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Canadians might expect that a history of Canada's participation in the Cold War would be a self-congratulatory exercise in documenting the liberality and moderation of Canada set against the rapacious purges of the McCarthy era in the United States. Though Reg Whitaker and Gary Marcuse agree that there is some evidence for Canadian moderation, they argue that the smug Canadian self-image is exaggerated.
Cold War Canada digs past the official moderation and uncovers a systematic state-sponsored repression of communists and the Left, directed at civil servants, scientists, trade unionists, and political activists. Unlike the United States, Canada's purges were shrouded in secrecy imposed by the government and avidly supported by the RCMP security service. Whitaker and Marcuse manage to reconstruct several of the significant anti-communist campaigns.
Using declassified documents, interviews, and extensive archival sources, the authors reconstruct the Gouzenko spy scandal, trace the growth of security screening of civil servants, and re-examine purges in the National Film Board and the trade unions, attacks on peace activist James G. Endicott, and the trials of Canadian diplomat Herbert Norman.
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Based on these examples Whitaker and Marcuse outline the creation of Canada's Cold War policy, the emergence of the new security state, and the alignment of Canada with the United States in the global Cold War.
They demonstrate that Canada did take a different approach towards the threat of communism, but argue that the secret repression and silent purges used to stifle dissent and debate about Canada's own role in the Cold War had a chilling effect on the practice of liberal democracy and undermined Canadian political and economic sovereignty.
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Politics and government, Guerre froide, Politique et gouvernement, Cold War, National security, Sécurité nationale, International relations, World history: from c 1900 -, Canada - History - 20th Century (General), Canada Foreign Relations, History - General History, History: World, Canada, Canada - General, Canada, politics and government, National security, canadaPlaces
CanadaEdition | Availability |
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1
Cold War Canada: The Making of a National Insecurity State, 1945-1957
2019, University of Toronto Press
in English
1442673044 9781442673045
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2
Cold War Canada: The Making of a National Insecurity State, 1945-1957
February 1995, University of Toronto Press
Hardcover
in English
080205935X 9780802059352
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3
Cold War Canada: the making of a national insecurity state, 1945-1957
1994, University of Toronto Press
in English
080205935X 9780802059352
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