The 1985 edition of Canada Among Nations examines the reshaping of Canadian foreign policy that characterized the Mulroney Conservative government's first full year in power. Initially the new government's handling of foreign policy was marred by indecision and internal tension. By the end of 1985, however, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's ad hoc interventions on foreign affairs had ceased, and the move to a more formal decision-making process accompanied a rise in the influence of External Affairs Minister Joe Clark. This edition of Canada Among Nations analyses the Mulroney government's agenda-setting experience from a range of perspectives: international security, the economy, relations with the Third World and the federal policy-making process.

The dramatic space has been used to voice dissent, to explore the meanings of power, and to explore the inner self in what is commonly portrayed as a prolonged period of impasse in Chilean history.