Pulpit Diplomacy
| Author | Dean F. Oliver,Fen Osler Hampson |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209805300301 |
| Date | 01 September 1998 |
| Published date | 01 September 1998 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
FEN
OSLER
HAMPSON
&
DEAN
F.
OLIVER
Pulpit
diplomacy
A
critical
assessment
of
the
Axworthy
doctrine
A
RECENT
PUBLIC
OPINION
POLL
UNDERSCORES
THE
POINT
THAT
Canadians
are
assertive
internationalists
who want
Canada
to
'make
waves
internationally.'"
They
are
proud
of
Canada's
diplomatic
record,
especially
its
peacekeeping
legacy,
and
show considerable
enthusiasm
for
the
foreign
policy
of
Jean
Chr&ien's
government.
Several
initiatives
championed
by
the
foreign
minister,
Lloyd
Axworthy
-
the
campaigns
to
ban
anti-personnel
landmines,
control
the
international
trade
in
light
weapons,
and
prohibit
the
use
of
child
soldiers
in
combat
-
par-
ticularly
reflect core
Canadian
values.
'Our
biggest
finding'
noted
Conrad
Winn,
president
of
COMPAS,
in
reference
to
the
poll
of
15-18
April 1998,
'was
the
powerful
streak
of
democratic moralism
that
per-
vades
almost
all
of
Canadians'
thinking about
international
affairs.'
A
stunning
82
per
cent
of
the
poll's
500
respondents
believe
Canada
has
more influence
now
than
in
the
1960s
while
64
per
cent
are
prouder
now
than
they
were
a
decade
ago.
Indeed,
at
the
dawn
of
a
new mil-
lennium, Canada
is
once
again
a
significant
player
on
the
world
stage
whose
voice
is
heard
on
a
wide
range
of
pressing
international
issues.
Not
since
the
so-called 'golden
age'
of
Canadian diplomacy
in
the
1950s
have
Canadians
appeared
so
self
conscious
of
their
global
role
or
so
assertively
and
overtly
'internationalist.'
Fen
Osler
Hampson
is
Professor
of
International
Affairs,
Norman
Paterson School
oflnterna-
tional
Affairs,
Carleton University
Dean Oliver
is
a
postdoctoralfellow
at
the
Norman
Paterson
School
of
lInternational
Affairs, Carleton
University.
1
Giles
Gherson,
'Canadians
are
activists
at
heart,
new
poll finds,'
Ottawa
Citizen,
24
April
1998.
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Summer
1998
Fen
Oster
Hampson
&
Dean
F
Oliver
Much
of
the credit
for
this
welcome
state
of
affairs
must
go
to
Axworthy
whose
vigorous
personal
commitment
to
human
rights,
dis-
armament,
and
other
causes
has
energized
both
his
department
and,
frequently,
his
government. In
continuing
to
make
headlines,
whether
for
banning
landmines
or
visiting
Cuba,
he
has
brought
foreign
policy
to the
attention
of
Canadians,
and
the world,
during
his
period
as
min-
ister.
'Low-key
Canada
these
days
is
enjoying
a
strut
in
the
world spot-
light,'
noted
the
Boston
Globe's
Colin
Nickerson
approvingly
in
December
1997
during
the
Ottawa
signing conference
on
landmines.
The
Toronto
Star
echoed
this
sentiment
more
recently:
'Not
since
the
days
of
Lester Pearson
has
Canada
played such
a
visible
and
effective
role
on
the
world
stage.
'2
While Canadians
have
traditionally
eschewed
the American
practice
of
naming
foreign
policy
'doctrines'
after
presi-
dents or
foreign
secretaries,
historians
might
well
refer
to the
'Axwor-
thy doctrine'
in
their
writings
on
the
Canadian
foreign
policy
of
the
late
1990s.
Drawing
from
the
minister's
statements,
speeches,
and
recent
actions,
his
foreign
policy appears
to
rest
on
a
number
of
core
princi-
ples
or
propositions
which
might
be
summarized
as
follows:
*
the
end
of
the
cold
war
has
fundamentally
changed the
nature
of
international
politics;
+
security
goals
should
be
focused
around
human
security
and
not
state
security;
*
soft power
is
the
new
currency
of
international
politics;
*
military
force
is
of
declining utility
in
international
politics;
*
public
diplomacy
is
increasingly
effective
in
a
wired
world;
*
non-governmental
organizations
(NGOs)
are
in
the
vanguard
of
the
'new
diplomacy';
*
Canada
can
lead
'coalitions
of
the
willing';
and
*
international
change
will
come
through
the
promulgation
of
new
norms
of
which
the
key
priorities
for
Canada
are
small arms,
children's
rights,
international
human
rights,
and
peacebuild
ing.1
2
Toronto
Star,
21
July
1998,
www.TheStar.com\back-issues\edl998o721\opinion\
index\index.html.
3
This
distillation
of
the
main
elements
of
the
Axworthy
doctrine
is
derived
from
a
general
reading
of
policy
documents
and
speeches over
the past
several
years.
Among
the
more
useful
pieces
were:
'The
University
of
Ottawa
Gordon
Henderson
Distinguished
Lecture,'
6
November
1997;
'Canada and
Human
Security:
The
Need
380
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Summer
1998
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