Canada in the Great Power Game: 1914-2014

Canada in the Great Power Game: 1914-2014

Author: Gwynne Dyer

Publisher: Vintage Canada

Published: 2015-08-04

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 0307361691

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Canada in the Great Power Game 1914-2014 is a serious contemplation of what it means to engage in major world conflicts, and the price we pay when we do. The First World War was Canada's baptism of fire, or at least the only one that people now remember. (Montrealers in 1776 or Torontonians in 1814 would have taken a different view.) From 1914 to 1918, after a century of peace, Canadians were plunged back into the old world of great power rivalries and great wars. So was everybody else, but Canadians were volunteers. We didn't have to fight, but we chose to, out of loyalty to ideas and institutions that today many of us no longer believe in. And we have been doing the same thing ever since, although we haven't quite given up on the latest set of ideas and institutions yet. In Canada in the Great Power Game, Gwynne Dyer moves back and forth between the seminal event, the First World War, and all the later conflicts that Canada chose to fight in. He draws parallels between these conflicts, with the same idealism among the young soldiers, and the same deeply conflicted emotions among the survivors, surfacing time and again in every war right down to Afghanistan. And in each case, the same arguments pro and con arise—mostly from people who are a long, safe way from the killing grounds—for every one of those "wars of choice." Echoing throughout the book are the voices of the people who lived through the wars: the veterans, the politicians, the historians, the eyewitnesses. And Dyer takes a number of so-called excursions from his historical account, in which he revisits the events and puts them in context, pausing to ask such questions as "What if we hadn't fought Hitler?" and "Is war written in our genes?" This entertaining and provocative book casts an unsparing eye over what happens when Canada and the great powers get in the war business, illuminating much about how we see ourselves on the world stage.


Book Synopsis Canada in the Great Power Game: 1914-2014 by : Gwynne Dyer

Download or read book Canada in the Great Power Game: 1914-2014 written by Gwynne Dyer and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2015-08-04 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Canada in the Great Power Game 1914-2014 is a serious contemplation of what it means to engage in major world conflicts, and the price we pay when we do. The First World War was Canada's baptism of fire, or at least the only one that people now remember. (Montrealers in 1776 or Torontonians in 1814 would have taken a different view.) From 1914 to 1918, after a century of peace, Canadians were plunged back into the old world of great power rivalries and great wars. So was everybody else, but Canadians were volunteers. We didn't have to fight, but we chose to, out of loyalty to ideas and institutions that today many of us no longer believe in. And we have been doing the same thing ever since, although we haven't quite given up on the latest set of ideas and institutions yet. In Canada in the Great Power Game, Gwynne Dyer moves back and forth between the seminal event, the First World War, and all the later conflicts that Canada chose to fight in. He draws parallels between these conflicts, with the same idealism among the young soldiers, and the same deeply conflicted emotions among the survivors, surfacing time and again in every war right down to Afghanistan. And in each case, the same arguments pro and con arise—mostly from people who are a long, safe way from the killing grounds—for every one of those "wars of choice." Echoing throughout the book are the voices of the people who lived through the wars: the veterans, the politicians, the historians, the eyewitnesses. And Dyer takes a number of so-called excursions from his historical account, in which he revisits the events and puts them in context, pausing to ask such questions as "What if we hadn't fought Hitler?" and "Is war written in our genes?" This entertaining and provocative book casts an unsparing eye over what happens when Canada and the great powers get in the war business, illuminating much about how we see ourselves on the world stage.

The Vimy Trap

The Vimy Trap

Author: Ian McKay

Publisher: Between the Lines

Published: 2017-03-16

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1771132760

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The story of the bloody 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge is, according to many of today’s tellings, a heroic founding moment for Canada. This noble, birth-of-a-nation narrative is regularly applied to the Great War in general. Yet this mythical tale is rather new. “Vimyism”— today’s official story of glorious, martial patriotism—contrasts sharply with the complex ways in which veterans, artists, clerics, and even politicians who had supported the war interpreted its meaning over the decades. Was the Great War a futile imperial debacle? A proud, nation-building milestone? Contending Great War memories have helped to shape how later wars were imagined. The Vimy Trap provides a powerful probe of commemoration cultures. This subtle, fast-paced work of public history—combining scholarly insight with sharp-eyed journalism, and based on primary sources and school textbooks, battlefield visits and war art—explains both how and why peace and war remain contested terrain in ever-changing landscapes of Canadian memory.


