Asia Pacific Face-Off is the thirteenth in the Canada Among Nations series published by The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. In recognition of the government's designation of 1997 as Canada's Year of Asia Pacific, the volume focuses on aspects of Canada's relations with the countries in this region. During 1997 Canada will host the annual Leaders Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and a number of apec ministerial meetings. As many of our contributors suggest, Canada has not yet acquired much of a presence in the Asia Pacific region, and we have some distance to go before our status as an Asia Pacific nation is taken seriously by our APEC partners. The high profile of Team Canada missions should not be mistakenly interpreted as evidence of concerted Canadian policy with respect to Asia Pacific. In terms of educational or economic linkages with the countries of APEC, Canada could take lessons from Australia, a country whose policies our authors compare with Canada's.

Asia Pacific Face-Off is the thirteenth in the Canada Among Nations series published by The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. In recognition of the government's designation of 1997 as Canada's Year of Asia Pacific, the volume focuses on aspects of Canada's relations with the countries in this region. During 1997 Canada will host the annual Leaders Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and a number of apec ministerial meetings. As many of our contributors suggest, Canada has not yet acquired much of a presence in the Asia Pacific region, and we have some distance to go before our status as an Asia Pacific nation is taken seriously by our APEC partners. The high profile of Team Canada missions should not be mistakenly interpreted as evidence of concerted Canadian policy with respect to Asia Pacific. In terms of educational or economic linkages with the countries of APEC, Canada could take lessons from Australia, a country whose policies our authors compare with Canada's.

The last foreign policy review was conducted in 1995 and there has been no thoroughgoing, decisive, public reconsideration of the significance of the terrorist attacks against the United States, the violent response in U.S. policy and action, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, tests and failures of the United Nations Security Council, and the transformed quality of relations along the Canada-U.S. border. Still less has there been any open, extensive, government-led reassessment of the obligations of continental defence or the new and future accommodations required to realign Canada's relations with the United States and the rest of the world. Policy initiatives have instead looked temporizing and partial.

Contributors include Marie Bernard-Meunier (Atlantik Brücke), David Black (Dalhousie), Adam Chapnick (Toronto), Ann Denholm Crosby (York), Roy Culpeper (The North-South Institute), Christina Gabriel (Carleton), John Kirton (Toronto), Wenran Jiang (Alberta), David Malone (Foreign Affairs Canada), Nelson Michaud (École nationale d'administration publique), Isidro Morales (School for International Service), Christopher Sands (Center for Strategic and International Studies), Daniel Schwanen (The Centre for International Governance Innovation), Yasmine Shamsie (Wilfrid Laurier), Elinor Sloan (Carleton), Andrew F. Cooper (The Centre for International Governance Innovation), and Dane Rowlands (The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs)

This text provides an in-depth examination of the challenges confronting the new Canadian government as it charts a course in the turbulent world of international affairs.

Canada's thirty-four million people and trillion dollar GDP don't occupy much space on a planet of seven billion whose economy is now worth forty trillion dollars. The country is not a lightweight yet, but certainly its position as a power is shrinking. What does that mean for the country's foreign policy and its various players? What room is left, and for whom? In Canada Among Nations, 2007 a team of specialists explores the space that Canada currently occupies in the global policy landscape and considers the bureaucratic players who manage this "occupation." Looking at trade, the environment, development, defence, intellectual property rights, and, the biggest file of all, the United States, they examine the various games involved, from the relationship of the Prime Minister's Office with the foreign policy apparatus to the constraints imposed by Alberta's and Quebec's particular interests and takes on foreign policy. Contributors draw a subtle portrait: there are huge barriers, clearly, but most can be transcended and even leveraged. Much policy space remains and, with proper action, much more can be carved out.

Marking the 25th anniversary of the series, Canada Among Nations 2009 focuses on how leading foreign and Canadian thinkers and doers assess Canada's prospects in a world in which the US will become more pre-eminent and predominant. The rise of China, India, Russia, and Brazil as well as the increased significance of Europe and the further development of Africa are all transforming the context in which Canadians live. Given the change in the tone, style, and substance of American foreign policy, and the need to deal with unprecedented international financial problems and global economic retreat, the topic of this volume is especially timely. Canada will need to formulate sound policies on key issues such as energy and environmental sustainability, nuclear nonproliferation, human rights, and trade and investment in key areas such as Afghanistan and the Middle East. Astute bilateral diplomacy and constructive engagement in multilateral forums such as the United Nations and the G20 will be crucial to Canada's success. Contributors to this volume critique Canada's performance on the world stage, offering advice on initiatives Canada can take in its own and in the common interest.