Argo’s treatment of the escape from Tehran of six US embassy staff in January 1980 offers ample psychological compensation for the image of American vulnerability. In this respect, the movie's dealing with this episode is part of a genre about resilience that goes back to Rambo and other narratives concerning the Vietnam War and its aftermath. The twist however is that ownership of the Tehran drama does not belong to the US alone. As witnessed by the fact that it is widely known as the Canadian Caper, credit must be extended beyond the well-trodden script of American derring-do under stressful circumstances.

The financial crisis accentuated the impression that big countries have enormous privileges in international relations. Not only have the bigs held onto their traditional status through the retention of features such as the Permanent 5 in the UN Security Council and the top jobs at the IMF and the World Bank, but the tilt towards informal institutions notably the G20 accent the image of an accentuated unequal world. Big countries — whether from the old establishment of the G7 or the up-and-comers in the BRICS — have consolidated their position in the global hierarchy. Small countries, especially the so-called tax havens but also the members states on the periphery of the Eurozone, are outsiders to this sort of concert authority.

Publications sometime hit on an important topic that leaves more questions than answers. A good illustration is the release over the summer of a study from the PR firm Burson-Marsteller on “Twiplomacy”.

The variations between Canadian and Australian politics and policies are as interesting as the fundamental similarities between them. Both are highly globalized, mixing multiculturalism with modified versions of the Westminster parliamentary system, federalism and urban/rural contrasts and ‘Royal” in the names of their armed services.

We commonly talk about the management of order in international relations. In the Cold War era this was a natural phenomenon due to the degree of stability and rules imposed by East/West bipolarity. The US’s (surprisingly short) moment of uni-polarity reinforced the impression that a command and control system was in place. In the early part of the 21st century, however, it is the management of messiness that needs to be the paramount concern and mode of operation.

A quick speaking tour to Brussels and Berlin underscores both the similarities and differences between these two very contrasting European “worlds.” Both the worlds of Brussels and Berlin have elements of a siege mentality to them. Long gone is the confidence in Brussels that the European Union could act as a driver as a new model of economic (and social) activity. Instead — as highlighted by the G20 at Los Cabos — Europe has now been placed on the defensive.

Winston Churchill once whipsawed a main political rival by saying that he was “a modest man, but then he has so much to be modest about”. The same could be said about the recent (May 18-19) Camp David G8. In the past a major meeting of the US and its major allies at a time of turbulence – especially one hosted by a US president in an election year with the add-one of a NATO summit - would have generated intense interest. Yet the G8 generated an image of only extreme modesty.

Campaigns to boycott major international sporting events have a very mixed record. Most athletes see themselves as the first victims during such occurrences, as their opportunity for reward suffers. Yet, the combination of high visibility and low costs, in terms of material interests, makes sporting boycotts so attractive.

I have been in Mexico City for a pre-G20 event at the prestigious Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México or ITAM. This conference, among many other matters, allowed me to reflect on the status of the country that has become a significant outlier at the global top table: Argentina. On top of the generalized global interest about Argentina’s move to nationalize its largest energy company YPF, the majority owner of which had been the Spanish energy company Repsol, there is a special local twist as the Mexican President Felipe Calderón has been particularly critical of Argentina’s move calling it “very regrettable.”