Talk of the Town

At Home in the World: Canada’s Global Vision for the 21st Century

Wed. Oct. 6, 7:30 - 9:00 pm

With: Jennifer Welsh, Professor of International Relations Oxford University and author of At Home in the World

In May 2004 the Canadian edition of Time magazine joined a chorus of voices questioning Canada’s influence in the world with a cover story entitled Would Anyone Notice if Canada Disappeared? Just a few years ago in a front page article in the National Post, historian Michael Bliss posed this stark and for many, painful question: Is Canada a Country in Decline? Dr. Bliss’s assessment is anything but reassuring. On the issue of our military and diplomatic role in the world he writes: “There is an important parallelism here. Just as we have armed forces fully trained, equipped and prepared for anything but fighting, so we go through all the motions on the world stage until it comes to actually having influence. The lies and exaggerations about our role that are spread for public consumption in Canada are accurately dealt with in the foreign media -- they just ignore us.” And he concludes: “We still mouth the platitudes about our achievements and importance and sovereignty, but do we really believe them? When it comes to being committed to excellence, to real achievement, to making real contributions to the life of the world, it's increasingly hard to be proudly Canadian.”

In her new book Jennifer Welsh makes a passionate argument that a renewed and confident Canada is possible and she lays out a plan on how we can get there.

From the publisher’s web site: “Jennifer Welsh, one of this country’s most visionary and accomplished young minds, has an intelligent and innovative plan of action to bolster our diminishing international status and build a coherent direction for the future. This strategy is unabashedly critical of worn-out national myths, yet radical enough to propose a rethinking of our role as global citizens. At Home in the World examines Canada’s position, both present and future, within two spheres: that of North America and that of the wider world. It details the many challenges that our country faces, such as:

• Political complacency
• Pressures to continentalize
• The changing security landscape
• American global power
• The shake-up of our international institutions

Welsh also insists that our obsession for a healthy relationship with the United States cannot come at the expense of an international vocation. Canadians have long been instinctively global—at home in the world—and take their global rights and responsibilities seriously. It’s time for our governments and policy-makers to reflect our confidence beyond our borders. Now, perhaps more than ever, an active global citizenship is required if Canada is to contribute to solving the world’s most pressing problems. “ (http://www.harpercollins.ca/catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0002006650)

Come and join Jennifer Welsh for a discussion on how we can fashion a strong role for Canada in the world, at Talk of the Town.

The discussion will take place at UBC Robson Square. Attendance is free of charge, but please pre-register at info.talkofthetown@ubc.ca or phone 604-822-5675.

Praise for at Home in the World

“Jennifer Welsh writes with intelligence and understanding about the need for Canada to think more clearly about what it wants to do internationally and why. She argues, rightly in my view, that the time has come for Canadians to stop thinking of this country as insignificant and passive. A book for all Canadians--politicians, diplomats, businesspeople, indeed anyone who cares about this country and its place in the world."

- Margaret MacMillan, author of Paris 1919

"Jennifer Welsh, a brilliant young Canadian professor, has written a clear-eyed analysis of Canada's foreign policy options in the 21st century which deserves to be read by policy-makers and interested citizens alike. At Home in the World is an intelligent, balanced, and reader-friendly synthesis of the challenges and choices facing Canada in a turbulent world. Personal and optimistic, it represents a new generation of thinking."

- Ann Golden, President and CEO of the Conference Board of Canada

“While the world seems bent on ‘return to “medieval” fragmentation of loyalties,’ Welsh goes beyond notions of North American citizenship and offers the idea of Canada as ‘Model Citizen in the community of nation-states in the 21st century.’”

- Ken Wiwa, Globe & Mail

Biography

JENNIFER WELSH was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. She holds a master’s and a doctorate in international relations from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar and is currently a professor of international relations. In addition to her academic career, she has spent five years in the private sector, first as a consultant with McKinsey and Co., and subsequently as a partner in D-Code, a research-and-strategy firm focused on the “Nexus Generation,” the under-40s who will soon be Canada’s next wave of leaders. She is the author of three books on international relations and is co-author of Chips and Pop: Decoding the Nexus Generation (1998). Jennifer Welsh lives in Oxford, England.

Bibliography

Chips and Pop: Decoding the Nexus Generation, Robert Bernard, Dave Cosgrove, Jennifer Welsh, Malcolm Lester Books, 1998

Links & Readings

Links

Welsh on Sudan

In this commentary in the Globe & Mail, Jennifer Welsh argues that force may be required to resolve the conflict in Sudan.

Canada Now Fading Power or Future Power

The summary of this 2003 conference is available at the Canadian Institute of International Affairs web site.

Is Canada Now Irrelevant?

The Canadian Defence & Foreign Policy Institute has a number of publications on Canadian foreign policy, including this one published in 2003 (see also The World We Want by Kim Richard Nossal).

You Can’t Deliver Foreign Policy by Fax

A column by Stephen Handelman in the Canadian edition of Time, August 2004.

Readings

While Canada Slept, by Andrew Cohen, McClelland and Stewart, 2003