When democracy support goes wrong — field notes from fragile states
A retired Canadian diplomat reflects on lessons learned from a career spent trying to nurture more decent governments in other countries
Roman Waschuk / @WaschukCanUA
Diplomatic practitioner based in Toronto
Toronto-born and educated, with an MA in history from the University of Toronto, Roman Waschuk went on to work at the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in 1985. He joined the Department of External Affairs in 1987, serving abroad as a political officer in Moscow, Kyiv and Berlin. In Ottawa, he led teams at the Policy Planning and the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force. His first ambassadorial posting was in 2011 to Belgrade (covering Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia), followed by a five-year assignment as ambassador of Canada to Ukraine in 2014-19. He retired from Global Affairs Canada in December 2019.