Realist or Liberal? Canadian Foreign Policy in the 1970s.

The realist/liberal internationalist debate in international relations has been ongoing in the modern era dating back to Carr and existed in earlier eras in less explicit terms. This research contributes to the long-standing debate by examining Canadian foreign policy in the 1970s. Canada's behavior is often associated with liberal internationalism. Two sets of hypotheses based on realism and liberalism are developed to test if the standard appraisal of Canadian foreign policy is accurate. Drawing on the cases listed on the Canadian government's own "Historic Timeline," this research finds that although greater support exists for the notion that Canada acted along the lines of theoretical liberalism, realism can also help explain significant Canadian activities. In fact, Realism performs well in cases of high politics. These findings suggest that portraying Canadian foreign policy in broad and sweeping liberal terms may be a misrepresentation or simplification of the reality of this volatile decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]