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The C.D. Howe Series in Canadian Political History
Statesmen, Strategists, and Diplomats

Statesmen, Strategists, and Diplomats

Canada's Prime Ministers and the Making of Foreign Policy

Foreword by John R. English

Edited by Patrice Dutil

Published by: University of British Columbia Press

Series: The C.D. Howe Series in Canadian Political History

Imprint: UBC Press

408 Pages, 152.00 × 229.00 mm, 16 b&w photos, 3 diagrams, 1 table

Paperback
9780774868563
Published: July 2024

£34.00

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Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

Foreign policy is a tricky business. Typically, challenges and proposed solutions are perceived as disparate unless a leader can amass enough support for an idea that creates alignment. And because the prime minister is typically the one proposing that idea, Canadian foreign policy can be analyzed through the actions of these leaders.

Statesmen, Strategists, and Diplomats explores how prime ministers from Sir John A. Macdonald to Justin Trudeau have shaped foreign policy by manipulating government structures, adopting and rejecting options, and imprinting their personalities on the process. Contributors consider the impact of a wide range of policy decisions – increasing or decreasing department budgets, forming or ending alliances, and pursuing trade relationships – particularly as these choices affected the bureaucracies that deliver foreign policy diplomatically and militarily.

This innovative focus is destined to trigger a new appreciation for the formidable personal attention and acuity involved in a successful approach to external affairs.

Foreword / John English

Introduction / Patrice Dutil

1 The Imperial Prime Minister: The Central Role in Canadian Foreign Policy / Patrice Dutil

2 Sir John A. Macdonald and Alexander Mackenzie in the Nascent North Atlantic Triangle / Barbara J. Messamore

3 The Realism of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Foreign Policy / Graeme Thompson

4 Sir Robert Borden and the Rise of Conservative Internationalism / Patrice Dutil

5 The Very Double Life of Mackenzie King's Foreign Policy / Robert Teigrob

6 The Surprising Engagement of R.B. Bennett's Foreign Policy / Damien-Claude Bélanger

7 The Transformative Foreign Policy of Louis St-Laurent / Robert Bothwell

8 John Diefenbaker's "Rogue" Foreign Policy / Michael D. Stevenson

9 The Limits of Pearsonianism / Jennifer Tunnicliffe

10 The Twists and Shouts of Pierre Elliott Trudeau's Foreign Policy / Susan Colbourn

11 Brian Mulroney, Joe Clark, and a New Constructive Internationalism / Matthew Hayday

12 Jean Chrétien's Reactive Foreign Policy / P.E. Bryden

13 The Thwarted Ambitions of Paul Martin / Stephen Azzi

14 Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau on the International Stage / Jennifer Levin Bonder and Leah Sarson

15 Ranking the Effectiveness of Prime Ministers in Managing Foreign Policy / Patrice Dutil and Andrea Riccardo Migone

Tribute: Remembering Greg Donaghy / Patrice Dutil

Index

Patrice Dutil is a professor of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University. He is the author of Prime Ministerial Power in Canada: Its Origins under Macdonald, Laurier, and Borden and Devil's Advocate: Godfroy Langlois and the Politics of Liberal Progressivism in Laurier's Quebec. Among his many edited books are The Unexpected Louis St-Laurent: Politics and Policies for a Modern Canada and Macdonald at 200: New Reflections and Legacies (with Roger Hall). He was the founding editor of the Literary Review of Canada (1991–96) and president of the Champlain Society (2010–17).

Contributors: Stephen Azzi, Damien-Claude Bélanger, Jennifer Levin Bonder, Robert Bothwell, P.E. Bryden, Susan Colbourn, John English, Matthew Hayday, Barbara J. Messamore, Andrea Riccardo Migone, Leah Sarson, Michael D. Stevenson, Robert Teigrob, Graeme Thompson, and Jennifer Tunnicliffe

"[Statesmen, Strategists, and Diplomats] is extensive in its range, exhaustive in its scope, and impressive in its scholarship and insight into Canada's political leaders since 1867."
- Raymond Blake, University of Regina (Social History)
"Statesmen, Strategists & Diplomats is a much-needed study that has been brought to fruition by Patrice Dutil."
- Tim Cook (Canadian Military History)
Statesmen, Strategists, and Diplomats brings together insightful analysis of Canadian foreign policy from the top down. This approach has regrettably fallen out of fashion in recent times, but Dutil and his collaborators remind us how our most senior decision makers influence the direction of the country on the global stage.
- J. D. M. Stewart (Literary Review of Canada)