Abstract
Using the concept of strategic culture, we consider the history of Canadian defence policy. Our argument is that the interplay of imperialism, continentalism and Atlanticism, as Canada’s three main strategic cultures, helps explain the evolution of Canadian defence policy from Confederation onwards. We focus especially on the changing nature of Canada’s fixation with the United States and on how Canadian policy-makers went from obsessing about the threat of American annexation to accepting the notion that Canada’s security is inextricably tied to America’s—a basic continentalist belief that holds true even in a Trump era.
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Massie, J., Vucetic, S. (2020). Canadian Strategic Cultures: From Confederation to Trump. In: Juneau, T., Lagassé, P., Vucetic, S. (eds) Canadian Defence Policy in Theory and Practice. Canada and International Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26403-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-26403-1_3
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