Diplomacy and the Arctic Council by Danita Catherine Burke
| Date | 01 March 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702021994657 |
| Published date | 01 March 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
Dickenson denouncing a “security-first approach” (160) and calling for more pres-
sure on the Indonesian government on human rights. Axworthy exercised pressure
on Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, pushing for an UN-driven, track-two
diplomacy through the All-Inclusive Intra-East Timorese Dialogue process. The
Belo-Ramos–Horta Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 would seem to close a chapter, but
the Vancouver Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference and the
pepper-spray incident demonstrated that Canada was still talking from two sides
of the mouth. The real come-around would not occur definitively until 1998–1999,
with Habibie taking over from Suharto and pledging half-heartedly a new Timor
policy. The key player in the process was Australia whose relations with Indonesia
are often considered second or even co-equal in importance to those with People’s
Republic of China. The UN supervised referendum on Timor Independence with
nearly 80 percent of votes cast in its favour immediately brought wanton destruc-
tion and killings by Indonesian militia, bringing about a more forceful reaction on
the part of the Canadian Government, notably at the APEC summit, and the
Australian-led International Force East Timor.
The rest is history with a transition under the quasi “royal” tenure of deeply
regretted S
ergio Vieira de Mello, the UN “Regent” in East Timor. East Timor has
had difficult times since Independence. Its continental shelf is lush with hydrocar-
bon reserves contested by Australia. The irony is that relations with Indonesia are
pretty good, and the two countries share the same currency. When I presented my
credentials to President Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2001, during the private dis-
cussion aided by an interpreter, she shared a laugh with the Foreign Affairs official
in attendance. As I had not understood, I asked the latter what was the issue. He
replied that the President thought the interpreter looked like Xanana Gusm~
ao.
Clearly no hard feelings, confirmed by her generous speech at the Independence
ceremony.
This is a wonderful book ...
Danita Catherine Burke
Diplomacy and the Arctic Council.
Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020. 216pp. $34.95 (cloth)
ISBN: 9780773559196
Reviewed by: Wilfrid Greaves (wgreaves@uvic.ca), University of Victoria, Greater Victoria,
British Columbia, Canada
With the COVID-19 pandemic upon us for the foreseeable future, it is easy to lose
sight of other pressing global issues, even those that have occupied considerable
attention in recent years. Notwithstanding the ongoing pandemic disruptions, chal-
lenges related to climate change, geopolitical rivalries, democratization, decoloniza-
tion, and the creaking architecture of the post-war international order continue—
many aggravated by theCOVID-19 pandemic. Among these, the circumpolar Arctic
continues to capture international interest amid mixed signs of both dynamic mul-
tilateral cooperation and contentious international politicking.
Book Reviews 165
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