When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War by Jeffrey A. Engel
| Date | 01 December 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702018811350 |
| Published date | 01 December 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
policy set the tone for the epilogue, in which the author offers a balanced and
critical assessment of the Liberals’ foreign policy accomplishments. In this chapter,
the author offers an interesting reflection on the tension between Trudeau’s popu-
larity, the Liberals’ savvy brand management, and the actual substance of
Canadian foreign policy. According to Blanchfield, the Liberals’ optimistic,
almost idealist, hope to refocus our foreign policy is hard-pressed by the realities
of world politics and the temptation to bolster domestic partisan interests.
In hindsight, Swingback is an essential contribution to the existing debate on the
legacy of the Conservatives on foreign affairs. Yet, the author criticizes both the
Conservative and Liberal foreign policy for adhering too much to ideological
principles—thus ignoring the complexity and contradictions inherent to world pol-
itics—and for tying foreign policy to partisan interests. Blanchfield advocates for a
more mature, less politicized, foreign policy debate in Canada. As he argues:
‘‘Canada’s success in the world is dependent on something else: its politicians
learning to get along with each other when debating foreign policy. The water’s
edge seems to be eroding like a coastline, yet it is more imperative than ever that
they find a way to temper their own short-term interests to attempt to reclaim at
least some part of it’’ (246).
Jeffrey A. Engel
When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 596 pp. $50.00 (cloth)
ISBN 978-0-547-42306-7
Reviewed by: Stephen J. Randall (srandall@ucalgary.ca), University of Calgary, Calgary,
Canada
In short, this is a tour de force. Jeffrey Engel has provided a sophisticated, nuanced,
well-researched, highly readable, and balanced account of the last years of the Cold
War and the first years of the post-Cold War era.
As the title implies, the focus is on the foreign policies of George H.W. Bush’s
presidency. However, the study provides so much more than what might have been
a limited focus on Bush himself and his foreign policy advisors. This is not a
narrow, Washington-based study concerned only with what Bush and his advisors
thought and did, with little regard for the broader political trends and leaders in the
countries and regions with which the administration dealt. Instead, readers are
treated to one of the best analyses extant of the impact of Mikhail Gorbachev
on Soviet politics and international relations. As one of the organizers of
the Gorbachev official visit to Canada and one of the first foreign visitors to the
Gorbachev Foundation when he left office, I found it refreshing to read a balanced
account of Gorbachev and his role. Engel effectively and thoroughly covers the
internal political dynamic in the Soviet Union as opposition to Gorbachev’s
reforms mounted and Boris Yeltsin emerged as the key political figure in the pro-
cess. Engel provides insights into the roles played by key players around
Book Reviews 627
To continue reading
Request your trial