Goldstein in Toronto Star: Trudeau’s State Dinner
Erik Goldstein, Professor of International Relations and History at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, said that a 2016 official dinner hosting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would focus on the special relationship between that nation and the U. S.
Goldstein made the argument in a Dec. 10 article in the Toronto Star entitled “Expect Maple and Celebs at Obama’s State Dinner for Trudeau.”
From the text of the article:
What’s the point: Diplomatic theatre. Erik Goldstein, a Boston University professor who has studied state dinners, said this one is meant to emphasize the countries’ “special relationship,” not boost the leaders themselves: just-elected Trudeau doesn’t need a domestic political bounce, he said, and Obama isn’t running again.
What to call it: An “official dinner,” if you want to be a stickler: Goldstein notes it’s not technically a “state dinner” because the Queen, not Trudeau, is our head of state. Everyone outside government will continue to call it a state dinner anyway.
You can read the entire article here.
Goldstein’s research interests include diplomacy, formulation of national diplomatic strategies, the origins and resolution of armed conflict, and negotiation. He has published in numerous journals, including Middle Eastern Studies, Review of International Relations, East European Quarterly, Historical Research, Historical Journal, Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies, and the Hague Journal of Diplomacy. Learn more about him here.