Has Canada lost its place in the world? Are we destined for a future as middle power, denied a seat at the “grown-ups table”? Some would argue yes—that decades of neglect and inattention have rendered Canadian foreign policy ineffective at best, and non-existent at worst.
Paul Heinbecker—career diplomat and permanent ambassador to the UN—strongly disagrees. The golden days of Pearson may be long gone, he argues (and perhaps they weren’t quite as “golden” as we’d all like to remember), but Canada still has a role to play.
In Getting Back in the Game, Heinbecker presents his compelling vision for the future of Canadian foreign policy—a future in which Canada can work both with the United States and apart from it; in which our government can take a stand and effect change on issues of the day, from climate change to the Middle East; in which this country has a key role to play in the rehabilitation of global governance.
Drawing on more than thirty years of experience, Heinbecker offers a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes look at how we got to where we are, and how we can move forward. Through a wide range of topics—the institutions of foreign policy; the use of hard, soft and smart power; Canada’s complex relationship with the United States; and the continuing conundrum that is the United Nations, among others—Heinbecker explores the questions and concerns that are on the minds of Canada’s leaders, thinkers, and citizens. In the end, he makes a strong case for Canada’s future on the world stage. Like Mark Twain, he argues that “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”
Mr. Heinbecker discusses his book in an interview style Q & A with Dr. Patricia Goff, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University.
About the author:
Paul Heinbecker, CIGI Distinguished Fellow, career diplomat and permanent ambassador to the UN presents his compelling vision for the future of Canadian foreign policy—a future in which Canada can work both with the United States and apart from it; in which our government can take a stand and effect change on issues of the day, from climate change to the Middle East; in which this country has a key role to play in the rehabilitation of global governance.