The result is what we academics call premature closure, or what policy makers call a failure in due diligence; basically an unwillingness to consider all of the potential options, the risk and the consequences of a particular course of action. In this newspaper and elsewhere, I have addressed the reasons why a foreign policy that is not open to public scrutiny lacks both accountability and legitimacy.

In 1993, Vice President Al Gore made the unprecedented move of debating businessman and former presidential candidate Ross Perot regarding the merits of the North American Free Trade Agreement on CNN's Larry King Live.

For the second year in a row, Colombia has topped the list as the world’s happiest country, according to a survey released Thursday by WIN-Gallup. The survey known as the 2014 Barometer of Happiness and Hope reported that of the 1,012 Colombians polled, 86% self-reported as “happy,” while only 2% reported themselves as “unhappy.” This represents a rise of 9% from 2012 when 77% of respondents rated themselves as “happy.”

Pass through the gates of the Bombardier plant in Querétaro and you leave the Mexico of potholed roads and blaring horns behind: welcome to a strangely serene place called North America. In the car park neat lines of vehicles all face the same way—almost unthinkable elsewhere in Mexico.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a free trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico that has created a $19 trillion market with 460 million consumers. It isn’t merely the size of NAFTA that makes it remarkable but also the fact that it was the first U.S. trade agreement that included both developed and developing countries.

The trend among the U.S. public increasingly has been to turn away from international issues and focus on the home front. But while Americans have long been accused of lacking interest in the rest of the world, they have never lacked strong opinions about other countries. As 2013 wanes, a Pew Research Center survey conducted Oct. 30-Nov. 6 found that Americans have strongly favorable views of some allies and negative opinions about a range of others.

Canada has sold the John A. Macdonald building, the mansion in London that is home to some of the country's diplomatic activities in the U.K. Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Gordon Campbell confirmed the sale Thursday of One Grosvenor Square, which went to an Indian developer, Lodha Group, for $530 million. About 250 diplomatic staff based in the Macdonald building will be consolidated in Canada House, which is about half a kilometre away, in a move to save money.

The Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C., opened its doors last week to the city’s digital diplomats for an event where they could brag about their use of social media and pick up some tips. A dozen embassies and international organizations, including the World Bank and European Union delegation, participated in the “Digital Diplomacy Open House” that was held in partnership with the Digital Diplomacy Coalition.