Politics of War

Jean-Christophe Boucher is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at MacEwan University. He is a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Security and Development at Dalhousie University, and a senior fellow at the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les relations internationales du Canada et du Québec. He specializes in international relations, with an emphasis on peace and security issues, Canadian foreign and defence policies, and methodology.Kim Richard Nossal is a professor in the Department of Political Studies and the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen's University. He is a former editor of International Journal, a former president of the Canadian Political Science Association, and the author of a number of works on Canadian foreign and defence policy. From 2006 to 2012, he chaired the academic selection committee of the Security and Defence Forum of the Department of National Defence.

• PrefaceIntroduction: The Domestic Politics of Canada's Afghanistan Mission1 The Away Game: Canadians in Afghanistan2 The War That Wasn't: Framing the Mission3 Home Pitch: Selling Afghanistan to Canadians4 Parliament's Role: Laundering the Mission5 Don't Mention the War: Electoral Politics and Bipartisanship6 Detainee Games: The Politics of Distraction7 Did Minority Government Matter? A Counterfactual Analysis8 An Unpopular Mission: Public Opinion and Afghanistan9 The Politics of Casualties: Evaluating the "Trenton Effect"10 Failure to Launch: Public Mobilization and the War in AfghanistanConclusion: Though Poppies GrowNotes; Index

Although written by political scientists, this book is very accessible to students of the campaign in Afghanistan—whether they be academics, military personnel, or the general reader. It is highly recommended for the view of the "home game" it provides and as a reflection of the military "away game" being played out overseas.- Ken Reynolds (Canadian Military History Journal, Vol. 28, No. 1)