Lester Pearson's Diplomatic Thoughts And Practice

Lester Pearson was a famous Canadian diplomat and statesman. He devoted himself to the ideals of liberal internationalism during the course of promoting Canada's participation in world affairs. He was inclined to do it for three reasons. Firstly, he was influenced by the idealism of world peace when he was young. Secondly, he concluded it from the experiences as a diplomatic envoy for a long time. Thirdly, he observed the surroundings home and abroad after the World Warâ…¡.The main content of his diplomatic thoughts concerned the middle power thought and the collective security thought and the foreign aid thought. First, he reasoned Canada as a middle power from three different dimensions: international system, power of country, foreign tactic. At the same time, he stressed the propriety of the middle power as a mediator. So he participated in world affairs and actively shaped the image of Canada as a middle power. Second, he always supported the collective security theory and put it into practice. These were manifested in his ideas about the United Nations. He endeavored to sustain the popularity, equality, authority of the UN and tried to found the UNEF for enforcement of the collective decision. Third, the foreign aid thought formed and developed in his mind during the course of cautiously advocating Canada's participation in the Colombo Plan. The main motive of his foreign aid thought originated from the two factors: One was the anti-communism ideology, and the other was the humanitarianism of helping the underdeveloped country in Asia. He regarded the financial aid as the main form, meanwhile, focused on others, such as the technical aid and the health aid.In sum, Pearson's diplomatic thoughts were a combination of idealism and pragmatism. It not only appeared the idea of mission, but also accorded with the benefits of his country in that age. The diplomatic intentions of Canada were successfully expressed as a selfless goal by his diplomatic thoughts.