Strategically located at the gateway to the South American continent, Colombia has long been a key player in shaping the United States' involvement with its Latin American neighbors. In this book Stephen J. Randall examines the course of U.S.-Colombian relations over two centuries, taking into account the broad spectrum of political, social, cultural, and economic contacts that have figured in the interaction. ,br> A leader in the movement for independence from Spain in the early nineteenth century, Colombia shared with the United States the aspiration of becoming a leader for the entire hemisphere. Its early efforts in this direction - notably its initiation in the 1820s of the first Pan-American Conference - soon languished, however, as the unequal growth between the two countries took its toll. By the turn of the century, after years of destructive civil war, Colombia had slipped far behind its northern neighbor militarily, economically, and politically. The United States, meanwhile, had emerged as a great power, and the first major manifestation of the two countries' divergence came with the U.S.-supported secession of Panama in 1903--an event that deeply shocked Colombians and tainted their view of the United States for subsequent generations. During the twentieth century, Randall explains, a tension in Colombian politics and culture has persisted between those who advocate an independent, even antagonistic, stance toward the United States and those who propound a policy of realism that accepts Colombia's place as a middle, regional power within the U.S. orbit. For its part, the United States has continually failed to realize that Colombians, with their European intellectual heritage stretching back four hundred years, do not see themselves as an insignificant Third World nation. The result has been an often strained relationship, which Randall traces through two world wars, economic booms and depressions, the Cold War, and, finally, the present-day guerrilla conflicts and drug trade controversies.

Canada's role as world power and its sense of itself in the global landscape has been largely shaped and defined over the past 100 years by the changing policies and personalities in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). This engaging and provocative book brings together fifteen of the country's leading historians and political scientists to discuss a century of Canada's national interests and DFAIT's role in defining and pursuing them. Accomplished and influential analysts such as Jack Granatstein, Norman Hillmer, and Nelson Michaud, are joined by rising stars like Whitney Lackenbauer, Adam Chapnick, and Tammy Nemeth in commenting on the history and future implications of Canada's foreign policy. In the National Interest: Canadian Foreign Policy and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, 1909-2009 , gives fresh insight into the Canada First concept in the 1920s, the North American security issues in the 1930s, Canada's vision for the United Nations, early security warnings in the Arctic, the rise of the international francophone community, conflicting continental visions over energy, and Canada/U.S. policy discussions. The impact of politicians and senior bureaucrats such as O.D. Skelton, Lester B. Pearson, Marcel Cadieux, Jules Leger, Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney are set against issues such as national defence, popular opinion, human rights, and energy production. In the National Interest also provides a platform for discussion about Canada's future role on the international stage. With its unique combination of administrative and policy history, In the National Interest is in a field of its own.

From the American Revolution to NAFTA to the Helms-Burton Act and beyond, Canada and the United States offers a current, thoughtful assessment of relations between the two countries. Distilling a mass of detail concerning cultural, economic, and political developments of mutual importance during the past two centuries, this survey enables readers to grasp quickly the essence of the shared experience of these two countries.

Strategically located at the gateway to the South American continent, Colombia has long been one of the key players in the United States' relations with its Latin American neighbours. In this book, the sixth volume to appear in ""The United States and the Americas"" series, Stephen J. Randall examines the course of those relations over two centuries, taking into account the braod spectrum of political, social, cultural and economic contacts that have figured in the interaction. A leader in the movement for independence from Spain in the early 19th century, Colombia shared with the United States the aspiration of becoming a leader for the entire hemisphere. Its early efforts in this direction - notably its initiation in the 1820s of the first Pan American Conference - soon languished, however, as the unequal growth between the two countries took its toll. By the turn of the century, after years of destructive civil war, Colombia had slipped far behind its northern neighbour militarily, economically and politically. The United States, meanwhile, had emerged as a great power, and the first major manifestation of the two countries' divergence came with the US-supported secession of Panama in 1903 - an event that deeply shocked Colombians and tainted their view of the United States for subsequent generations. During the 20th century, Randall explains, a tension in Colombian politics and culture has persisted between those who advocate an independent, even antagonistic, stance toward the United States and those who propound a policy of realism that accepts Colombia's place as a middle, regional power within the U.S. orbit. For its part, the United States has continually failed to realize that Colombians, with their European intellectual heritage stretching back 400 years, do not see themselves as an insignificant Third World nation. The result has been an often strained relationship, which Randall traces through two world wars, economic booms and depressions, the Cold War and finally, the present-day guerrilla conflicts and drug trade controversies. Drawing on archival sources in both countries, many previously unused, this book is a comprehensive overview of the US-Colombian relationship.

An ""impartial and authoritative"" survey of Canadian-American relations - now in a new, completely updated edition.The United States and Canada have the world's largest trading relationship and the longest shared border. Spanning the period from the American Revolution to post-9/11 debates over shared security, ""Canada and the United States"" offers a current, thoughtful assessment of relations between the two countries. Distilling a mass of detail concerning cultural, economic, and political developments of mutual importance over more than two centuries, this survey enables readers to grasp quickly the essence of the shared experience of these two countries.This edition of ""Canada and the United States"" has been extensively rewritten and updated throughout to reflect new scholarly arguments, emphases, and discoveries. In addition, there is new material on such topics as energy, the environment, cultural and economic integration, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, border security, missile defense, and the second Bush administration.