Brave New Canada: Meeting the Challenge of a Changing World.

• Author: Gagnon-Belanger, Rosette
• Position: Book review

Brave New Canada: Meeting the Challenge of a Changing World, by Derek H. Burney and Fen Osier Hampson, McGill-Queen's University Press, Canada, 2014, 218pp.

Participating in international events, ratifying multilateral treaties, working on economic development, and responding to global issues and crises - all of these elements are included in a country's foreign policy. It is not an easy task to balance positive and negative outcomes of each initiative and it is even more difficult to clearly take into account some of the benefits of diplomacy. As the world becomes more intertwined, it is harder to fully comprehend the extent to which an action or a partnership can help a country's economic growth and stability in the long-term. As a medium-sized country, Canada used to rely on its presence in international organizations as a means to actively influence international affairs. Nevertheless, since the election of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives, the government has been less oriented towards a liberal and multilateral approach and more towards a case-by-case approach influenced by Canada's values and interests.

Brave New Canada: Meeting the Challenge of a Changing World is inspired by the assertive and economically-driven position of Harper's foreign policy. Like the current government, the authors of the book stress the need to link economic agreements with security concerns. The merging of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) in 2013 demonstrates this change in mentality. Targeting a non-expert audience interested in international politics, each chapter of the book provides an overview of the theme discussed before moving into in-depth analysis. The book is designed to produce reactions and not to indicate in detail what changes have to be implemented in our foreign policy. The book supports the transition from liberal institutionalism to economic diplomacy, in which Canada establishes relations with countries that can best serve its economic interests. Hence, as power is gradually shifting towards Asia, Canada must shape its political and economic policy in order to gain from the continent's economic development.

Both authors are very knowledgeable about Canada's international interests. Burney is a former Canadian ambassador to Washington and a former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney. Additionally, he handled the transition of governments...