In 1985, the literature on Canada's foreign relations was very much driven by Canada's place in the world as a dependent, principal, or middle power. As such, Part One, The Parameters of Decision, focused 25 pages on the external dimension of Canadian foreign policy, but it also included a brief discussion of the often-marginalized relevance of non-governmental interests, and even the role of dominant ideas, anticipating a constructivist trend gaining popularity in the study of international relations. …