A Samaritan State Revisited brings together a refreshing group of emerging and leading scholars to reflect on the history of Canada's overseas development aid. Addressing the broad ideological and institutional origins of Canada's official development assistance in the 1950s and specific themes in its evolution and professionalization after 1960, this collection is the first to explore Canada's history with foreign aid with this level of interrogative detail.

Extending from the 1950s to the present and covering Canadian aid to all regions of the Global South, from South and Southeast Asia to Latin America and Africa, these essays embrace a variety of approaches and methodologies ranging from traditional, archival-based research to textual and image analysis, oral history, and administrative studies. A Samaritan State Revisited weaves together a unique synthesis of governmental and non-governmental perspectives, providing a clear and readily accessible explanation of the forces that have shaped Canadian foreign aid policy.

Greg Donaghy is Head of the Historical Section at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and General Editor of its series, Documents on Canadian External Relations. His publications include Tolerant Allies: Canada and the United States, 1963-68, and the edited collection (with Patricia Roy) Contradictory Impulses: Canada and Japan in the 20th Century.

Greg Donaghy's profile page

David Webster teaches international and Asian history topics with a focus on the 20th century at Bishop’s University. He is the author of Fire and the Full Moon: Canada and Indonesia in a Decolonizing World. Previously he was collection editor of East Timor: Testimony (Between the Lines, 2004). His research focuses on trans-Pacific interactions between Canada and Asia, and on the diplomacy of independence movements in Asia.

David Webster's profile page

A Samaritan State Revisited will both act as a signpost, marking what has been accomplished (historiographically) so far, and serve as a valuable reference point as the task of developing the history of Canadian aid—in all its manifestations and complexity—continues.

—David Meren, International Journal

Offers a fascinating window into one aspect of Canadian political history, while simultaneously opening up broader lines of inquiry in contemporary international relations.

—Suzanne Hindmarch, Canadian Historical Review