The following is a review of "Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs - Canada, The USA and the Dynamics of State, Industry and Culture" by David T. Jones and David Kilgour, published by John Wiley and Sons Canada Limited in September 2007.
Canada matters (actually, it always has) and more Americans are aware of our northern neighbor.
We all assume that we know a lot or at least enough about Canada and the United States. We do not.
When I entered college in 1968, part of the experience was going to meet the college president who chatted with you, signed your matriculation certificate and who shook your hand. He was one of the leading experts on U.S.-Canada relations. Our meeting was short and Canada did not come up. This was not a problem. At the time, Canada was about as exciting as going down to the store for a half gallon of milk. Later during college, Canada, Pierre Trudeau and Quebec came up occasionally but more as asides rather than key issues.
"Uneasy Neighbo(u)rs - Canada, The USA and the Dynamics of State, Industry and Culture" is a good introductory book for those of us who do want to know more or who secretly suspect that we need to know more.
The authors are an American and a Canadian. My friend and colleague David Jones is the American part. He is a retired U.S. diplomat who headed the political section in the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa. David Kilgour was a member of the Canadian Parliament who served as deputy speaker of the house. Jones continues to write columns for Canadian publications.
The book is an easy read in most places, and where it is a harder slog it can be skimmed. The tone of the book is like having two guests at a dinner party who are more expert than you in the topic for the evening that happens to be the state of U.S.-Canada relations. They are amusing, articulate and have a great stock of one-liners, which are not clichés if this is the first time you have heard them.
There are also some interesting and, I assume, original insights. One noteworthy one is "...in socio-economic terms Canada is a country approximately 350 kilometers/200 miles wide and 6,000 kilometers/3,500 miles long, snuggled up to the U.S. border. Imagine a horizontal Chile trying to keep warm." Another good observation is "Our binational history indicates an accordion effect in the relationship - a moving closer and then a moving apart."
The early chapters are good, short introductions to the different histories of both countries. Quebec features prominently in the Canada story and the Civil War in the United States. After that, there are chapters on U.S. and Canadian national identity and self-image, democratic culture and practices, economics and resource management, culture, education and religion, approaches to health care, crime and substance abuse, world roles, the military and human rights and development, approaches to economics and energy, health care, criminal enforcement and the environment.
These are particularly crucial issues for those living near the northern border. Will we want to build a fence there? And are we now revising NAFTA?
For those in the U.S. military who have served with the Canadian armed forces overseas, the chapter on the U.S. and Canadian military is interesting and perhaps too short. Canada played a role in the Gulf Wars and is supporting NATO in Afghanistan. One cogent observation is: "Canada's military and security commitment have not decreased, but grown, as exponentially as terror cells across the world. While Canada's perceived obligations have grown drastically, the Canadian government's commitment to an effective, capable and prepared military has only decreased ever more rapidly ... Canadians ought to realize that the current military situation is a problem that only time, not money can remedy. However, without the money, the amount of time is irrelevant. Shortly, there will be no problem, because the Canadian forces will be too broken to fix."
The chapter on economics and resource management focuses on energy and conservation. It is worth reading. The chapter on health care is good although in truth I went into skim mode during the explanations of the various Canadian government health study groups and their reports.
This book should become a college staple for introductory courses in international relations and Canadian studies. It is a good read and has two good perspectives. We should look forward to subsequent editions where the concluding chapter is updated to take into account where the United States and Canada are in the future. Historically, we can expect the relationship to move back and forth in accordion fashion as it always has.
Paul H. Tyson is a retired foreign service officer who lives and works in the Washington, D.C., area.
