Fairest of Them All? Examining Canada‘s Changing Foreign Policy Identity and Discourse

Abstract

The debate on identity continues to underscore an unsettling insecurity within the annals of Canadian foreign policy. The ascendancy of the Harper government is viewed by many scholars and practitioners as a radical realignment and challenge to the liberal international orthodoxy governing Canada‘s foreign policy identity, and concomitantly, its discourse and practice. Utilising David‘s Campbell‘s exposition on performativity and identity, this paper seeks to examine and explore the foundational tenets of Canada‘s foreign policy identity, seeking to understand the shifts, contradictions, and ambiguities inherent within the perceived changing precepts of Canadian‘s external/internal identity.