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.

The editors take a critical look at the now almost mainstream "declinist" thesis and at the continued relevance of Canada's relationships with its principal allies - the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. Contributors discuss a broad range of themes, including the weight of a changing identity in the evolution of the country's foreign policy, the fate of Canadian diplomacy as a profession, the often complicated relationship between foreign and trade policies, the impact of immigration and refugee procedures on foreign policy, and the evolving understanding of development and defence as components of Canada's foreign policy.

Rare insights into Canada and Canadian foreign policy by leading foreign and Canadian policy thinkers and doers.

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.

The fourth edition of this widely used text includes updates about the many changes that have occurred in Canadian foreign policy under Stephen Harper and the Conservatives between 2006 and 2015. Subjects discussed include the fading emphasis on internationalism, the rise of a new foreign policy agenda that is increasingly shaped by domestic political imperatives, and the changing organization of Canada’s foreign policy bureaucracy. As in previous editions, this volume analyzes the deeply political context of how foreign policy is made in Canada. Taking a broad historical perspective, Kim Nossal, Stéphane Roussel, and Stéphane Paquin provide readers with the key foundations for the study of Canadian foreign policy. They argue that foreign policy is forged in the nexus of politics at three levels – the global, the domestic, and the governmental – and that to understand how and why Canadian foreign policy looks the way it does, one must look at the interplay of all three.

"Building on interviews with military officers, civilian officials, and politicians, Saideman shows how key actors in Canada's political system, including the prime minister, the political parties, and parliament, responded to the demands of a costly and controversial mission. Some adapted well; others adapted poorly or--worse yet--in ways that protected careers but harmed the mission itself."-

Canada’s engagement with post-independence Africa presents a puzzle. Although Canada is recognized for its activism where Africa is concerned, critics have long noted the contradictions that underlie Canadian involvement. Focusing on the period following 2000, and by juxtaposing Jean Chrétien’s G8 activism with the Harper government’s retreat from continental engagement, David R. Black’s Canada and Africa in the New Millennium illustrates a history of consistent inconsistency in Canada’s relationship with Africa. Black combines three interpretive frames to account for this record: the tradition of “good international citizenship”; Canada’s role as a benign face of Western hegemonic interests in Africa; and Africa’s role as the basis for a longstanding narrative concerning Canada’s ethical mission in the world. To examine Africa’s place in Canada’s foreign policy—and Canada’s place in Africa—Black focuses on G8 diplomacy, foreign aid, security assistance through peace operations and training, and the increasingly controversial impact of Canadian extractive companies. Offering an integrated account of Canada’s role in sub-Saharan Africa, Black provides a way of understanding the nature and resilience of recent shifts in Canadian policy. He underscores how Africa—though marginal to Canadian interests as traditionally conceived—has served as an important marker of Canada’s international role.