“By holding up Canada’s mission in Afghanistan as a mirror for Canadian politics and governance, Stephen M. Saideman has performed a great public service. Readers will come away from this short book impressed with Canada’s soldiers, public servants, and media; depressed by Canada’s political leaders and Parliament; but, above all, profoundly enlightened about Canada, Afghanistan, and Canada’s key international relationships. Hard-headed, clear-eyed, appropriately circumspect, and refreshingly even-handed, it is now the go-to source for anyone who wishes to learn from this dramatic chapter in Canada’s foreign engagement.”

“In Adapting in the Dust, Stephen M. Saideman combines scholarly rigour and hard-hitting political analysis to make an important contribution to the accounting of Canada’s Afghanistan experience. He is fair-minded and sympathetic to the reality that Canada did some things well in Afghanistan, but that we inevitably also made mistakes. His assessment of our system of decision-making, of the role and impact of personalities, and of the complex interplay between Canadian diplomatic, development, and military actors will serve Canada well as we face new calls to action in a volatile twenty-first-century world.”

“Adapting in the Dust uses the Afghan war as a prism to understand Canadian policymaking, public opinion, and the limitations of Parliament. While it is common to ask what lessons the government or armed forces can learn about future military deployments after Afghanistan, Saideman is the first to ask what lessons can be learned about how Canada governs itself.”