North American Institutions
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200506000215 |
| Date | 01 June 2005 |
| Author | Joe Clark |
| Published date | 01 June 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Management & Institutions |
Joe
Clark
North
American
institutions
The
roots run deep between Canada and the United States of
America.
We
had similar origins and aspirations, both leaving an "old world" for a new
continent. We were neighbours before we were nations and, while there
have been some
fierce
disagreements, it has been an uncommonly agree-
able
neighbourhood, compared to other parts of the world.
We
haven't needed many formal institutions, so we haven't created
them. Those we have created have been transactional, not inspirational.
They
have been about deals, not dreams, about managing the existing rela-
tion instead of imagining something larger. The Canada-US relationship is
about people and attitudes, not institutions and rules. It is a political rela-
tionship, more than it is economic, or legal, or related to security, and any
discussion about institutions must remember that fundamental reality.
Even
in this hyper-organized era, the most vital relations between
Canada and the US are personal—the actual experiences of citizens of one
country with citizens of the other and, as important, the perceptions those
citizens
have of their neighbour, and of themselves. The experiences tend
to
draw
us together. The perceptions—including each nation's distinctive
sense
of itself—tend to set us apart.
Those
perceptions also run deep, and remind us that more than a border
sets
the countries apart. Canada is rarely on the minds
of
most Americans; at
best,
Canada is
part
of
the background, like the weather, or a sound off-stage,
despite being the next-door-neighbour, despite being the largest trading partner.
Joe
Clark is
former
prime minister
of
Canada
and a
senior
fellow
of
the Center for North
American Studies
of
American
University.
I
International
Journal
|
Spring
2005
| 465 |
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