In Sport and Canadian Diplomacy Donald Macintosh and Michael Hawes describe how the Department of External Affairs used sport in its foreign policy initiatives, from the beginning of its involvement in 1972 to the recent initiative of former Secretary of State for External Affairs Joe Clark to provide assistance to third-world Commonwealth countries and to create greater stability and harmony in the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Canadian Foreign Policy, as an academic discipline, is in crisis. Despite its value, CFP is often considered a “stale and pale” subfield of political science with an unfashionably state-centred focus. Canadian Foreign Policy asks why. Practising scholars investigate how they were taught to think about Canada and how they teach the subject themselves. Their inquiry shines a light on issues such as the casualization of academic labour and the relationship between study and policymaking. This nuanced collection offers not only a much-needed assessment of the boundaries, goals, and values of the discipline but also a guide to its revitalization.

The pattern revealed is one of deliberate ambiguity. On some issues and in some forums, Canada has acted vigorously to promote human rights internationally, as in the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the United Nations Committee on Human Rights, and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Canada has been much less forceful about human rights in dealings with the International Labour Organization and has almost completely ignored this issue as it relates to international financial institutions. Canada has been outspoken about the violation of rights in countries ruled by communist regimes, while hesitation and ambiguity are a feature of Canadian policies toward South Africa and Central America, as well as in lending policies to international financial institutions, Canadian development assistance, and Canadian arms sales. Each of these areas is examined in Human Rights in Canadian Foreign Policy. Canada is most vigorous on issues of human rights when the rights in question are civil and political rather than economic and social, and when the offending regime is under Soviet rather than American influence. The contributors include: Frances Arbour, Victoria Berry, John W. Foster, Rhoda E. Howard, Kalmen Kaplansky, T.A. Keenleyside, Allen McChesney, Ronald Manzer, Robert O. Matthews, Stefania Szlek Miller, Cathal J. Nolan, Kim Richard Nossal, Cranford Pratt, Renate Pratt, Ernie Regehr, and H. Gordon Skilling.

In retrospect it is difficult to accept that Western democracies have implicitly supported, or at least tolerated, the legalized system of white supremacy in South Africa known as apartheid. Renate Pratt’s new book, In Good Faith, explains why the Christian churches were among the first to publicly protest, and why they provided such cogent and determined international support for the struggle against apartheid. The Taskforce on the Churches and Corporate Responsibility is a coalition of Christian churches that for nearly twenty years was one of Canada’s leading anti-apartheid advocates. As the first co-ordinator of this Taskforce, Renate Pratt was at the centre of the early anti-apartheid initiatives in Canada and consequently is able to supply a clear and accurate view. The book traces the history of exchanges between the Taskforce and successive ministers and senior civil servants of the Department of External Affairs. It details the reluctant and weak responses offered by the Canadian government and business community right up to the time of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. In Good Faith will be of particular interest to Canadian Christians concerned with ecumenical co-operation and with the social and political dimensions of their faith. Equally, it will appeal to those interested in the impact of public interest organizations on public policy or the relationship between politics and business interests.

Using as a case study the recent intervention of western governments in the events leading to the birth of the southern African nation of Namibia, Jabri provides an analytical framework for interpreting a mediator's decision making, focusing on the mediator's motivations for intervening and withdrawing and for the choice of tactics. Addressed to students and practitioners of international diplomacy. Distributed by St. Martin's Press. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A conference in Harare, Zimbabwe in September 1988, arranged on the initiative of the Southern African Research Association (SADRA) and the Scandinavian Institute of African Studies (SIAS), aimed to initiate research and co-operation between Nordic and Southern African researchers.

Does development by its nature produce conflict? Are there times when Canada should take sides in Third World conflict? Are there ways that Canadian aid can be used to promote peace? Experts in Third World development pursue answers to these questions.