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Political Science Canadian

Uncle Sam and Us

Globalization, Neoconservatism, and the Canadian State

by (author) Stephen Clarkson

Publisher
Woodrow Wilson Centre Press, University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2002
Category
Canadian, General, Economic Policy
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780802085399
    Publish Date
    Sep 2002
    List Price
    $64.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802037589
    Publish Date
    Sep 2002
    List Price
    $123.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442690899
    Publish Date
    Sep 2002
    List Price
    $51.00

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Description

Between them, Brian Mulroney and Jean Chrétien radically altered the structure and functions of the federal government, first by signing and implementing major trade liberalization projects, and then by cutting back the size of their governments' budgets and the scope of their policies. Uncle Sam and Us analyzes the Mulroney-Chrétien era's impact on Canadian governance through two related factors, globalization from without and neoconservatism from within.

Stephen Clarkson begins his study by conceptualizing the present Canadian state as a five-tiered, nested system stretching from the municipal and provincial levels, through the federal government, and on to the new continental and global spheres of governance: in effect, he argues, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization have added a 'supraconstitution' to Canada's existing institutions. His analysis concerns the changes that have occurred not just in the federal government, but in provincial and municipal governance as well. The impact of globalization and neoconservatism is examined extensively in the second part of Clarkson's study, which examines how the functions of the Canadian state have altered. Clarkson addresses the changes in a number of policy areas such as macro and monetary policy, regulatory, industrial, and trade policy, as well as social, labour, environmental, cultural, and foreign policy.

In linking external forces and internal factors in his analysis, Clarkson brings together separate aspects of the Canadian state into a comprehensive understanding of the current Canadian political climate. He combines a global knowledge of the international political economy with a micro concern for detailed analyses of policy issues, and concludes that the responsibility for Canada's predicament lies less with external forces, than with Canadians and the governments they elected. He ends with a hopeful look into the future, pointing towards a realization of the shortcomings of neoconservative globalization, and the expectation of a new governing paradigm.

Co-published with Woodrow Wilson Center Press

About the author

Christina McCall (1935-2005) was a writer of literary non-fiction who worked a socio-political analyst for Maclean's, Saturday Night, Chatelaine, and the Globe and Mail. Grits, her portrait of the Liberal Party, was acclaimed as "one of the most important Canadian books." With her husband, Stephen Clarkson, she co-authored Trudeau and Our Times, the classic two-volume study of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his impact on Canadian society and politics, the first volume of which won the Governor General's Literary Award in 1990.

Stephen Clarkson's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, Writers' Trust of Canada