Ottawa And Empire Canada And The Military Coup In Honduras

Review Based upon meticulous fieldwork, including dozens of interviews with activists in resistance communities, this book is a compelling account of the nefarious effects of Canada’s foreign policy in Central America and elsewhere. Shipley shatters the illusion that the Canadian government is dedicated to keeping ‘peace.’ This book is a must-read for activists and academics interested in international relations, international development, and social movements, which provides an alternative account of the official story of intervention in Honduras. -- Susan Spronk, associate professor of international development and global studies, University of Ottawa The overthrow of Honduras’s elected government in 2009 was a swift, brutal reminder of the limits of freedom that a small country is allowed. The murders of pro-democracy activists in the years since have ensured that low-key terror is a part of political life. Based on close engagement with the people struggling for their rights in Honduras, Tyler Shipley’s book tells the story of the coup and the regime that followed. He reveals the continuity between Canada’s role in the coup and its foreign policy from Haiti to Afghanistan. Tracing the profits flowing to Canadian corporations and describing the bizarre colonial fantasies of “Charter Cities,” Shipley’s book will dispel any illusions readers may hold on to about Canada’s benevolent role in the world. -- Justin Podur, author of Haiti’s New Dictatorship Tyler Shipley’s important research shows that imperial power in the Americas is executed not just by Washington, but also by Ottawa. Canada, with its rapacious extractive industries, bears a good deal of responsibility for the nightmare currently unfolding in Honduras. -- Greg Grandin, professor of history, New York University, and author of The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World Ottawa and Empire is a major contribution to the study of Canadian foreign policy and political economy. By combining rich historical materials with astute political theory and substantive empirical evidence, Shipley demonstrates convincingly that Canada’s role in Honduras has been exploitative and violent—a case study of imperialism in action. -- Jerome Klassen, MIT Center for International Studies, author of Joining Empire: The Political Economy of the New Canadian Foreign Policy Shipley’s study is a thoroughly researched and cogently argued critique of Canadian policies in Central America. Ottawa and Empire is an important contribution to the growing body of scholarly research that exposes the bourgeois lie about Canada’s benign internationalism, and it is capped off with a stimulating discussion of the radical political implications of the country’s marauding imperialist agenda. -- Thom Workman, professor of political science, University of New Brunswick Tyler Shipley’s well-researched and probing work focuses on Canadian involvement in the overthrow of the reformist liberal President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya. In doing so, Shipley has produced an illuminating case study of the new Canadian imperialism in Latin America and elsewhere. -- Henry Heller, professor of history, University of Manitoba and author of The Birth of Capitalism: A 21st Century Perspective We have lived through a very long period of myth-making about Canada’s place in the world as peacekeeper and promoter of human rights and democracy. Ottawa and Empire is a punchy, compelling, and utterly myth-busting account of Canada’s role in ‘building democracy’ in Honduras. No one reading this book will ever jump on the ‘support the troops’ bandwagon again. -- Greg Albo, professor of political science, York University Shipley gives a devastating critique of Canada’s support for the violent oppression that accompanies the process of making Honduras “right” for Canadian capital. Ottawa and Empire contributes to the critique of modern neoliberal globalization as an essentially neocolonial process that