The Hill Times: Best Books of 2016

A bold call for a Canadian foreign policy that advances the basic freedoms that enable peace, stability, development, and security.

What ends should a democratic country’s foreign policy serve? Avoiding diplomatic disputes? Keeping allies happy? Promoting national and global security? While a qualified yes is the logical answer to all of these secondary questions, Two Freedoms argues for something more, something that reflects Canada’s commitment, at home and abroad, to the two key freedoms: freedom from want and freedom from fear.

Two Freedoms examines the costs of allowing these freedoms to die or diminish and at how a country can design a foreign policy that makes the pursuit of these freedoms real and practical. To design a genuine foreign policy of purpose and substance, a country must look at what it would mean for its diplomats, its military, its development aid, and its relations with important multilateral organizations like the U.N. To achieve a goal, a foreign policy needs good strategy, tactics, and design. These key elements are all found in Two Freedoms.

HUGH SEGAL is a Senior Fellow at the Queen’s School of Policy Studies. Between 1999 and 2006, he was president of the Institute for Research on Public Policy in Montreal. He is a former chief of staff to the prime minister of Canada, and associate secretary of cabinet in the Ontario government. A graduate of the University of Ottawa, he holds an honorary doctorate of laws from the Royal Military College, Kingston. He has authored, co-authored and edited six books on politics and public policy, including No Surrender, Beyond Greed: Confronting the Neo Conservative Excess, In Defence of Civility and Geopolitical Integrity. In September 2005, he was sworn into the Senate as a Conservative, having been appointed by prime minister Paul Martin. He was active in the 2006 election, visiting ridings across Canada on behalf of the Conservative Party. A member of various corporate and not-for-profit boards, he has served on the National Finance, Agriculture and Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate. Hugh Segal lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Hugh Segal's profile page

In a West paralyzed by doubt, and in a Canada complacent about its role, Two Freedoms: Canada’s Global Future is an appeal for both wisdom and the courage to meet the challenge. It should be heeded by us all.

Thomas Axworthy, political strategist and policy advisor

Fluent, lively and drawing on deeply held convictions of a distinctly progressive conservative variety … Provide[s] a bird’s-eye view of foreign policy.

Literary Review of Canada