Shadows of Empire: The Anglosphere in British Politics by Michael Kenny and Nick Pearce
| Date | 01 March 2019 |
| Published date | 01 March 2019 |
| Author | Graeme A. Thompson |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702019832302 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
One condition of access in diplomatic establishments is discretion. That is
understandable and laudable, but it puts a large security blanket over what one
can write and say. ‘‘Senior officers’’ abound in Stewart’s book, often writing inter-
esting things that are duly quoted, but Stewart cannot tell, and we cannot say, what
their bureaucratic weight might have been. Stewart thinks well of some of the
ambassadors, for example Celucci and Wilkins. From my own observation he
may well be right, and is certainly right to balance the Canadian nationalist critique
of the two men.
The twenty years from 1990 to 2010 marked the height of US power. The United
States had the largest economy and the biggest military. In the 1990s, Western
countries, led by the United States, were storing up future trouble, but that was by
no means apparent at the time. Where Canada was concerned, the United States
did not throw its weight around. For some problems, solutions were found; for
intractable and perennial issues (fish, or softwood lumber) there was little that
could be done, no matter how much effort and good will were fed into the diplo-
matic machinery. There were fantasies of economic integration, not for the first
time in Canadian–American history. Stewart is useful and insightful on these.
After 2001, things were different. The United States became preoccupied with
security, and tightened its frontiers, including that with Canada. Canada
responded, generally constructively, so that trans-border constrictions did not
really hinder trade. Stewart sees the hand of anti-Americanism in some of the
words and actions of the Chre
´tien and Martin governments, and as a Canadian
he is only too aware of the anti-American threads woven into Canadian history and
politics. Americans visiting Canada, even diplomats, are often shocked when they
discover this Canadian trait. Some take it in their stride, and even reflect that this is
what can happen when a small country lives beside a much bigger one. Here he
occasionally goes overboard, as in his enthusiasm for the unproven (to put it
mildly) anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defence system. It is not essential that
Canadians should jump in to every US enthusiasm, no matter how stupid. It’s
enough to support the many good ideas that flow from south of the border, and
to sympathize with the many Americans who take rational and sensible positions
on the world. Sometimes indeed the ‘‘good Americans’’ need a bit of comfort and
support. That is especially the case in the Age of Trump.
Michael Kenny and Nick Pearce
Shadows of Empire: The Anglosphere in British Politics
Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2018. 224 pp. $23.95 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-509-51661-2
Reviewed by: Graeme A. Thompson (thompson.graeme@outlook.com), Bill Graham Centre
for Contemporary International History
Since the morning of 24 June 2016, when it became clear that the United Kingdom
had voted to leave the European Union, it has been tempting to dismiss the
Book Reviews 173
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