The Middle East has not, historically, been a first-order priority for Canadian foreign and defence policy. Most major Canadian decisions on the Middle East have come about through ad hoc decision-making rather than strategic necessity. Balancing international obligations with domestic goals, Canadian relations with this region try to find a balance between meeting alliance obligations and keeping domestic constituents content.

Middle Power in the Middle East delves into some of Canada’s key bilateral relations with the Middle East and explores the main themes in Canada’s regional presence: arms sales, human rights, defence capacity-building, and mediation. Contributors analyse the key drivers of Canada’s foreign and defence policies in the Middle East, including diplomatic relations with the United States, ideology, and domestic politics. Bringing together many of Canada’s foremost experts on Canada–Middle East relations, this collection provides a fresh perspective that is particularly timely and important following the Arab uprisings.

Thomas Juneau is associate professor at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and a non-resident fellow with the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies.

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Bessma Momani is an associate professor at the University of Waterloo and Senior Fellow at CIGI, specializing on the Middle East and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She is the author of Twentieth-Century World History (2007), IMF–Egyptian Negotiations (2005), the CIGI–CIC Special Report: The Future of International Monetary Fund: A Canadian Perspective (2009), and is the co-editor of Canada and the Middle East (WLUP, 2007). Dr. Momani has also published a dozen scholarly articles in numerous political and economic academic journals.

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