Brian W. Tomlin

First World-Third World linkages: external relations and economic development

Recent efforts by North American social scientists to devise systematic empirical tests for a series of propositions purportedly drawn from structural theories of dependency have focused largely on the consequences of foreign economic linkages for the economies of developing countries. Although the results of these tests have been received with considerable skepticism by dependentistas and neo-positivists alike,1 cross-national, quantitative studies of the dependence-development relationship are not without value: they have focused research on a central problem, namely the effects of various forms of economic linkages on rates and types of economic development. This concentration of research activities, in particular the current spate of replications,2 has yielded new empirical knowledge concerning these relationships, plus some intriguing conflicting evidence. This is now sufficient to support further inquiry in itself, independent of the confines of dependencia theories which gave rise to the research originally. 3

Asymmetrical Dyads and Foreign Policy

An analysis of Canadas foreign policy toward the United States from 1963 to 1972 is used in a test of a theory of foreign policies of subordinate states in asymmetrical dyads. In this theory the interaction of two conditions—the state of a nations economy and the extent of concentration in its linkages with a superordinate power, along with a set of conditioning environmental factors—are used to explain the foreign policy actions of the subordinate state. The findings confirm the importance of the two main exogenous factors and the environmental variables, but the interactive effect of economic performance and linkage concentration is not corroborated. In particular the statistical effects of the economic performance variable on the foreign policy indicators are positive where a negative sign was predicted.

Foreign Policy in Asymmetrical Dyads: Theoretical Reformulation and Empirical Analysis, Canada-United States Relations, 1963-1972

The results of a previous test of a theory of foreign policies of subordinate states in asymmetrical dyads conducted on Canada-United States relations in the 1963-72 period are used as a foundation for a modification of the original theory and a revised empirical test. In the reformulated theory, three conditions-the state of the economy of the superordinate and the subordinate nations, the extent of concentration in the latters linkages with the superordinate power, and a set of

Integration and Autonomy in Canada-United States Relations, 1963-1972

Theories of integration and dependence approach the phenomenon of international interdependence from opposite sides of the spectrum of relations between nations. Integration emphasizes voluntarism in the study of relations characterized by more or less symmetric interdependence, joint participation, and mutual benefits. Dependence, on the other hand, is concerned with asymmetric interdependence and the nonreciprocal reliance this engenders, with emphasis on coercion. These two streams of theorizing share a predilection for a unidirectional focus as they analyze the process by which integration or domination is achieved and maintained. The unidirectional focus in integration theory has been, in part, a reflection of the initial optimism and commitment toward integration in West Europe. Moreover, it was sustained by the concept of spillover, the core of functionalist integration thinking, which attributed a high degree of automaticity to the process of integration once underway. If it was optimism that gave integration theory its unidirectional, quasi-automatic orientation, it was the inherent pessimism of dependency analysts concerning the ability of peripheral countries to overcome the domestic dislocations stemming from integration into the global capitalist system which has given dependency theory its highly deterministic outlook. It cannot adequately explain periodic efforts by peripheral states to change the nature of their ties with metropole countries. To be sure, not all works on integration and dependence have adopted a unidirectional, highly deterministic framework. Pioneering

On a fast‐track to a ban: The Canadian policy

Public opposition to the existing policy on the ban of anti‐personnel mines served as a catalyst that dramatically transformed an element of Canadian policy and, more importantly, culminated in an international prohibition of the production and use of a weapon of war, providing the Canadian government with a diplomatic triumph. Tomlin describes how the issue of anti‐personnel mines evolved from being that most wretched of policy dogs for bureaucrats — a loser” to become a top priority on the Canadian governments decision agenda. He provides detailed explanations of the two key elements of the policy process, namely agenda setting and the development of policy alternatives. John Kingdons policy model is used in the analysis to describe how the mines issue rose to the top of the decision agenda and why a Canadian‐led initiative for a global ban on mines became the preferred policy alternative for the Canadian government, ultimately leading to the policy process that enabled Canada to propose to the world ...

Foreign Policies of African States in Asymmetrical Dyads

An analysis of the foreign policies of black African states toward industrialized nations in the middle 1960s is employed in a partial test of a theory of the foreign policies of subordinate states in asymmetrical dyads. In this theory, the interaction of two conditions-the state of a nations economy and the extent of concentration in its linkages with a superordinate power-is used to explain the foreign policy actions of the subordinate state toward the superordinate country. Directed dyads are divided into asymmetrical and nonasymmetrical sets, and the hypotheses are tested over both sets via regression analysis. The findings confirm the importance of structural asymmetry as a scope condition on the theory but offer only limited support for the use of the economic strength and linkage concentration variables in the explanation of foreign policy. The results also reveal that the influence of these two variables on foreign policy is not precisely as stipulated by the theory. For the more developed African states, relative economic strength in combination with highly concentrated linkages is associated, contrary to the theory, with a foreign policy of expanded relations with superordinate partners. For the less-developed states, this combination produces a foreign policy designed to restrict relations within the asymmetrical dyad as predicted by the theory.

Relative Status and Foreign Policy Status Partitioning and The Analysis of Relations in Black Africa

A revision and extension of status-field theory is applied to the analysis of foreign policy interactions among 32 black African states in the middle 1960s. In the revision of the theory, directed-dyads are partitioned into four sets, based on the relative position of the actor-nation in each dyad. Hypotheses relating status distance on economic development and power to three patterns of foreign policy behaviour (cooperation, conflict, and interaction) then are tested for each partitioned set. Throughout, the goal is to retain the generality and parsimony of status-field theory and to increase empirical correspondence. The findings support the utility of the partitioning procedure and confirm the relative importance of power in relations between states, also found in previous tests of the theory and in recent analyses of African foreign policy.