Pulpit Diplomacy: A Critical Assessment of the Axworthy Doctrine

[Lloyd Axworthy] has not, of course, single-handedly invented, or even reinvented, Canada's commitment to human rights, peacekeeping, or international institutions, all of which have informed Canadian foreign policy for decades. Not without reason, after all, was Canada once referred to by a United States secretary of state, Dean Acheson, as the 'stern daughter of the voice of God.'(f.4) Nevertheless, Axworthy's careful articulation of foreign policy principles into a more or less cogent statement of goals is a striking departure from the often muddled and cautious musings of his predecessors. In journals like this one, on newspaper editorial pages, and in various speeches and policy statements, he has developed a complex, interlocking set of assumptions and foreign policy objectives to guide Canada into the next century. Together they chart a course that moves Canada far from some of its traditional diplomatic moorings while at the same time, and often incongruously, paying frequent tribute to their Pearsonian inspiration. Axworthy's Canada is thus not only a confident middle power liberated by the passing of the cold war, but it is also a charter member of what we might call the 'moral minority,' that distinguished (and self-styled) group of states and organizations whose 'moral multilateralism' is predicated on their faith that the enunciation of a new set of global norms will lead inexorably to the creation of a just and more equitable international order. It is in the spirit of scholarly enquiry, then, that we offer the following commentary on what we have described -- somewhat whimsically to be sure -- as 'pulpit diplomacy,' a phrase we use interchangeably with 'the Axworthy doctrine.' In the interests of clarity, but at risk of oversimplification, we identify several key propositions which appear to underlie Axworthy's foreign policy. Each has been articulated by the foreign minister in statements and public speeches and many of them appear in his most recent contribution to this journal.(f.6) Each is scrutinized not only for its assumptions about the current 'state of the world,' but also for its veracity and depiction of international affairs. Throughout the analysis we also pay considerable attention to the effects of various policy options on Canada, as well as Canada's capacity and willingness to do those things demanded by Axworthy's rhetorical activism. In the end, we agree with some components of Canada's new foreign policy direction but dis