The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2008

After leaving the Foreign Service, Richmond’s skills continued to be in demand in the waning years of the Soviet Union. Richmond contributed to the Helsinki process and later joined the National Endowment for Democracy. I entered the Foreign Service as Yale Richmond was retiring, but while reading Practicing Public Diplomacy I felt I’d gotten to know him. His straightforward writing makes his humanity, humility and sense of humor almost tangible. If I ever write a memoir, I would like it to be as instructive and enjoyable as Yale Richmond’s. Gerald Loftus, a retired FSO living in Brussels, analyzes diplomatic issues on his Web site, http://Avuncular American .typepad.com/blog. Compare and Contrast Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs: Canada, the USA and the Dynamics of State, Industry and Culture David T. Jones and David Kilgour, Wiley, 2007, $27.95, hardcover, 352 pages. R EVIEWED BY S TEPHEN W. B UCK Having preceded David Jones as political minister-counselor in Ottawa and introduced him to his Canadian co-author, David Kilgour, I volun- teered with enthusiasm to review Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs , whose title aptly points to the often subtle simi- larities and differences between Canada and the United States. Jones and Kilgour, a longtime member of Parliament and deputy speaker of the House of Commons, have undertaken an ambitious and difficult task: exploring how Ameri- cans and Canadians differ on major social and political issues. They briefly outline some major differences between the two societies and how they view each other: “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” versus “peace, order and good government;” separation of powers in the U.S. vs. concentration of power in the hands of the prime minister; and American unilateralism vs. Canadian multilater- alism. As the authors put it: “Ameri- cans are proud of what they are — Americans; Canadians are proud of what they are not — Americans!” Decrying the sorry state of Canada’s military, Kilgour makes an eloquent argument that it should at least develop the capability to support peacekeeping and related multilateral operations. The authors rightly point out that in situations such as Chad or Darfur, military capability is essential: “the key component is good weapons, not good words.” Still, many around the world would respond that after seven years of relentless wielding of the American big stick, speaking soft- ly — and listening — are in order. The authors acknowledge the diffi- culty Ottawa has had dealing effec- tively with the Bush administration’s “either you’re for us or against us” atti- tude. Yet they seem to prefer Mexico’s relatively muted opposition to the invasion of Iraq over Canada’s “almost contemptuous commentary … that suggested not only that the United States was wrong in its judg- ments but that it had no right to take action without international sanction.” (At this point a review of how George H.W. Bush built international consen- sus in the run-up to the Persian Gulf War, as compared to his son’s approach 12 years later, might have been useful.) Somewhat surprisingly, Kilgour writes that the Canadian role on human rights has been “far from spot- less,” citing Ottawa’s policy of “con- structive engagement” with a range of deeply repressive regimes such as China, Sudan, Iran and Cuba, as if talking to such regimes somehow gives them the gold seal of approval. I raise this point as one of a number of examples where the authors may be more in agreement in their views than Canadians and Americans are. An excellent final chapter (“Where Are We Going?”) summing up com- parisons between the two neighbors did leave me wishing the authors had spent a bit more time on the complex question of national unity, as well as the environmental implications of extracting oil fom tar sands. (Canada has been touting tar sands as having the potential to increase oil produc- tion to five million barrels a day.) Throughout, the book would have benefited from a more robust Cana- dian perspective, particularly in sup- porting multilateralism and opposing unilateralism. Indeed, some readers may be put off by Jones’s many acer- bic pronouncements, his reveling in John Bolton’s criticism of the United Nations and dismissal of Canadian criticism of the U.S. invasion of Iraq as indicative of anti-Americanism and fear of the American “Goliath.” Still, there is a huge amount of thought-provoking material and much wisdom here — and not just for those who deal with, or are being posted to, Canada. (Kilgour’s description of the relative insignificance of a back- bencher is particularly poignant and informative.) It is also highly useful for Americans seeking to understand their own nation better, precisely because the contrast is between coun- tries whose make-up is so similar. n Stephen Buck, a Foreign Service offi- cer from 1963 to 2002, is a member of the FSJ Editorial Board. 76 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 0 8 B O O K S u