From World Order to Global Disorder - UBC Press

UBC Press / Canadian History
Alliance and Illusion
Canada and the World, 1945–1984
Robert Bothwell
A book of great sophistication – fluently composed,
and with flare; wearing its considerable learning
lightly; and written by an author in full command of
his field. Not only is it the first sustained historical
treatment of Canadian foreign policy post-war, but it is
also a rumination on the Canadian condition in years
of achievement and fragility, a paradox that Bothwell
captures brilliantly. Every page crackles with good
writing and good sense.
– Norman Hillmer, co-author of Empire to Umpire
Alliance and Illusion is a political, economic, and
social history that examines both domestic and international
aspects of Canadian foreign policy. Robert
Bothwell provides nuanced studies of Canada’s leaders,
examining John Diefenbaker’s muddles, Lester
B. Pearson’s realism, and Pierre Trudeau’s limited
policy vision. He also discusses international currents
that drove Canadian external affairs, from American
influence over Vietnam and the draft dodgers, to the
French case of de Gaulle’s eruption into Quebec in
1967.
Contents
Chronology; Introduction
1 Construction and Reconstruction: Canada in 1945
2 Real Prosperity and Illusory Diplomacy
3 Realigning Canadian Foreign Policy, 1945–1947
4 Dividing the World, 1947–1949
5 Confronting a Changing Asia, 1945–1950
6 From Korea to the Rhine
7 The Era of Good Feeling, 1953–1957
8 Diefenbaker and the Dwindling British Connection
9 Nuclear Nightmares, 1957–1963
10 Innocence at Home: Economic Diplomacy in the 1960s
11 Innocence Abroad: Fumbling for Peace in Indochina
12 Vietnam and Canadian-American Relations
13 National Unity and Foreign Policy
14 Changing the Meaning of Defence
15 National Security and Social Security
16 The 1970s Begin
17 Parallel Lives: Nixon Meets Trudeau
18 The Pursuit of Promises
19 Canada First, 1976–1984
20 Returning to the Centre
Conclusion: Multilateral by Profession, Muddled by Nature
Notes; Further Reading and a Note on Sources; Index
Robert Bothwell is one of Canada’s foremost
historians and a leading expert on Canadian
international relations. He holds the May Gluskin
Chair in Canadian History at the University of
Toronto, where he is Director of the International
Relations Program at Trinity College. He is author
of The New Penguin History of Canada, as well
as Canada and the United States, Canada and
Quebec, and The Big Chill.
2007, 480 pages, 6.5 x 9.5”
0-7748-1368-7 / 978-0-7748-1368-6
cloth $85.00
0-7748-1369-5 / 978-0-7748-1369-3
paper $34.95 (publishing January 2008)
order online: www.ubcpress.ca 1