The Politics of Pragmatism

The Politics of Pragmatism illustrates how the contemporary Canadian women's movement, through its pragmatic pursuit of overlapping routes to political representation, has reshaped the ideas and practices of representation. It traces the constitutional activism of national feminist organizations from the disputes over the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the early 1980s to the October 1992 referendum on the Charlottetown Accord. The conclusion considers more recent developments and future constitutional options. Overall, the book documents and delineates leading feminist organizations' changing strategic repertoire in relation to three interrelated factors: transforming socio-economic conditions, multiple political opportunities and constraints, and shifting identity politics patterns. This book not only provides a compelling, contextual account that interprets women's constitutional struggles from the bottom up, but it challenges numerous representational paradigms in Political Science, Sociology, and Women's Studies.