Robert Bothwell. Alliance and Illusion: Canada and the World, 1945-1984. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2007. 480 pp. $38.95, paper, ISBN 978-0-7748-1369-3.
Reviewed by Matthew Trudgen
Published on H-Canada (July, 2008)
Even at the peak of its infuence in the years the British Empire in decline. Moreover, he dis‐ after the Second World War, Canada could never cusses the Canadian response to the growing Sovi‐ be considered a major power in the world. How‐ et threat and the emergence of the United States ever, during the Cold War, Canada was able to as a world power. In general, the frst chapters of cast itself as a "Middle Power" and as an infuen‐ the book highlight what can be considered the tial member of the world community. Neverthe‐ "golden age" of Canadian diplomacy under Louis less, it is important to note that Canada generally St. Laurent, prime minister, and Lester Pearson, pursued foreign policies that served the interests secretary of state for External Afairs. The most of itself and its allies, and never occupied the posi‐ notable accomplishments of this era were Cana‐ tion of being an unbiased peacekeeper that its da's involvement in the founding of the North At‐ rhetoric sometimes implied. This is an important lantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 and lesson for Canada's policymakers of today that Pearson's role in resolving the Suez Crisis in 1956. sometimes gets overlooked. Therefore, it is good The book then moves on to examine the years to see that Robert Bothwell, one of Canada's lead‐ when John Diefenbaker served as prime minister ing diplomatic historians and experts on the Cold and the various difculties that he had with for‐ War, has produced an excellent examination of eign and defense policy. These problems included Canadian foreign policy from the end of the Sec‐ the controversies over both the creation of the ond World War to 1984.[1] North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) Bothwell begins his work with the political and the cancellation of the CF 105 Avro Arrow, as and economic situation in Canada in 1945. He also well as Diefenbaker's poor relations with the chronicles Canada's part in the founding of the Canadian military and the Department of Exter‐ United Nations, the rapid increase in tensions be‐ nal Afairs. Bothwell also touches on Diefenbak‐ tween the Communist Bloc and the West, and er's relations with Great Britain and the Common‐ Canadian eforts to adapt to a postwar world with wealth, and how they developed throughout H-Net Reviews
Diefenbaker's time in ofce. Bothwell's main argu‐ Geneva Conference of 1954.[2] In particular, Both‐ ment is that Diefenbaker was responsible for his well discusses the impact of Canada's involvement government's mishandling of the decision to ac‐ in the ICSC on the "special" relationship between quire nuclear weapons. He outlines how this inde‐ Canada and India. cision caused great difculties with Canada's rela‐ The last section of the book chronicles Pierre tions with President John F. Kennedy and the Unit‐ Trudeau's time in ofce and his desire to reshape ed States, which, in the end, doomed Diefenbak‐ Canadian's foreign and defense policy. These ef‐ er's own government. forts included the withdrawal of half of Canada's With the fall of the Diefenbaker government NATO contingent from Europe in 1969, and the at‐ in 1963, the focus of attention shifts to Pearson tempt by Trudeau and his advisors to make who served as prime minister until 1968. These changes to the Department of External Afairs.[3] chapters describe how he faced a number of seri‐ Bothwell addresses Trudeau's eforts to deal with ous difculties, such as the infuence of the Viet‐ the problem of an international role for Quebec nam War and the rising tide of Canadian national‐ and the prime minister's varied relationships ism in relation to the Canadian-American rela‐ with U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, tionship. This discussion includes the fallout from Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. The author the Gordon Budget of 1963. Walter Gordon, Pear‐ also discusses the growing problem of oil in the son's minister of fnance, introduced this budget, 1970s and its infuence on the Canadian-American which included a number of measures targeted at relationship. The issue of oil frst emerged after reducing American foreign investment in Canada. the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Coun‐ These were withdrawn after pressure from both tries (OPEC) boycott of the West for its support of the Canadian business community and the U.S. Israel during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. This government. The fact that Gordon had used ex‐ action led to shortages and a dramatic increase in perts from outside of the civil service to produce oil prices. The Iranian Revolution and the fall of the budget was the subject of much controversy the Shah in 1979 further exasperated this prob‐ in the House of Commons. This chapter also ex‐ lem. Bothwell's conclusion, titled, "Multilateral by amines Pearson's speech at Temple University in profession, Muddled in Nature," provides a suc‐ Philadelphia in 1965, in which Pearson called for cinct summary of Canada's foreign policies in this a halt of the bombing of North Vietnam, which period. greatly angered American President Lyndon Bothwell has produced a thorough and de‐ Baines Johnson. Johnson later took out his frustra‐ tailed account of Canadian external relations tion on Pearson when the prime minister visited from 1945 to 1984. It is particularly strong in its Camp David. Finally, Bothwell details the growing treatment of Canadian foreign trade policies and problems with French Canada, and Canada's trou‐ Canadian diplomatic maneuvers, and in helping bled relationship with French President Charles the reader to understand the infuence that difer‐ De Gaulle. He outlines how this relationship cul‐ ent prime ministers and their ministers and of‐ minated with De Gaulle's infamous "Vive le Que‐ cials had on the development of policy. He efec‐ bec libre" speech in Montreal in 1967. tively details the impact of public opinion on dif‐ At this point, the work shifts focus and de‐ ferent governments, and how domestic political votes one chapter to Canada's involvement in the realities often shaped Canada's foreign relations. International Commission for Supervision and Another excellent feature is that the book ad‐ Control (ICSC) in Indochina. This body, more com‐ dresses the infuence of ideology, frst Keynesian‐ monly known as the ICC, was established by the ism after the Second World War and then neolib‐
