The Politics of Linkage

This book cuts through the rhetoric that clouds debates about Canada’s “special” relationship with the United States.

Bow takes a close look at four major bilateral disputes between Canada and the United States to show that – contrary to some reports – the US has not made coercive linkages between issues to get its own way.

Do Canada and the United States share a special relationship, or is this a mere myth that has masked stark calculations of national interest? Recent tensions over the Iraq War and ballistic missile defence have resurrected this perennial Canadian debate and triggered alarm about whether the US would make coercive linkages between issues to force Canada to change its policies.

The Politics of Linkage cuts through political rhetoric and academic clichés by offering detailed accounts of postwar disputes over nuclear weapons, Arctic waters, oil and gas, and the Iraq War. Although early Cold War disputes were governed by a diplomatic culture that was genuinely “special,” the limits of Canadian autonomy are now defined by the ever-shifting alignment of interest groups in Washington and by international agreements and organizations.