Connected Struggles: Catholics, Nationalists, and Transnational Relations between Mexico and Quebec, 1917-1945

by Maurice Demers

Nationalists from Quebec and Catholic militants from Mexico once shared a common cause, one that influenced international relations between their two countries. At a time when the Revolution and its aftermath in Mexico and world wars marginalized voices of political dissent in Canada, Catholics in both nations saw their cultural struggles as interconnected and worked to build transnational alliances as meaningful discourses of cultural identity. In Connected Struggles, Maurice Demers considers how and why groups from Mexico and Quebec actively sought to establish close cultural and political links. Drawing on extensive research in government, religious, and university archives in Mexico and Canada, Demers delves into the actors, their rationales, and the processes and meanings of such alliances. He proposes a reinterpretation of North-South collaboration in the Americas by analysing how the bonds created by Quebec's and Mexico's civil societies and religious communities influenced diplomatic relations, showing not only the Catholic origins of this solidarity, but its conservative - even reactionary - roots. Demers explains how the foreign ministries in Canada and Mexico both used and denounced these linkages, depending on the political gains to be made. Documenting the emergence of solidarity between French Canadians and Mexicans, Connected Struggles contributes to the understanding of the influence of civil societies in the history of international relations.

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2014

Reviews

[Pascal Scallon-Chouinard]

This book explores an unexpected alliance forged between Quebec nationalists and Mexican Catholics during the first half of the 20th century. While French-speaking Quebec faced English-speaking dominance and Mexico went through revolutionary and anticlerical upheavals, these two groups united across borders. The book’s core argument shows how these actors used transnational solidarity and the defence of Latin and Catholic culture as political levers to legitimize their local identity struggles and break their isolation.

The approach is both interesting and relevant: rather than focusing on official diplomacy, the author highlights a form of cultural and informal diplomacy driven by activist networks. In doing so, he opens up Quebec’s history by placing it within a vast, little-known continental network. It is thoroughly researched, well-supported, and well-written.