2 H-Net Reviews eralism in the late 1970s. In addition, Bothwell fuential fgures as General Charles Foulkes, who does a fne job of discussing the impact of Canadi‐ played a key role in shaping Canadian defense an nationalism on public policy, particularly from policy in the 1950s. Foulkes had served as a senior 1945 to 1957. In that period, Canadian politicians Canadian army commander in Europe during the and ofcials, having gained the ability and means Second World War; in the postwar period, he to have an independent foreign policy in the served as the chief of the General Staf from 1945 1930s and during the Second World War, were not to 1951 and the chairman of the Chiefs of Staf interested in becoming a quiet and complacent Committee from 1951 to his retirement in 1960. In ally of the United States. This is a very important addition, such issues as the Canadian-American point that is often overlooked in the literature, be‐ defense relationship and Canada's NATO policies cause the nationalist beliefs of this period are in the mid-1970s could have been addressed in overshadowed by the dominant infuence of greater depth. Other events that could have had Canadian nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s. been discussed in more detail include Pearson's The book has a number of particularly good visit to the Soviet Union in 1956, Canada's recogni‐ gems, such as the revelation that one of the au‐ tion of the Peoples Republic of China in 1971, and thors of the National Energy Program (NEP) had Canada's role behind the creation of the peace‐ written a doctoral dissertation on the develop‐ keeping mission in Cyprus in 1965. ment of socialism in Tanzania.[4] The author also Another problem is the discussion of Diefen‐ provides a number of candid and interesting com‐ baker. While these chapters are interesting and ments about several individuals ranging from well written, Bothwell's criticism of Diefenbaker Pearson to Chester Ronning. Another excellent is somewhat overdone, especially since he was feature of the work is that Bothwell is able to keep not solely responsible for all the problems in his the book interesting, even after it is apparent that government's foreign policy in this period. In‐ much of Canada's infuence had dissipated by the deed, circumstances and other individuals, most late 1970s and beginning of the 1980s. This fact is notably the secretary of state for External Afairs, apparent when the main highlights of Canadian Howard Green, and the undersecretary of Exter‐ diplomacy in this period include the eforts to en‐ nal Afairs, Norman Robertson, contributed to the sure that the British House of Commons would ap‐ chaotic policies of the period. Bothwell's criticism prove the repatriation of the Canadian constitu‐ of Paul Martin Sr., Pearson's secretary of state for tion and Trudeau's peace initiative. Finally, the External Afairs, is also a little too harsh. Certain‐ work has a number of other good aspects includ‐ ly, Martin gained a hard-earned reputation for be‐ ing a useful historiography essay and a brief ing overly ambitious and overestimated Canadian chronology of events. infuence in the world; however, many of his suc‐ Despite the overall quality of the work, there cessors exhibited these faws. Furthermore, under are a few problems. The most serious of these is Martin's watch, Canada signed the Auto Pact with that, due to the need to cover so many diferent the United States in 1965, and Canada led the events from 1945 to 1984, there are some topics charge for the Cyprus peacekeeping mission, that should have had more coverage. For exam‐ which helped to prevent a rift on NATO's southern ple, while Bothwell examines Canadian defense fank between Greece and Turkey. policy, more depth to the discussion was neces‐ Despite these faws, Alliance and Illusion is sary, especially when compared to the one that he an excellent work. It is a must read for anyone in‐ provided on economic policy. Indeed, there terested in the history of Canadian foreign rela‐ should have been more examination of such in‐ tions and Canadian international history, and it
3 H-Net Reviews will be a valuable resource for historians for Canadian history without having signifcant er‐ many years to come. rors in judgement. Notes [1]. Bothwell is currently the director of the University of Toronto's International Relations program at Trinity College. He is the author of several works, including Nucleus: A History of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (Toronto: Uni‐ versity of Toronto Press, 1988); Canada and the United States: The Politics of Partnership (New York: Twayne Publishers; New York: Maxwell Macmillan International, 1992); and The Penguin History of Canada (Toronto: Penguin, 2006). He is the coauthor of C. D. Howe: A Biography (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1979) with William Kil‐ bourn; Canada 1900-1945 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987) and Canada since 1945: Pow‐ er, Politics, and Provincialism (Toronto: Universi‐ ty of Toronto Press, 1989) with John English and Robert Drummond; and Pirouette: Pierre Trudeau and Canadian Foreign Policy (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990) with J. L. Granatstein. [2]. The ICSC was organized to supervise the withdrawal of French forces from Indochina. Lat‐ er in the book, Bothwell discusses Canada's role in the International Commission of Control and Su‐ pervision (ICCS), which emerged from the Paris Peace Accords that formally ended the American involvement in the Vietnam War in 1973. In the end, neither commission actually accomplished much due to the political situation on the ground, and the realities of the Cold War. [3]. During the 1970s, Trudeau and his Clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Pitsfeld, sought to improve the managerial structure of External Af‐ fairs. They also shifted many senior ofcials from External Afairs to fll positions of authority in other government departments. [4]. One would have thought that this fact would have set of alarm bells in the head of the Minister of Finance, Allan MacEachen, but then you do not become the worst fnance minister in
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Citation: Matthew Trudgen. Review of Bothwell, Robert. Alliance and Illusion: Canada and the World, 1945-1984. H-Canada, H-Net Reviews. July, 2008.
URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=14695
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