Ottawa and Empire is an important contribution to the growing body of scholarly research that exposes the bourgeois lie about Canadas benign internationalism, and it is capped off with a stimulating discussion of the radical political implications of the countrys marauding imperialist agenda.
Thom Workman, professor of political science, University of New Brunswick
We have lived through a very long period of myth-making about Canadas 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 Canadas 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
Canadas growing economic involvement in Honduras has had devastating implications for human rights, democracy, and the health and safety of the population. Shipley raises important questions about this new Canadian imperialism and provides a much needed examination of the rise of Canadian interests in Central America and elsewhere in the world.
Lynn Holland, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, Colorado
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 Canadas role in Honduras has been exploitative and violenta case study of imperialism in action.
Jerome Klassen, author of Joining Empire: The Political Economy of the New Canadian Foreign Policy
The overthrow of Hondurass 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, Ottawa and Empire tells the story of the coup and the regime that followed. It reveals the continuity between Canadas 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, Shipleys book will dispel any illusions readers may hold on to about Canadas benevolent role in the world.
Justin Podur, author of Haitis New Dictatorship
Tyler Shipleys 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, author of The Birth of Capitalism: A 21st Century Perspective
Based upon meticulous fieldwork, including dozens of interviews with activists in resistance communities, this book is a compelling account of the nefarious effects of Canadas 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.
Susan Spronk, associate professor of international development and global studies, University of Ottawa
Remarkably well-researched, cogently argued, and engagingly written, Ottawa and Empire is obligatory reading for all interested in Canadian foreign policy, and not only in the shameful conduct of our government and corporations in Honduras. Shipley sets his analysis into historical perspective and provides us with a first-hand account of the ways in which Canada has buttressed the Washington-led reversal of progressive change in the proverbial banana republic.
Liisa L. North, professor emeritus, York University
Shipley gives a devastating critique of Canadas 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 perpetuates and deepens the misery of much of the world for the profit of others.
James Phillips, assistant professor of anthropology and international studies, Southern Oregon University
The 2009 coup in Honduras in which the military overturned the elected government of President Manuel Zelaya has been followed by years of popular unrest and widespread human rights violations. Based on extensive interviews with a wide range of Hondurans, Shipley recounts the events leading up to and following the coup and the surprising support for the post-coup regime by the Canadian government. Shipleys analysis presents an important critique of Canadian economic interests in Honduras and the implications for understanding Canadas role in the hemisphere.
Laura Macdonald, professor of political science and political economy, Carleton University
OTTAWA
AND
EMPIRE
Canada and the
Military Coup
in Honduras
TYLER A. SHIPLEY
Between the Lines
Toronto
Ottawa and Empire
2017 Tyler Shipley
First published in 2017 by
Between the Lines
401 Richmond Street West
Studio 281
Toronto, Ontario M5V 3A8
Canada
1-800-718-7201
www.btlbooks.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be photocopied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of Between the Lines, or (for photocopying in Canada only) Access Copyright, 56 Wellesley Street West, Suite 320, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2S3.
Every reasonable effort has been made to identify copyright holders. Between the Lines would be pleased to have any errors or omissions brought to its attention.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Shipley, Tyler, author
Ottawa and empire: Canada and the military coup in Honduras / Tyler Shipley.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-77113-314-2 (softcover).-- ISBN 978-1-77113-315-9 (EPUB).-- ISBN 978-1-77113-316-6 (PDF)
1. Honduras-- History-- Coup dtat, 2009. 2. Canada-- Foreign relations-- Honduras. 3. Honduras-- Foreign relations-- Canada. 4. Honduras-- Politics and government-- 1982-. I. Title.
F1508.3 S54 2017 | 972.830538 | C2016-907426-9 |
C2016-907427-78 |
Cover and text design by Maggie Earle
We acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing activities the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund, the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Book Publishers Tax Credit program, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
