Canada and Eastern Europe, 1945–1991

Canada and Eastern Europe, 1945–1991

Meeting in the Middle

  • Autor: Chandler, Andrea
  • Editor: Central European University Press
  • ISBN: 9789633867730
  • Lloc de publicació:  Budapest , Hungary
  • Any de publicació digital: 2024
  • Mes: Octubre
  • Pàgines: 250
  • DDC: 327.71047--dc23
  • Idioma: Anglés

How democratic regimes should engage with authoritarian regimes, or self-proclaimed authorities in states under occupation, has long been a subject of debate. The work examines Canada's relations with member-states of the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War. Central and East European communist states were nominally independent but established under occupation. Canadian leaders explored whether engaging in foreign relations with these countries would encourage liberalization or embolden dictatorships. Over time, Canada's position evolved as a policy of encouraging bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, while calling for the respect of human rights. However, Canada's economic relationship with East European states was at times at cross-purposes with its democratic principles. Andrea Chandler concludes that while Canada did play a role in encouraging democratization, the country's leaders did not sufficiently consider the impact of these policies on the citizens of Warsaw Pact countries.

This book treats Canada’s engagement with Hungary, Poland, the German Democratic Republic, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakiaduring the Cold War, in which the Western countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (including Canada) had an adversarial relation with the Soviet bloc nations.

  • Cover
  • Front matter
    • Half title
    • Series title page
    • Title page
    • Copyright page
  • Contents
  • Preface and Acknowledgments
  • List of Abbreviations
  • Chapter 1. Sovereignty, Diplomatic Engagement, and Regime Legitimacy during the Cold War
  • Chapter 2. Canada, the Western Alliance, and the Soviet-Occupied Nations, 1945–1953
  • Chapter 3. Property, Sovereignty, and Human Rights: Three Case Studies
  • Chapter 4. Canada and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956: An Early Example of “Democracy Promotion”?
  • Chapter 5. Cautious Engagement with the East Bloc, 1957–1971
  • Chapter 6. Canada and the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the 1970s
  • Chapter 7. Liberal Norms and Neoliberal Practices in the Cold War’s Final Years, 1979–1991
  • Chapter 8. Détente or Debacle: Canada and Romania, 1968–1989
  • Conclusion Lessons of Canada’s Experience for Confronting Authoritarianism and Occupation
  • Bibliography
  • Index
  • Back cover