Book Synopsis The Vimy Trap by : Ian McKay

Download or read book The Vimy Trap written by Ian McKay and published by Between the Lines. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the bloody 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge is, according to many of today’s tellings, a heroic founding moment for Canada. This noble, birth-of-a-nation narrative is regularly applied to the Great War in general. Yet this mythical tale is rather new. “Vimyism”— today’s official story of glorious, martial patriotism—contrasts sharply with the complex ways in which veterans, artists, clerics, and even politicians who had supported the war interpreted its meaning over the decades. Was the Great War a futile imperial debacle? A proud, nation-building milestone? Contending Great War memories have helped to shape how later wars were imagined. The Vimy Trap provides a powerful probe of commemoration cultures. This subtle, fast-paced work of public history—combining scholarly insight with sharp-eyed journalism, and based on primary sources and school textbooks, battlefield visits and war art—explains both how and why peace and war remain contested terrain in ever-changing landscapes of Canadian memory.

Gendered Militarism in Canada

Gendered Militarism in Canada

Author: Nancy Taber

Publisher: University of Alberta

Published: 2016-01-29

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1772121096

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“Despite Canada’s claim to be a gender equitable nation, militarism continues to function in ways that protect inequality.” —from the Introduction Little has been done to examine, critique, and challenge the ways ingrained societal ideas of militarism and gender influence lifelong learning patterns and practices of Canadians. Editor Nancy Taber and ten other contributors explore reasons why Canadian educators should be concerned with how learning, militarism, and gender intersect. Readers may be surprised to discover how this reaches beyond the classroom into the everyday lessons, attitudes, and habits that all Canadians are taught, often without question. Pushing the boundaries of education theory, research, and practice, this book will be of particular interest to feminist, adult, and teacher educators and to scholars and students of education, the military, and women’s and gender studies. Contributors: Mark Anthony Castrodale, Gillian L. Fournier, Andrew Haddow, Cindy L. Hanson, Laura Lane, Jamie Magnusson, Robert C. Mizzi, Shahrzad Mojab, Snežana Ratković, Roger Saul, Nancy Taber.


Book Synopsis Gendered Militarism in Canada by : Nancy Taber

Download or read book Gendered Militarism in Canada written by Nancy Taber and published by University of Alberta. This book was released on 2016-01-29 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Despite Canada’s claim to be a gender equitable nation, militarism continues to function in ways that protect inequality.” —from the Introduction Little has been done to examine, critique, and challenge the ways ingrained societal ideas of militarism and gender influence lifelong learning patterns and practices of Canadians. Editor Nancy Taber and ten other contributors explore reasons why Canadian educators should be concerned with how learning, militarism, and gender intersect. Readers may be surprised to discover how this reaches beyond the classroom into the everyday lessons, attitudes, and habits that all Canadians are taught, often without question. Pushing the boundaries of education theory, research, and practice, this book will be of particular interest to feminist, adult, and teacher educators and to scholars and students of education, the military, and women’s and gender studies. Contributors: Mark Anthony Castrodale, Gillian L. Fournier, Andrew Haddow, Cindy L. Hanson, Laura Lane, Jamie Magnusson, Robert C. Mizzi, Shahrzad Mojab, Snežana Ratković, Roger Saul, Nancy Taber.

Living with War

Living with War

Author: Robert Teigrob

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2016-04-11

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 1442699183

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Canada and the United States: we think of one as a peaceable kingdom, the other as a warrior nation. But do our expectations about each country’s attitudes to war and peace match the realities? In Living with War, Robert Teigrob examines how war is experienced and remembered on both sides of the 49th parallel. Surveying popular and scholarly histories, films and literature, public memorials, and museum exhibits in both countries, he comes to some startling conclusions. Americans may seem more patriotic, even jingoistic, but they are also more willing to debate the pros and cons of their military actions. Canadians, though more diffident in their public displays of patriotism, are more willing than their southern neighbors to accept the official narrative that depicts just wars fought in the service of a righteous cause. A provocative book that complements critiques of contemporary Canadian militarism such as Warrior Nation, Living with War offers an intriguing look at the relationship with the military past on both sides of the border.


Book Synopsis Living with War by : Robert Teigrob

Download or read book Living with War written by Robert Teigrob and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2016-04-11 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Canada and the United States: we think of one as a peaceable kingdom, the other as a warrior nation. But do our expectations about each country’s attitudes to war and peace match the realities? In Living with War, Robert Teigrob examines how war is experienced and remembered on both sides of the 49th parallel. Surveying popular and scholarly histories, films and literature, public memorials, and museum exhibits in both countries, he comes to some startling conclusions. Americans may seem more patriotic, even jingoistic, but they are also more willing to debate the pros and cons of their military actions. Canadians, though more diffident in their public displays of patriotism, are more willing than their southern neighbors to accept the official narrative that depicts just wars fought in the service of a righteous cause. A provocative book that complements critiques of contemporary Canadian militarism such as Warrior Nation, Living with War offers an intriguing look at the relationship with the military past on both sides of the border.

