We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Find out more

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $16.95

Format:
Paperback
160 pp.
6" x 9"

ISBN-13:
9780195432206

Publication date:
August 2012

Imprint: OUP Canada


Canada and Conflict

Patrick James

Series : Issues in Canada

This short, concise book evaluates Canada's evolving foreign policy in a world that changed a great deal in the wake of September 11, 2001. Where Canadians may once have thought of themselves as a "moral super-power" with a focus on peacekeeping, the country's foreign policy has been undergoing a degree of remodelling. This is reflected in significant changes to the Canadian Forces as well as Canada's decision to engage in a sustained combat engagement in Afghanistan, but not in Iraq. In addition, the country's positioning towards the United States has seen adjustments in recent years, as Canadians debate topics including a North American approach to border security, ballistic missile defence, and the reality of a reshaped Arctic border on a warming planet.

Award-winning scholar Patrick James surveys Canada's role in international conflict in the new millennium. He discusses key figures, including General Rick Hillier, Hamid Karzai, George W. Bush, and members of the Obama administration, as well as successive governments within Canada. He evaluates key military operations and sites of engagement, as well as strategies for reconstruction in Afghanistan, and later in Libya. Additional topics include NATO and the UN, Canada's growing concern over failed and failing states, and the risks associated with peacekeeping coalitions. James concludes by drawing on the best insights from the field of international relations to speculate about possible future directions.

Readership : Students of international relations, political science in Canada, and Canadian studies will be drawn to the up-to-the-minute information in this short and concise book. General readers, particularly those with an interest in military organization in North America and issues of terrorism and conflict, will find it accurate and informative.

List of Tables
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. A Country (Un)ready for War
3. The Afghan War: Battles at Home and Abroad
4. A New Postwar Canadian Identity
5. The Elephant and the Muskox: Canada-US Relations
6. The United States: Ally or Adversary?
7. A "Model Citizen" on the World Stage
Notes
References
Index

There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.

Patrick James is Dornsife Dean's Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California and the director of the USC Center for International Studies. He has published over seventy-five articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as thirteen books. Awards and honours include distinguished scholar in Foreign Policy Analysis, International Studies Association, 2007; president of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, 2007-9; and consultant for the U.S. Department of State, Institute for Political Training, 1980-83.

The Oxford Companion to Canadian Military History - J. L. Granatstein and Dean F. Oliver
Borders and Bridges - Edited by Monica Gattinger and Geoffrey Hale
Canada's International Policies - Brian Tomlin, Norman Hillmer and Fen Hampson

Special Features

  • Award-winning scholar. Patrick James is uniquely positioned to give a clear, concise overview of Canada's status on the international stage.
  • Widely published author. James has published over seventy-five articles in peer-reviewed journals on a range of issues, with a particular interest in Canada and international relations.
  • Up-to-date. Evaluates the most recent available information on how the world - and particularly Canada - has changed since September 11, 2001.
  • In-depth analysis of Afghanistan. Includes the latest statistics, policy plans, and survey data of public opinion in both Canada and in Afghanistan.
  • One of the first evaluations of the Libyan conflict. Includes a forecast of the longstanding effect this engagement may have on foreign policy.
  • Discusses military equipment. Considers a range of recent deployments, including the HMCA Charlottetown and CF-18 Hornet aircraft in Libya.
  • Key analysis of Canadian government policy. Looks at the recent budget for defence expenditures until 2028 and the Conservative Party's "Plan for Defending Canada".
  • Evaluates Canada's ever-evolving relationship with the United States. Topics include border management, Arctic boundaries, and ballistic missile defence.
  • Surveys changes to the Canadian forces. Provides essential context for the key alterations that have been made to Canada's army, navy, and air force since September 11, 2001.