The power of resistance : women's organizations and institutional restorative justice in Nova Scotia

Abstract

This thesis interrogates a case of feminist engagement with the state in order to grapple with the research question: where do women's organizations fit in contemporary conditions of governance? The case under study involved a consultation between the Nova Scotia government and a coalition of provincial women's organizations around the provincial restorative justice program. This thesis situates the "success" of the women's groups in this process in the contexts of neoliberalism and the marginalization of the women's movement in Canada. Thusly situated, it was a fertile source of data for examining concepts around women's organizations' role in the governance of gendered violence. The analysis was done using govemmentality theory. I argue that the two groups possessed certain mentalities around engagement that influenced the policy outcomes. This research suggests a more nuanced conceptualization of power and resistance is necessary when thinking about women's organizations' role in governing gendered violence.