Thunder Bay at War

Thunder Bay at War

Author: John Pateman

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2014-12

Total Pages: 95

ISBN-13: 1312721308

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This is the story of the men from Thunder Bay (formerly Port Arthur and Fort William) who died in the First and Second World Wars and are buried in five local cemeteries.


Book Synopsis Thunder Bay at War by : John Pateman

Download or read book Thunder Bay at War written by John Pateman and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-12 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of the men from Thunder Bay (formerly Port Arthur and Fort William) who died in the First and Second World Wars and are buried in five local cemeteries.

Cold Fire

Cold Fire

Author: John Boyko

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Published: 2016-02-02

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 0345808959

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Forget all you think you know about the Kennedy years. With narrative flair and sparkling storytelling, acclaimed historian John Boyko explores the crucial period when America and its allies were fighting the Cold War's most treacherous battles, Canadians were trading sovereignty for security, and everyone feared a nuclear holocaust. At the centre of this story are three leaders. President John F. Kennedy pledged to pay any price to advance his vision for America's defence and needed Canada to step smartly in line. Fighting him at every turn was Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker, an unapologetic nationalist trying to bolster Canada's autonomy. Liberal leader Lester Pearson, the Nobel Prize-winning diplomat, sought a middle ground. Boyko employs meticulous research and newly released documents to present shocking revelations. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Canadian warships guarded America's Atlantic coast and Canada suffered a silent coup d'état. Canada was involved in Kennedy's sliding America into Vietnam. Kennedy knew the nuclear missiles he was forcing on Canada would be decoys, there only to draw Soviet nuclear fire. Kennedy's pollster and political adviser travelled to Ottawa under a fake passport to help defeat the Canadian government. And, perhaps most startlingly, if not for Diefenbaker, Kennedy may have survived the bullets in Dallas.


Book Synopsis Cold Fire by : John Boyko

Download or read book Cold Fire written by John Boyko and published by Knopf Canada. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forget all you think you know about the Kennedy years. With narrative flair and sparkling storytelling, acclaimed historian John Boyko explores the crucial period when America and its allies were fighting the Cold War's most treacherous battles, Canadians were trading sovereignty for security, and everyone feared a nuclear holocaust. At the centre of this story are three leaders. President John F. Kennedy pledged to pay any price to advance his vision for America's defence and needed Canada to step smartly in line. Fighting him at every turn was Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker, an unapologetic nationalist trying to bolster Canada's autonomy. Liberal leader Lester Pearson, the Nobel Prize-winning diplomat, sought a middle ground. Boyko employs meticulous research and newly released documents to present shocking revelations. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Canadian warships guarded America's Atlantic coast and Canada suffered a silent coup d'état. Canada was involved in Kennedy's sliding America into Vietnam. Kennedy knew the nuclear missiles he was forcing on Canada would be decoys, there only to draw Soviet nuclear fire. Kennedy's pollster and political adviser travelled to Ottawa under a fake passport to help defeat the Canadian government. And, perhaps most startlingly, if not for Diefenbaker, Kennedy may have survived the bullets in Dallas.

Advocating Overlord

Advocating Overlord

Author: Philip Padgett

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2018-05-01

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 1612349625

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“Well there it is. It won’t work, but you must bloody well make it,” said the chief of Britain’s military leaders when he gave orders to begin planning for what became known as Operation Overlord. While many view D-Day as one of the most successful operations of World War II, most aren’t aware of the intensive year of planning and political tension between the Allies that preceded the amphibious military landing on June 6, 1944. This intriguing history reveals how President Franklin D. Roosevelt, while on a fishing trip in the middle of World War II, altered his attitude toward Winston Churchill and became an advocate for Operation Overlord. Philip Padgett challenges the known narrative of this watershed moment in history in his examination of the possible diplomatic link between Normandy and the atomic bomb. He shows how the Allies came to agree on a liberation strategy that began with D-Day—and the difficult forging of British and American scientific cooperation that produced the atomic bomb. At its core this story is about how a new generation of leaders found the courage to step beyond national biases in a truly Allied endeavor to carry out one of history’s most successful military operations.


