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14 Seton Hall J. Dipl. & Int'l Rel. 101 (2013)
Middle Power No More - Canada in World Affairs since 2006

handle is hein.journals/whith14 and id is 237 raw text is: Middle Power No More? Canada in World
Affairs Since 2006
by Adam Chapnick
So success in this global environment requires concerted action among capable, committed
like-minded countries. Success requires middle powers who can step up to the plate and do
their part. Success demands governments who are iling to assume responsibilities; seek
pracical, doable solutions to problems; and who have a voice and influence in global affairs
because the lead not by lecturing but by example.
Stephen Harpe Canaian Prime Minister'
For over five years and through two elections, Conservative Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper has not incorporated the image of Canada as a middlepower
into any major speeches. In most countries, such an omission would likely go
unnoticed; however, in Canada it serves as an indicator of a substantial shift in the
national approach to world affairs. Writing in 2010, one of Canada's foremost
scholars of internationalism2, Tom IKeating, lamented the loss of an internationalist
foreign policy guided by a middle power idea that reminds Canadians and their
government of what is possible.3 His observation is consistent with those of other
analysts who have noted a significant change in the policies and postures of the
government of Canada since the Conservatives first took power in 2006.4
What is happening to Canada? Is the Harper government's apparent rejection
of the state's longstanding middle power identity the dramatic break from the past
that some have alleged? Not exactly. To understand the current Canadian
government's relationship     to  what is alternatively known      as middlepowerhoof5,
middlepowerdom6, middle powerness7, middlepowermanship, and even middsmareness9, one
must first take into account the four distinct ways in which Canadians have
understood the middle power idea over the last seventy years. Scholars, analysts, and
practitioners have interpreted it (1) hierarchically, as a formalized position within the
international order; (2) functionally, as a descriptor of a state's capacity to effect
international change; (3) behaviorally, as an indicator of how states conduct
themselves on the world stage; and (4) rhetorically, as a means of promoting a state's
national or international identity through public speeches and declarations.10 With
Adam Chapnick is a Professor at the Canadian Forces College in the Department of Defense
Studies. He conducts research into Canada's foreign policy, Canada's history and experiences in the
United Nations, and Canada's diplomatic history Two of his books were shortlisted for the Dafoe
Prize including The Middle Power Project: Canada and the Founing of the United Naions. He is currently
researching the history of Canada's experiences on the United Nations Security Council.
101
Seton Hall Journal of Diploma0 and International Relaions

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