Canada and the United States: The Politics of Partnership by Robert Bothwell (review)

REVIEWS 303 well-written survey of Canada's involvement in UnitedNationsmilitary activities around the worid sincethe end of the SecondWorld War. There is nothing ontheinterwar period, since thisbookisconcerned primarily with actionin the field. In the 1919-$9 period there were few Canadian servicemen on dutybeyond ourownborders, andthese, for themostpart, were attending seniorstaffcourses in Britain. Givensucha largecanvas onwhichto portraythearmedforces overthe past 125years, thereareboundto be some complaints aboutthe space devoted to various incidents. Forexample, thereisverylittleon the Yukon Field Forceandwhat,if anything, it accomplished. The North-West Rebellion gets aboutsix pages, the BoerWar overforty.Whethermeasured in casualties or members involved, this seems a bit uneven.The political implications of theBoerWar,however, casttheirshadow in the twentieth century andprovidea springboard for thenextsection on theKoreanWar some fiftyyearslater. Fortunately eachsegment of the bookstands aloneon its own merit. Thereareexcellent photographs accompanying the textaswellassufficient maps. The authors havebeenableto laytheir handson numerous diaries andpersonalletterswritten by men who participatedin theseactions, ranging fromthe FenianRaidsto the GulfWar.All areusedto goodeffect andhelpto enhance a well-written andlivelytext. As with the earlier volumes,War and Ptt•tl•pirl• has no notesor bibliography. Sometimes onecanguess wherethesources of quotations are coming from,but that isasfar asit goes. This isa volumewrittenfor the general public, andI'm surethose interested in Canadian militaryhistory will thoroughly enjoy it. Sowillthemoreacademically minded, though theywill wish forthemissing references. Should therebeasecond printing, I hopesomeone willpointoutthatthe twocoloniesof British Columbia and Vancouver Island were united in 1886, not1858.Asidefromthatsmallerror,thebookprovides oneof thebestand liveliest accounts ofpeacekeeping available. Bothauthors aretobecongratuhtedon providing the public,andthe militaryaswell,witha well-written survey of Canada's UNcommitments duringthepastfortyyears. I•,H. l•OVUniversity ofVictoria Carreda andtheUnited States: T• Politics ofPartnership. goneaT nOTHWœtJ_ Toronto: University of TorontoPress 1992.Pp.xii, 192,illus.$35 cloth, $16.95 paper Thisisa history dominated by a strong continentalist viewof Canadian destiny. Ironically, justasmuch oftheworld hasthrown offtheshackles of one ideology, manyin NorthAmerica, including Professor Bothwell, have :504 THE CANADIAN HISTOKICAL I•EVIEW embraced a free-marketoutlook,withoutthe prudenceand scepticism appropriate to thecritical, historical enterprise. Hisworkisa tractforour times.Nevertheless, it isanexcellentaccount of Canadian-American relations overthepastfifty years. Bothwell's workisreminiscent, atleastin itsspirit,ofthe'handsacross the border'approach ofscholars ofthe19•0swhoworked undertheauspices of the Carnegie Foundation. He, like thoseearlierwriters,celebrates theconvergence ofthetwosocieties ratherthantheirdifferences. He thusrevives an honourable traditionwhich,in his capable hands,deserves respectful attention . In a skilful opening chapter theauthor rapidlytakes usthrough nearly 200 years. His interpretive strategyis obvious:all convergences are highlighted while conflicts are givenshortshrift.Yes,there wasa loyalist presence in Canada, linguistic andreligious differences in Quebec, butfor Bothwellthese factors areoutweighed by similarities in cultureand political institutions andthenecessities ofsharing a continent. Thushesets astage on whichthe actors of the pastfifty yearsplayout their roles,limitedbythe settingprovided. For Bothwell,Canadianleaderswho rejectedgreaterinterdependence seemto havebeenfoolsor knaves. Thus he pointedlymarksthe endofthe 1948 free-tradetalkswith the StateDepartment's Jack Hickersonbeing informedon1Aprilthatnegotiations hadbeensuspended bytheCanadians. The tradedealmayhavebeenkilledfurtherdowntheroad,Bothwell admits, but stilltheepisode isuseful for an authorbentoncontrasting theapproach of the bold, American-born C.D. Howe, who 'had little of the Canadian inferioritycomplexv/s• v/sAmericans,' withthe timidityof PrimeMinister King,whoscuttled thedeal. Despitetheabsence of a tradedeal,thetwoeconomies becamefurtherentwined as directAmericaninvestment increased sharplyin the following years.The authorcorrectly sees thestimulus to production and creation of jobs in Canadaas mostbasic.However,he cannotresistanotherswipeat thosewhowerealarmedby thetrend,for hebelieves thatnationalist doubts weremerelythegood'stuffofdinnertime conversations amongintellectuals.' Perhaps thehistorian mightalsokeepin mindthat,at thesametime,Japan eschewed foreign direct investment andtooka different course - withholding consumption andprotecting itsdomestic markets. Culturaland geographic differences may havelimitedthe implementation of sucha strategy for Canada, butthe historian whowritesofftheoptions fallsinto thetrapof determinism. ColdWardiplomacy isthesecond majorthemeofthebookandinthis are:•Bothwell excels, combining thorough research withtellinganecdotes. In termsof approach onemightcategorize it asa confident, orthodox antirevisionism bolstered bythecollapse of theSovietempire. REVIEWS $05 In his final chapter Bothwelldealswith the revolutionin CanadianAmerican relations whichwascapped bythefreetradetreaty. The author's choice forheroofthismost recent episode issignificantly Donald Macdonald, a Liberalwhosawthe fight,as opposed to the Trudeauloyalists whose dogmas clouded theirvision andrendered them blindtothesupposed new realities of theworldeconomy. The book is constructed to reach this d•nouement. We Canadians and Americans haveat last,Bothwell believes, cometo recognize our similarities and set aside our differences, at least on economic matters. There is no room inhistreatmentfor thosewhoharbouranydoubts aboutour futurewith the United States. Thisispresentist history witha vengeance, delivered witha certitudethis reviewercannot share. Yet Bothwell'svigorousstatementof his views, combined with a lively styleand soundresearch, provides us with an excellent...