Navigating a New World: Canada's Global Future [Paperback]

Does Canada need a big army to have an impact in the world? Does political power really grow from the barrel of a gun, as Mao once said? Not according to former Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy. In Navigating a New World, the long-time Winnipeg MP makes the case for what he calls "soft power" and a foreign policy based on human security, rather than tanks and bombs. He is also blunt in his appraisal of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. Since the events of September 11, Axworthy writes, Bush has followed a "radical security doctrine that prescribes the use of U.S. military supremacy to establish the U.S.'s unchallenged right to determine the character and shape of the world--what might be called imperial ambitions." In the name of fighting terrorism, Axworthy argues, the U.S. has hailed repressive governments as "loyal allies" and overlooked their human-rights records. "All one has to do is join the anti-terrorist parade and all sins are forgiven," he says.

Axworthy's book chronicles his efforts to create a global "soft power" movement during his term as Canada's foreign minister from 1996 to 2000 and since becoming director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia. He defines soft power as a "revolutionary" mix of foreign aid, multilateral diplomacy, and simple persuasion to achieve change in war-torn areas like Uganda and Afghanistan. Axworthy devotes much of his book to vivid behind-the-scenes accounts of his efforts pursuing this agenda, including his work on the 1999 land-mine treaty and the International Criminal Court. Axworthy isn't entirely impartial; this is, after all, a memoir. He ignores some key controversies from his watch, like Canada's nuclear assistance to China's repressive regime and Ottawa's efforts to undermine UN protections for indigenous peoples. Nonetheless, Axworthy's book is a good read for anyone interested in an insider's critical view of some of the key flashpoints and ongoing crises of the post-Cold War world. --Alex Roslin --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

“Axworthy is well known for his innovative ideas on foreign policy. He promoted a ‘human security’ agenda that focused on humanitarian crises around the world…. He called for an international criminal court, brokered a ban on landmines and drew international attention to the plight of war-affected children. In December 2000, he received the Sen. Patrick Leahy Humanitarian Award from the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation for his leadership in ‘the global effort to outlaw the use of child-soldiers, to bring war criminals to justice and to end the human tragedy of landmines.’”
—Princeton University, citation for the James Madison Medal for outstanding public service

“In Navigating a New [World], Axworthy draws together experiences from his life and the give-and-take of domestic and foreign politics as he threads an eloquent argument about Canada’s vocation as a middle power — one working towards a humane and just world. It’s a must read for a number of reasions, most particularly because it presents a mainstream politician who still thinks in terms of justice, compassion, and global responsibility.”
—See Magazine, Book Guide

“Navigating a New World is not the memoir of a statesman who retires to the farm to reflect and remember…. A passionate reformer, [Axworthy] remains at the ramparts today, which makes his book as much about the present as the past. … His voice is critical, triumphant, self-assured, arbitrary, angry and anguished. In his stubborn belief in the world’s possibilities, it is also wonderfully romantic. … [Axworthy] framed a new internationalism for Canada. … His account is thoughtful, intelligent and compassionate, like the man himself.”
—Literary Review of Canada

“[Lloyd Axworthy] has been the best foreign minister that I can remember in my active life in international affairs…. His work on everything from landmines to child soldiers has been exemplary.”
—Stephen Lewis

“Axworthy…charted Canada’s place in the world in the latter [decades] of the 20th century, and in so doing defined new possibilities for [our] country…. Axworthy’s signal contribution [as foreign minister] was to revive the sense of Canadian internationalism that has always been the core of an immigrant nation, to foster the sense that we are part of a global community…. There is no doubt that under his direction, Canada once again aspired to the heady reaches of global leadership…. The Ottawa protocol banning anti-personnel landmines seemed like a Utopian dream. Yet under Axworthy’s leadership, it became an international treaty. So did the International Criminal Court.”
—Edmonton Journal

“[Axworthy] provides useful insights into the national and international political process….Navigating a New World is not simply a memoir. It is also an attempt to advocate a new direction for Canada….Axworthy’s assessment of past, present and future is a well-articulated presentation of the dominant set of beliefs that have guided Canadian thinking for decades.”
—Winnipeg Free Press

