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 feministorganizations 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 feministorganizations' 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 interpretswomen's constitutional struggles from the bottom up, but it challenges numerous representational paradigms in Political Science, Sociology, and Women's Studies.

Alexandra Dobrowolsky holds the rank of Professor of Political Science.  She completed her PhD at Carleton University in 1996, and then a Postdoctoral fellowship at Dalhousie University in 1997. She worked as an Assistant Professor in Political Science at York University from 1997-2000. She joined the Saint Mary's University Political Science Department in 2000. Her research, writing and teaching deal with the theories and practices of representation, mobilization, citizenship, and democratic governance. Her most recent work explores changing citizenship regimes in relation to social policy, as well as to security and immigration in Canada and Britain.

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