The role of history in the formulation of Canadian foreign policy statements
| Author | Stéphane Tremblay,Nelson Michaud,Frédéric Mayer |
| Published date | 01 December 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702020979055 |
| Date | 01 December 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Scholarly Essay |
Scholarly Essay
The role of history in the
formulation of Canadian
foreign policy statements
Nelson Michaud
E
´cole nationale d’administration publique, Qu
ebec City,
Canada
St
ephane Tremblay
E
´cole nationale d’administration publique, Montr
eal, Canada
Fr
ed
eric Mayer
E
´cole nationale d’administration publique, Montr
eal, Canada
Abstract
Foreign policy statements—and, namely, white papers—offer diplomats, civil servants,
and the general public, as well as international actors (friends and foes alike) an under-
standing of what motivates a country to engage in international issues. They are fun-
damental government declarations intended to direct the policy process toward its
political and operational objectives. Is history embedded in the message these state-
ments carry? And, if so, how is history used? Relying on Brands and Suri’s typology and
framing categories (factual/normative), this article explores white papers issued by
governments led by Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Jean Chr
etien, Paul Martin Jr., as well as
the 2017 House of Commons statement by Justin Trudeau’s foreign affairs minister,
Chrystia Freeland. Based on Canada’s tradition of Pearsonian internationalism, we
hypothesize that the factual use of history would prevail. We find this to be the
case, but with important nuances.
Corresponding author:
Nelson Michaud, E
´cole nationale d’administration publique, 555, boul. Charest est, Qu
ebec City, Qu
ebec,
Canada, G1K 9E5.
Email: Nelson.Michaud@enap.ca
International Journal
2020, Vol. 75(4) 576–593
!The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0020702020979055
journals.sagepub.com/home/ijx
Keywords
Canada, foreign policy, history, white paper, framing, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Jean
Chr
etien, Paul Martin Jr., Justin Trudeau, Lloyd Axworthy
In his memoirs, former US Secretary of State Warren Christopher underscores the
importance of history in foreign policy making: a government pursues its foreign
policy goals “with an appreciation of history, both recent and ancient. American
foreign policy is a continuum.”
1
Leaving the field of practitioners, we see similar
ideas put forth in academic studies of policy making, with Neustadt and May
2
having paved the way with an analysis that Brands and Sumi continued: “one
cannot escape the conclusion that history—historical knowledge, insights, lessons,
analogies, and narratives—permeates the ways in which the United States interacts
with the world.”
3
In keeping with these earlier analyses, we ask the following
questions: Does history have the same importance in Canada? Is Canadian foreign
policy influenced by historical factors?
Nossal, Roussel and Paquin, for example, refer to “the weight of identity and
history”
4
in Canada and in its foreign relations. Pearsonian internationalism and
multilateralism
5
are no doubt historical legacies that permeate the ways in which
Canada interacts with the world. They are present in foreign policy actions initi-
ated by decision makers as ideologically opposed as Brian Mulroney
6
and Lloyd
Axworthy;
7
they are also referred to when repudiating past policies, as did Stephen
Harper, whose “strategy was steadfast, radical, and revolutionary, nothing less
than stamping out of the Liberal past [...].”
8
As well, the defence of Canadian
values
9
—which emerged from and were crafted throughout Canadian history—are
often presented as key foreign policy objectives.
1. Warren Christopher, In the Stream of History: Shaping Foreign Policy for a New Era (Palo Alto:
Stanford University Press, 1998), 14.
2. Richard E. Neustadt and Ernest R. May, Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision
Makers (New York: Freedom Press, 1986).
3. Hal Brands and Jeremi Suri, eds., The Power of the Past: History and Statecraft (Washington, DC:
Brookings Institution Press, 2015), 2.
4. Kim Richard Nossal, St
ephane Roussel, and St
ephane Paquin, Politique internationale et d
efense au
Canada et au Qu
ebec (Montr
eal: Presses de l’Universit
e de Montr
eal, 2007),13–14.
5. Tom Keating, Canada and World Order: The Multilateralist Tradition in Canadian Foreign Policy
(Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2012).
6. Fen Osler Hampson, Master of Persuasion: Brian Mulroney’s Global Legacy (Toronto: Signal, 2018).
7. Lloyd Axworthy, Navigating a New World: Canada’s Global Future (Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf
Canada, 2003).
8. Norman Hillmer, “The prime minister of the few,” in Adam Chapnick and Christopher J. Kukucha,
The Harper Era in Canadian Foreign Policy: Parliament, Politics, and Canada’s Global Posture
(Vancouver: UBC Press, 2016), 266.
9. Nelson Michaud, “Value and challenges in Canadian foreign policy-making: Inspiration or
hindrance?” in Duane Bratt and Christopher J. Kukucha, eds., Readings in Canadian Foreign
Policy: Classic Debates and New Ideas (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2007), 341–356.
Michaud et al. 577
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