“Navigating a New World presents a blueprint for a Canadian foreign policy… Axworthy may be a peacenik but he’s no pacifist….He makes a compelling case that Canada’s political culture of compromise offers a model for settling the world’s disputes….[Navigating a New World is] that kind of penetrating overview you might expect from a former foreign affairs minister who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to ban land mines. It’s also a brave minorty-report sort of book, fitting for someone who was once Western Canada’s only Liberal MP.”
—The Vancouver Sun and the Times-Colonist (Victoria)

“In Navigating a New World, Axworthy provides a detailed account of his experience at the helm of Canadian foreign policy. It reveals the portrait of a crusading idealist, a man passionately committed to creating a better world — and his own ideas about how to do it. … This is the vision of a populist and radical thinker. … There is much in the Axworthy analysis one can applaud. … One cannot read Axworthy’s book without being convinced of his sincere commitment to a better world.”
—The National Post

“In his four years as foreign affairs minister, …Axworthy has remade Canadian foreign policy, introducing the buzzwords “soft power” and “human security” into Canada’s political lexicon. He has become the darling of aid agencies and human rights crusaders for giving a voice to the poor, the hungry and the embattled victims of war in international politics.”
—Ottawa Citizen

“Navigating a New World is a challenge to Canada and its citizens to help map a future world that emphasizes human security, not corporate profit, a world that confronts and bests poverty, war and human privation. The former cabinet minister…urges Canada to promote a world dominated by human compassion. He makes a compelling case and it’s hard to dismiss this book as simply a soft power plea.”
—The Calgary Herald

“Axworthy’s book…makes a serious contribution to debate about Canada’s role in the world, and should be read by anyone interested in…the shape and challenges of the modern world. It’s a book eminently worth reading for its passion and strengths, and arguing with for its absences.”
—The Globe and Mail

“Mr. Axworthy has redefined diplomacy. He has shaped a global society where the safety of the individual is at the center of international priorities. His vision has focused the attention of the world on the innocent victims of human conflict. He has been a leader in the global effort to outlaw the use of child soldiers, to bring war criminals to justice, and to end the human tragedy caused by landmines. Mr. Axworthy’s steadfast resolve and extraordinary leadership initiated and inspired the Ottawa Convention, the international treaty to ban landmines…the exemplary work of [an] extraordinary man.”
—Citation from the Senator Patrick J. Leahy Humanitarian Award 2000

“Richly detailed and forcefully argued…. Axworthy…demonstrat[es] how Canadian influence can make a tangible difference in people’s lives around the world…. Axworthy’s case that we really can and should be doing more to advance human security around the world is compelling, and that is more than enough to make this a very valuable book.”
—The Gazette

“Axworthy’s book proposes a coherent idea, or set of interconnected ideas, for Canadian foreign policy as no one has since [Lester] Pearson did with his notions of peacekeeping and of Canada as a ‘helpful fixer’ between the U.S. and Europe. More soft power and human security, of course. But Axworthy magnifies those concepts and gives them a new purposefulness that’s expressed in his opening sentence: ‘Canadians are on the road to global citizenship.’ … . His vision deserves a careful hearing by Canadians, by Ottawa — and by Paul Martin.”
—The Toronto Star

“The former cabinet minister makes a compelling case, rejecting an American-centred view of the world and urging Canada to promote a world dominated by human compassion.”
—Truro Daily News

Praise for Lloyd Axworthy, winner of:
• the Princeton University James Madison Medal
• the Senator Patrick J. Leahy Humanitarian Award
• the CARE International Humanitarian Award
• the Thakore Award

“Canada’s outgoing foreign minister is one of the best in memory.” -- Toronto Star

“He has become the darling of aid agencies and human rights crusaders for giving a voice to the poor, the hungry and the embattled victims of war. In his four years as foreign affairs minister, [he] remade Canadian foreign policy.” -- Ottawa Citizen

“Axworthy. . .charted Canada’s place in the world in the latter half of the 20th century, and in so doing defined new possibilities for [our] country.” -- The Edmonton Journal