Canada’s relationship with the United States and its place in the world currently occupy distinct spheres in the minds of policymakers, intellectuals, and citizens. At home, Canada is thought to enjoy a “special” relationship with the United States; abroad, it occupies a place as the world’s problem-solver and peacekeeper. Patrick Lennox analyzes six key events in the history of relations between the two countries to reveal the underlying connection between the Canada-US relationship and Canada's place in the world. The war in Afghanistan is but the latest in a series of paradoxical interactions between the two states abroad that has resulted from the hierarchy in Canada-US relations at home.