Between Colliding Worlds: The Ambiguous Existence of Government Agencies for Aboriginal and Women's Policy

Susan McKnight is an administrator of the Courts Technology Integrated Justice Project at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

The colliding worlds mentioned in the title of this book refer to the
relationships between governments and external groups and activists.
Jonathan Malloy, an assistant professor of political science at Carleton
University, examines the policies and initiatives developed in both
Australia and Canada that relate to Aboriginal and women’s issues.
Rather than choose sides, he approaches special policy agencies “as
boundary-spanning organizations that possess ... ‘in-between’
identities that permanently overlap the environments of public
administration and social movements.”

The introduction defines certain theories used throughout the book.
Chapter 2 compares the history of special policy agencies in Canada and
Australia at both the federal and the sub-national levels. Chapter 3
discusses the different characteristics and varying sets of values held
by these agencies and the pressures they exert on each other.

Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the specific agencies relating to women’s
issues and Aboriginal issues, respectively. (Malloy demonstrates that
the Ontario Women’s Directorate experienced far greater difficulties
in establishing credibility within the colliding worlds than most of the
Aboriginal special policy agencies.) Chapter 6 introduces the concept of
New Public Management and discusses its effects on special policy
agencies, especially in Australia.

In conclusion, Malloy suggests that the two stubborn worlds of social
activism and government administration might be reconciled through a
constructive ambiguity that offers flexibility and room for change. Each
chapter of this lucidly written book includes supporting notes and
charts when required.