During his difficult childhood, international relations specialist Jocelyn Coulon says he took refuge in reading Adventures of Tintin around the globe. This passion for foreign countries then turned into a passion for world affairs, which he now wishes to pass on to younger people, by publishing his memoirs entitled The course of history, published next Wednesday.
In interview with The duty, Mr. Coulon explains that he wanted to expose his life journey in a book, in order to reassure and inspire students interested in international relations. “There are too many of them who say to themselves: ‘Will I get a job? Will I be able to devote myself to this passion on a constant basis?” I show in this book that, if you believe in it, you can maintain this passion and even turn it into a professional career. »
“Everything has not been easy for me,” however, underlines the editor-in-chief of the blog of the Council on International Relations of Montreal. The man who will soon be 67 years old reveals that he grew up between the incessant quarrels of his divorced parents and the all-too-frequent moves. “Over the twelve years of primary and secondary school, I changed schools nine times. »
Jocelyn Coulon nevertheless held her ground throughout her school career, nurturing her strong interest in international affairs. So much so that at the age of 13, he created a club to discuss these issues. “At one point, I even wrote to heads of state to get their autograph. »
This passion for the foreign world will become the basis of his personal and intellectual identity. His professional career punctuated by experiences linked to international and military affairs bears witness to this. He will accumulate 17 years at Duty as a collaborator then as a journalist, in addition to writing numerous books and making multiple trips to the four corners of the globe, as well as directing two peacekeeping training centers.
His memoirs tell two parallel stories: that of his life and that of the major political upheavals of the last five decades in the world. “It’s a story that has been quite tumultuous in all kinds of areas, whether it’s the fall of the Soviet empire or mass terrorism,” he observes.
Political ambitions
“If you look at my trajectory since the age of 13, my goal was to become prime minister,” says Mr. Coulon. After studying and analyzing politics from all its angles, he moved from theory to practice in 2007, trying in vain to be elected in the federal by-election in Outremont, where he wore the Liberal colors.
A trainer, her participation in this race as an aspiring deputy nevertheless left her with some scars. “I was doing part of my campaign on foreign policy and the accusations of [l’organisation juive] B’nai Brith, that I was anti-Israeli and anti-American. »
“It affected me a lot, because it made no sense,” he recalls, animatedly. He claims that the group criticized him for his positions on the subject of conflicts in the Middle East, including that in Palestine.
Despite these pitfalls, he still has good memories of this period. “Knowing how voters react to this or that proposition is something that every political scientist should do once in their life. Otherwise, we’re missing something. »
Although he never governed, Jocelyn Coulon nevertheless managed to land a job as political advisor to Liberal Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion in 2016 and 2017, during Justin Trudeau’s first term.
A function that he would have liked to continue to exercise even after the dismissal of Mr. Dion from his post as minister in 2017, justified by Mr. Trudeau by a need for “change,” explains Jocelyn Coulon.
Mr. Coulon, however, had to leave after these events, even though he had come to Ottawa with the intention of serving the person responsible for the Foreign Affairs portfolio, “whoever that may be.”
“I found out afterwards that in fact the Prime Minister’s Office [Justin Trudeau] said he didn’t want to have me anymore [au gouvernement] one way or another,” he explains. According to him, his positions on certain sensitive issues, such as relations with Russia, are in question.
Lack of reflection and action
If Jocelyn Coulon is now at peace with this episode in his life, he is saddened to see Canada’s place on the international scene which, according to him, is shrinking. He mentions the country’s failure to obtain a seat on the UN Security Council in 2010, then in 2020. “We count less and less,” he laments.
“It’s as if we had lost all capacity for reflection and action, which we had before. » Too many people have succeeded one another in the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in recent years, he emphasizes.
Mr. Coulon also demonstrates introspection throughout the pages of the book, detailing how his vision of international relations has evolved. “For several years, what has interested me is the gap between the North and the South. It is the latter who is writing history today and it fascinates me to see how Westerners are disconnected from what is happening there. »
“We are witnessing the emergence of these new powers, who no longer want to be told what to do,” he continues. They are now able to choose their international partners, something they could not do twenty years ago. »
This will have enormous repercussions in terms of economic relations, trade, military affairs and diplomacy, he argues. “I therefore believe that this is the real challenge of the coming years. »