Understanding Canada

How did teaching about Canada abroad advance the country's soft power goals?

Stephen Brooks, professor of political science at the University of Windsor in Canada, is editor of a new book on a Canadian government-funded education diplomacy initiative that promoted Canadian studies across the world from the 1980s until its abrupt termination in 2012. Promoting Canadian Studies Abroad: Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy examines the history of the "Understanding Canada" program, which aimed to increase global awareness of Canadian culture, institutions and history.

With such chapters as "The Rise and Fall of Canadian Studies Abroad as a Tool of Foreign Policy" and "Canadian Studies in Japan," Brooks' contribution focuses on the implications of the program's termination and evaluates the role of government in state-supported cultural endeavors beyond the Canadian context.

The book, published by Palgrave Macmillan, can be found in its entirety here.

Image by Kenny Louie | CC BY 2.0