Renewing Relationships? Solitudes, Decolonisation, and Feminist International Policy
| Author | Caroline Dunton,Liam Midzain-Gobin |
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/03058298211050956 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298211050956
Millennium: Journal of
International Studies
2021, Vol. 50(1) 29 –54
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/03058298211050956
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Renewing Relationships?
Solitudes, Decolonisation, and
Feminist International Policy
Liam Midzain-Gobin
Brock University, Canada
Caroline Dunton
University of Ottawa, Canada
Abstract
In this article we seek to understand how gendered coloniality is re-affirmed and reproduced.
It does so by analysing the inter-national relationships formalised through two recent policy
initiatives by the Government of Canada: its Feminist International Assistance Policy and ongoing
bilateral mechanisms with Indigenous peoples organisations. Using feminist discourse analysis,
we argue that the logics underpinning these initiatives are treated as mutually exclusive, with the
result being solitudes across policy areas – Indigenous reconciliation and feminist governance –
that should instead overlap. Our analysis suggests that in addition to failing to address systemic
marginalisation, establishing exclusive domains of feminist and reconciliation policy reproduces
gendered coloniality through the building of inter-national relationships. Ultimately, this results in
a failure of both policy initiatives.
Keywords
gender, coloniality, Feminist International Assistance Policy, reconciliation, settler colonialism,
discourse-theoretical analysis
Résumé
Renouveler les relations ? Solitudes, décolonisation et politique internationale féministe
Cet article cherche à comprendre comment la colonialité de genre est réaffirmée et reproduite.
Pour ce faire, il analyse les relations inter-nationales formalisées dans deux initiatives de politique
publique récentes portées par le gouvernement canadien : la Politique d’aide internationale
féministe et les mécanismes bilatéraux actuellement en place avec des organisations de peuples
Corresponding author:
Liam Midzain-Gobin, Brock University, Plaza 353, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S
3A1, Canada.
Email: lmidzaingobin@brocku.ca
1050956MIL0010.1177/03058298211050956Millennium – Journal of International StudiesMidzain-Gobin and Dunton
research-article2021
Original Article
30 Millennium: Journal of International Studies 50(1)
1. We draw on the term as used in J. Marshall Beier, International Relations in Uncommon Places
Indigeneity, Cosmology, and the Limits of International Theory (Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire; New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005).
autochtones. En recourant à l’analyse féministe du discours, nous montrons que les logiques qui
sous-tendent ces initiatives sont considérées comme mutuellement exclusives, ce qui a pour
effet d’isoler les domaines politiques (la réconciliation avec les Autochtones et la gouvernance
féministe), alors qu’ils devraient au contraire se recouper. Notre analyse suggère que le fait
d’établir des domaines exclusifs de politique féministe et de politique de réconciliation non
seulement empêche de problématiser la marginalisation systémique, mais reproduit en plus la
colonialité de genre à travers la constitution de relations inter-nationales. Cela se solde finalement
par un échec des deux initiatives politiques.
Mots-clés
genre, colonialité, Politique d’aide internationale féministe
Resumen
¿Renovar las relaciones? Soledades, descolonización y política feminista internacional
Este artículo trata de entender cómo se reafirma y se reproduce la colonialidad de género. Lo hace
analizando las relaciones inter-nacionales que han sido recientemente formalizadas en Canadá a
través de dos iniciativas políticas del Gobierno: su política de asistencia internacional feminista
y los mecanismos bilaterales actuales con organizaciones de pueblos indígenas. Recurriendo al
análisis feminista del discurso, argumentamos que las lógicas que fundamentan estas iniciativas son
tratadas como mutuamente excluyentes, generando como consecuencia soledades en ámbitos
políticos —reconciliación indígena y gobernanza feminista— que deberían sin embargo solaparse.
Nuestro análisis sugiere que, además de fracasar a la hora de abordar la marginalización sistémica,
el establecimiento de las políticas feministas y de reconciliación como ámbitos mutuamente
excluyentes reproduce la colonialidad de género a través de la construcción de relaciones inter-
nacionales. Esto lleva en última instancia a un fracaso de ambas iniciativas políticas.
Palabras clave
género, colonialidad, política de asistencia internacional feminista
Introduction
Following the 2015 Canadian federal election, Justin Trudeau formed a new government
and claimed that ‘Canada is back’ on the world stage and that a new, progressive agenda
was coming, both at home and abroad. Subsequently, the Trudeau government has claimed
to introduce two ‘turns’ in its tenure: (1) a move towards doing ‘feminist’ government,
especially in foreign policy; and (2) a turn towards ‘reconciliation’ with Indigenous nations
and peoples. We are focused on both of these turns in Canada and their implications for
global politics. As such, we ask the following questions in this article: (a) what do recent
moves to institutionalise this engagement illuminate about the structures of relations with
Indigenous women? And, (b) what do these structures of relations reveal about the nature
of global politics more broadly with respect to gender and contemporary coloniality?
Canada is particularly interesting for these questions because it represents what we call
an already-international space, making these questions about Canada valuable for
International Relations (IR). First, Canada as a territorial unit is a collection of sovereign-
ties. Referred to as an ‘inter-national’ space,1 Canada exists as a state constructed through
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