Divided: Populism, Polarization, and Power in the New Saskatchewan

by JoAnn Jaffe (Editor), Patricia W. Elliott, Cora Sellers (Editor)

Divided looks at the last fifteen years in Saskatchewan, during which time the Saskatchewan Party government sought to reforge the province’s image into the New brash, materialistic, highly competitive and aggressively partisan. In the process, a climate of polarization and hyper-partisanship swept the province into a near-perpetual state of anger and social division. These actions are not without consequences. In Divided, diverse voices describe the impact on their lives and communities when simmering wedge issues burst open on social media and in public spaces. The collection dives deep into the long set-up to this moment, from the colonial past to the four decades of neoliberal economics that have widened social and economic gaps across all sectors. Divided positions Saskatchewan as a fascinating case study of the global trends of division and provides testament to the resiliency of a vision of social solidarity against all odds.

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 8, 2021

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divided is a timely collection of essays and research papers examining the past decade and a half of Saskatchewan politics and society. Focusing on the Saskatchewan Party era, the book examines the logic behind and impacts of that party's neoliberal approach to governance - its focus on deregulation, service cuts, and privatization. The book is effectively divided between papers analyzing government policy and personal reflections by those impacted by such policy. Covering a very wide range of topics over 25 chapters - touching on anti-Indigenous racism, climate change, labour policy, and a lot more - Divided will be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how the province has changed over the past 15 years.

I wrote a full review of Divided for the Sask Dispatch, which you can find here: https://saskdispatch.com/articles/vie...

[Emily Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an important book on SK politics, society, economy, environment, etc. and covers many stories that have been under-examined during the last 15 years. The diversity of contributors and topics is wonderfully rich and the chapters are easily digested in a short sitting. My favourite chapters were those that told stories from deeply personal places. I was sad and angry at many times thinking about the great losses (STC, grasslands, etc.) and inhumanity (esp. the chapters detailing the broken social services in the province) associated with recent budgets and longer term trajectories. There were also some hopeful stories told by some of the provinces most tenacious organizers and social justice champions. Must read, if you want to understand Saskatchewan.

[Shanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a pretty good book about various political issues in SK. there are multiple authors and multiple topics so some chapters were more interesting than others but it kind of just depends on your personal interests

[Sascha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read about Saskatchewan, maybe learn something. Some essays were great, many were fine in that regard.

[Beth Oehler]

Interesting perspectives!