Book Synopsis Advocating Overlord by : Philip Padgett

Download or read book Advocating Overlord written by Philip Padgett and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Well there it is. It won’t work, but you must bloody well make it,” said the chief of Britain’s military leaders when he gave orders to begin planning for what became known as Operation Overlord. While many view D-Day as one of the most successful operations of World War II, most aren’t aware of the intensive year of planning and political tension between the Allies that preceded the amphibious military landing on June 6, 1944. This intriguing history reveals how President Franklin D. Roosevelt, while on a fishing trip in the middle of World War II, altered his attitude toward Winston Churchill and became an advocate for Operation Overlord. Philip Padgett challenges the known narrative of this watershed moment in history in his examination of the possible diplomatic link between Normandy and the atomic bomb. He shows how the Allies came to agree on a liberation strategy that began with D-Day—and the difficult forging of British and American scientific cooperation that produced the atomic bomb. At its core this story is about how a new generation of leaders found the courage to step beyond national biases in a truly Allied endeavor to carry out one of history’s most successful military operations.

Space Is Power

Space Is Power

Author: John Hickman

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2016-02-29

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1498512909

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From Russia’s annexation of Crimea to China’s ‘nine-dash line’ in the South China Sea, it is clear that territory is as important in international politics now as it has ever been. Yet too few contemporary foreign policy makers, journalists, and scholars are able to speak coherently about territorial issues. Space Is Power: The Seven Rules of Territory challenges the intellectual conceits that human territoriality is merely a social construct, that territorial sovereignty is atavistic, that territorial annexation is always irrational, and that territorial disputes are provoked by foreign policy makers who seek to divert public attention from more important issues. Space Is Power argues that territoriality is too basic to human nature to be denied and territorial sovereignty is too important to the survival of the modern state to be ignored. The truths about territory are captured in seven rules, some of which are intuitive while others contradict conventional wisdom. Rather than anticipating the transcendence of the territorial states, this book argues that the unmistakable direction of international politics is toward encompassing ever more physical space as the territory of states.


Book Synopsis Space Is Power by : John Hickman

Download or read book Space Is Power written by John Hickman and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2016-02-29 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Russia’s annexation of Crimea to China’s ‘nine-dash line’ in the South China Sea, it is clear that territory is as important in international politics now as it has ever been. Yet too few contemporary foreign policy makers, journalists, and scholars are able to speak coherently about territorial issues. Space Is Power: The Seven Rules of Territory challenges the intellectual conceits that human territoriality is merely a social construct, that territorial sovereignty is atavistic, that territorial annexation is always irrational, and that territorial disputes are provoked by foreign policy makers who seek to divert public attention from more important issues. Space Is Power argues that territoriality is too basic to human nature to be denied and territorial sovereignty is too important to the survival of the modern state to be ignored. The truths about territory are captured in seven rules, some of which are intuitive while others contradict conventional wisdom. Rather than anticipating the transcendence of the territorial states, this book argues that the unmistakable direction of international politics is toward encompassing ever more physical space as the territory of states.

The Next Great War?

The Next Great War?

Author: Richard N. Rosecrance

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2014-11-21

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 0262326787

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Experts consider how the lessons of World War I can help prevent U.S.–China conflict. A century ago, Europe's diplomats mismanaged the crisis triggered by the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the continent plunged into World War I, which killed millions, toppled dynasties, and destroyed empires. Today, as the hundredth anniversary of the Great War prompts renewed debate about the war's causes, scholars and policy experts are also considering the parallels between the present international system and the world of 1914. Are China and the United States fated to follow in the footsteps of previous great power rivals? Will today's alliances drag countries into tomorrow's wars? Can leaders manage power relationships peacefully? Or will East Asia's territorial and maritime disputes trigger a larger conflict, just as rivalries in the Balkans did in 1914? In The Next Great War?, experts reconsider the causes of World War I and explore whether the great powers of the twenty-first century can avoid the mistakes of Europe's statesmen in 1914 and prevent another catastrophic conflict. They find differences as well as similarities between today's world and the world of 1914—but conclude that only a deep understanding of those differences and early action to bring great powers together will likely enable the United States and China to avoid a great war. Contributors Alan Alexandroff, Graham Allison, Richard N. Cooper, Charles S. Maier, Steven E. Miller, Joseph S. Nye Jr., T. G. Otte, David K. Richards, Richard N. Rosecrance, Kevin Rudd, Jack Snyder, Etel Solingen, Arthur A. Stein, Stephen Van Evera


