America at a crossroads: the risks of postnationalism and the lessons from Canada

From the report

With the US midterm elections approaching, American voters face more than a conventional political contest over taxes, energy prices, foreign policy or government spending. Beneath those familiar debates lies a deeper argument about national identity: what America is, what its institutions represent and whether the country should continue to draw strength from its history and civic traditions.

The central concern raised by critics of postnationalism is that a nation cannot remain powerful if it steadily loses confidence in the institutions, traditions and historical experiences that helped create it. They argue that the United States should learn from Canada, where decades of debates over national identity, colonial history, economic policy and cultural institutions have, in their view, weakened the country’s ability to project power independently.

Canada offers an important case study because former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau famously described the country as “the world’s first postnational state.” Since then, critics have argued that Canada has struggled to define its national interests and assert itself more forcefully on the international stage.