Morality as Organizing Principle: Making Sense of Canada–Africa Relations

Abstract

The African continent has been a peripheral but permanent feature in Canadian foreign policy calculations since the end of the Second World War although Canada’s relationship with the region predates the independence of African states. In spite of the recent growth of Canadian interests in Africa’s extractive sector, Canadian policy in post-independence Africa has focused on the provision of development assistance and supply of peacekeeping troops to UN operations. While accounting for some of the shifts in Canadian policy, this chapter addresses two questions. First, why has Canadian policy in Africa focused on development assistance and peacekeeping operations? Second, from a theoretical standpoint, how can we make sense of Canada-Africa relations? Drawing on a constructivists inspired Non-Imperial Internationalist approach, the chapter is premised on the claim that Canadian foreign policy and interest in Africa is embedded in a morality principle that is mutually constituted as a result of Canadian history in Africa and the pursuit of values-oriented goals on one hand, and Africans perception of Canada, on the other hand.