Book Synopsis The Next Great War? by : Richard N. Rosecrance

Download or read book The Next Great War? written by Richard N. Rosecrance and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2014-11-21 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experts consider how the lessons of World War I can help prevent U.S.–China conflict. A century ago, Europe's diplomats mismanaged the crisis triggered by the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the continent plunged into World War I, which killed millions, toppled dynasties, and destroyed empires. Today, as the hundredth anniversary of the Great War prompts renewed debate about the war's causes, scholars and policy experts are also considering the parallels between the present international system and the world of 1914. Are China and the United States fated to follow in the footsteps of previous great power rivals? Will today's alliances drag countries into tomorrow's wars? Can leaders manage power relationships peacefully? Or will East Asia's territorial and maritime disputes trigger a larger conflict, just as rivalries in the Balkans did in 1914? In The Next Great War?, experts reconsider the causes of World War I and explore whether the great powers of the twenty-first century can avoid the mistakes of Europe's statesmen in 1914 and prevent another catastrophic conflict. They find differences as well as similarities between today's world and the world of 1914—but conclude that only a deep understanding of those differences and early action to bring great powers together will likely enable the United States and China to avoid a great war. Contributors Alan Alexandroff, Graham Allison, Richard N. Cooper, Charles S. Maier, Steven E. Miller, Joseph S. Nye Jr., T. G. Otte, David K. Richards, Richard N. Rosecrance, Kevin Rudd, Jack Snyder, Etel Solingen, Arthur A. Stein, Stephen Van Evera

The Friendly Dictatorship

The Friendly Dictatorship

Author: Jeffrey Simpson

Publisher: McClelland & Stewart

Published: 2011-01-14

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1551994437

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Is Canada a dictatorship – albeit a friendly dictatorship? In this thoughtful book, Jeffrey Simpson argues that the Liberal Party’s re-election to a third majority government must raise the question: Is Canada in danger of becoming a de facto one-party state, ruled by an all-powerful leader? An effective parliamentary system presumes that at least one party is ready and capable of replacing the existing government by winning an election. Clearly, no party was ready in the last election, and none of the opposition parties absorbed the lessons of Canadian political history, that the Liberals can only be defeated by coalitions that show a preference for moderation and compromise. The recent election results have left the Liberals in power for the foreseeable future. Jean Chrétien’s longevity and reluctance to step down has highlighted the most alarming part of Canada’s de facto one-party government: Canadian parliamentary democracy now places more power in the hands of the prime minister than does any other democracy. Chrétien, who has survived and thrived so long in this political system, is the last person from whom anyone should expect an interest in reform. At the same time, Canadians’ increasing discouragement over their political system can be seen in a declining voter turnout, a documented erosion in respect for all politicians, and in an increasing interest in other forms of political engagement as opposed to organized partisan politics. The Friendly Dictatorship demonstrates what has been happening in three areas that are vital to Canadian democracy: the parliamentary system, the political parties, and the electorate. What has occurred within each of these spheres has directly influenced developments in the others, and the combined effect has been to leave Canadian democracy in a worrying state. The Friendly Dictatorship delivers a message that is informed, articulate, and passionate, and that should be heard by all Canadians.


Book Synopsis The Friendly Dictatorship by : Jeffrey Simpson

Download or read book The Friendly Dictatorship written by Jeffrey Simpson and published by McClelland & Stewart. This book was released on 2011-01-14 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is Canada a dictatorship – albeit a friendly dictatorship? In this thoughtful book, Jeffrey Simpson argues that the Liberal Party’s re-election to a third majority government must raise the question: Is Canada in danger of becoming a de facto one-party state, ruled by an all-powerful leader? An effective parliamentary system presumes that at least one party is ready and capable of replacing the existing government by winning an election. Clearly, no party was ready in the last election, and none of the opposition parties absorbed the lessons of Canadian political history, that the Liberals can only be defeated by coalitions that show a preference for moderation and compromise. The recent election results have left the Liberals in power for the foreseeable future. Jean Chrétien’s longevity and reluctance to step down has highlighted the most alarming part of Canada’s de facto one-party government: Canadian parliamentary democracy now places more power in the hands of the prime minister than does any other democracy. Chrétien, who has survived and thrived so long in this political system, is the last person from whom anyone should expect an interest in reform. At the same time, Canadians’ increasing discouragement over their political system can be seen in a declining voter turnout, a documented erosion in respect for all politicians, and in an increasing interest in other forms of political engagement as opposed to organized partisan politics. The Friendly Dictatorship demonstrates what has been happening in three areas that are vital to Canadian democracy: the parliamentary system, the political parties, and the electorate. What has occurred within each of these spheres has directly influenced developments in the others, and the combined effect has been to leave Canadian democracy in a worrying state. The Friendly Dictatorship delivers a message that is informed, articulate, and passionate, and that should be heard by all Canadians.