Myths, Morals, and Reality in Canadian Foreign Policy
| Published date | 01 June 2003 |
| Author | Denis Stairs |
| Date | 01 June 2003 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200305800201 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
DENIS
STAIRS
Myths,
morals,
and
reality
in
Canadian
foreign
policy
INTRODUCTION
Te
discussion
in
this
article
is
premised
on
a
series
of
unabashedly
subjective assertions
with
which
other
observers
are
almost
certain
to
disagree.
If,
however,
there
is
even
a
grain
of
truth
in
them,
they
may
give
cause
for
concern.
The
assertions
begin
with
the
observation
that
Canadians
have
grown alarmingly smug,
complacent,
and
self-deluded
in
their
approach
to
international
affairs.
The
fault
is
largely
their
own.
But
they
have
succumbed
to
it with the
active
encouragement
of
their
lead-
ers.
More
specifically,
they
have
come to
think
of
themselves
not
as
others
are,
but
as
morally
superior.
They
believe,
in
particular,
that
they
subscribe
to
a
distinctive
set
of
values
-
'Canadiad
values
-
and
that
those
values
are
special
in
the
sense
of
being
unusually
virtuous.
A
prominent
effect
of
that
belief
is
that
it
has
put
them
in
serious
danger
of
misunderstanding
the true
origins
of
their
behaviour,
on
the
one
hand,
and
of
doing
significant
damage
to the
effectiveness
of
their
diplomacy,
both
next
door
and
overseas,
on
the
other.
Denis
Stairs
is
McCulloch
Professor
in
Political
Science
at
Dalhousie
University
and
a
Faculty
Fellow
in
its
Centre
for
Foreign
Policy
Studies. This
article
is
a
shghtý
modified
version
ofa
lec-
ture
delivered
at
Concordia
University
in
Montreal
on
14
March
2003.
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Spring
2003
Denis
Stairs
The
shamelessly
didactic
conclusion
that
flows
from
this
analysis
is
that
Canadians
need to
get
a
grip
on
themselves.
They
may
need,
as
well,
to
consider
the
possibility
that
their
rhetorical
displays
-
delivered
in
a
style
at
once tiresome
and
self-serving
-
may
actually
reflect
their
declining
influence
and
growing incapacity
in
the world
at
large.
For
in
foreign
policy,
as
in
some
other
dimensions
of
life,
an
ostentatious
claim
to superior
virtue
can
be
the
last
refuge
of
the
impotent.
Since
my
argument
is
to
have
the
flavour
more
of
a
sermon
than
of
an
academic
disquisition, it
is
appropriate
to
begin
with
a
text.
It
comes
from the
booklet
recently
released
by
the
minister
for
foreign
affairs,
Bill
Graham,
as
a
stimulus
to
what
he
has
described
as
'A
Dialogue
on
Foreign
Policy.'1
In
encouraging Canadians
to
chat
the
government
up
on
foreign policy
issues,
the
booklet
reminds
us
of
the
three
pillars
that
Ottawa,
ever
since
it
last
reviewed
the
subject
in
1994-5,
has
been
insisting
are
central
to
the
conduct
of
Canadian
for-
eign
policy.'
Those
pillars
are
security,
prosperity,
and
values
and
cul-
ture.
We
want,
in
other
words,
to
be
safe
and
rich,
and
we
want
to
be
seen
as
virtuous.
This
is
not
a
bad
list
of
aspirations,
as
these
things
go,
but
for
present
purposes
it
may
be
useful
to
focus
on
two
brief
passages
from the docu-
ment's
discussion
of
pillar
number
three: 'Canada's foreign policy
agen-
da,'
Graham and
his
staff
assert,
'must
reflect
the
nation
we
are: a
mul-
ticultural,
bilingual
society
that is
free,
open,
prosperous,
and
democra-
tic.
The
experiences
of
immigrants
from
around
the world and
the
cul-
tures
of
Aboriginal
peoples
are
woven
into
the
fabric
of
our national
identity.
Respect
for
equality
and
diversity
runs
through
the
religious,
racial,
cultural
and
linguistic strands forming our
communities.'
'Whatever
our
shortcomings
in
meeting
the
standards
and
goals
we
set
for
ourselves',
we are
then
told,
'Canada
is
seen
abroad
as
a
highly
suc-
cessful
society'.
This
asset
makes
our
values
and
culture
a
true
pillar
of
our
foreign
policy,
and
a
vital
complement
to
the other
two
pillars
of
security
and
prosperity.
In using
our
position
to
champion
Canadian
values
abroad,
we
are
advancing
humanitarian
concerns
that
Canadians
have
long
cherished,
and
are
promoting
social
models
endorsed
by
many
of
our
allies.
At
the
same
time,
we are
helping
to foster
global
i
Department
of
Foreign
Affairs
and
International
Trade
(OFAIT),
A
Dialogue
on
Foreign
Policy
(Ottawa:
DFAIT
2003).
2
See
DFAIT,
Canada
in
the
World:
Government
Statement
(Ottawa:
Canada
Communication
Group
-
Publishing,
Public
Works
and
Government
Services
Canada
1995),
esp
lo-11.
240
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