The Diplomacy of Constraint: Canada, the Korean War, and the United States

Through informed and skilful interviewing of the participants, Denis Stairs has reconstructed the background to Canadian policy during the Korean War. Ottawa officials, led by External Affairs Minister Lester B. Pearson, viewed the war as an exercise in collective security, in which it was essential to constrain the course of American decisions. As a result Canadian initiatives were taken on a multilateral basis through the United Nations with a view to moderating the exercise of US power; this is the theme which gives the book its title.

The story begins with a discussion of an American-inspired United Nations attempt, in which Canada was closely involved, to secure an early resolution of the Korean question in 1947-8 and concludes with the Canadian role in the Geneva conference in 1954. A final chapter analyzes the personalities, the policy decisions, and the role of the military and of public opinion as a case-study of Canadian foreign policy and diplomacy.

Professor Stairs examines the origin, substance, and conduct of Canadian diplomacy during the war itself, outlines the major hostilities, and comments upon the political and diplomatic implications of the organization and command of the Canadian Army Special Force. He devotes considerable attention to the activities of policy-makers in Washington, the UN, and elsewhere in order to establish the context in which policy was set in Ottawa.