American National Security and Economic Relations with Canada, 1945-1954 - (Praeger Studies in Diplomacy and Strategic Thought) (Hardcover)

About the Book

Aronsen draws on recently declassified documents in Ottawa and Washington to provide a reassessment of Canada's special relationship with the U.S. Toward this end, detailed new information is provided about Canada's contribution to the creation of the postwar economic order from the Bretton Woods Agreement to GATT. Canada's cooperation was rewarded by special economic concessions including the extension of the Hyde Park agreement in 1945, the inclusion of the off-shore purchases clause to the Marshall Plan, and Article II of the NATO Treaty. After the outbreak of the Korean War, Canada's resources played a crucial role in the production of weapons systems for the new air/atomic strategic doctrine. Several policies were adopted to facilitate the expansion of Canadian defense production, notably the relaxation of regulations on technology transfer; the encouragement of private sector investment; and the negotiation of long-term contracts at above-market prices. In the midst of these unprecendented peacetime developments Time Magazine observed that Canada had become America's Indispensable Ally.

Book Synopsis

Aronsen draws on recently declassified documents in Ottawa and Washington to provide a reassessment of Canada's special relationship with the U.S. Toward this end, detailed new information is provided about Canada's contribution to the creation of the postwar economic order from the Bretton Woods Agreement to GATT. Canada's cooperation was rewarded by special economic concessions including the extension of the Hyde Park agreement in 1945, the inclusion of the off-shore purchases clause to the Marshall Plan, and Article II of the NATO Treaty. After the outbreak of the Korean War, Canada's resources played a crucial role in the production of weapons systems for the new air/atomic strategic doctrine. Several policies were adopted to facilitate the expansion of Canadian defense production, notably the relaxation of regulations on technology transfer; the encouragement of private sector investment; and the negotiation of long-term contracts at above-market prices. In the midst of these unprecendented peacetime developments Time Magazine observed that Canada had become America's Indispensable Ally.

Review Quotes

?[A] very useful study of American-Canadian economic relations in the era immediately following World War II...He achieves his goal of proving to scholars of American foreign policy that a "special relationship" existed between the two allies. The strength of Aronsen's analysis is its convincing and detailed depiction of the complexities of the asymmetrical relationship and his rebuttal of American radical scholars' and Canadian nationalists' long-held perceptions of unmitigated American dominance in the relationship.?-Social History

?It is therefore with some nostalgia that Aronsen's book gives Canadians a clearer understanding of how their country was able to benefit from America's preoccupation with national security at the dawn of the Cold War.?-The Canadian Historical Review

?This book is clear and persuasive.?-The Journal of American History

?This book is clear and persuasive.??The Journal of American History

"ÝA¨ very useful study of American-Canadian economic relations in the era immediately following World War II...He achieves his goal of proving to scholars of American foreign policy that a "special relationship" existed between the two allies. The strength of Aronsen's analysis is its convincing and detailed depiction of the complexities of the asymmetrical relationship and his rebuttal of American radical scholars' and Canadian nationalists' long-held perceptions of unmitigated American dominance in the relationship."-Social History

"It is therefore with some nostalgia that Aronsen's book gives Canadians a clearer understanding of how their country was able to benefit from America's preoccupation with national security at the dawn of the Cold War."-The Canadian Historical Review

"This book is clear and persuasive."-The Journal of American History

"[A] very useful study of American-Canadian economic relations in the era immediately following World War II...He achieves his goal of proving to scholars of American foreign policy that a "special relationship" existed between the two allies. The strength of Aronsen's analysis is its convincing and detailed depiction of the complexities of the asymmetrical relationship and his rebuttal of American radical scholars' and Canadian nationalists' long-held perceptions of unmitigated American dominance in the relationship."-Social History

About the Author

LAWRENCE ROBERT ARONSEN is Associate Professor of History at the University of Alberta.