The Colonial Logics of Exceptionalism: Imperial Feminism in an American and Canadian Case Study

This thesis explores the political rhetoric of Western exceptionalism in both the United States and Canada through two contemporary case studies. The first case study explores the American occupation of Afghanistan and rhetoric that painted this occupation as a mission of liberation for Afghan women. The second case study explores the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, a Conservative piece of legislation that criminalized polygamy at the borders of Canada. In each case study, it reveals the ways in which Muslim women were used as referent objects of protection in projects of imperial feminism that ultimately aimed to cement the colonial logic of Western exceptionalism. It concludes with a reflection on the current state of narratives of Western exceptionalism in both countries studied, revealing the ways in which these narratives ultimately operate to mask the violence of the imperial state against both non-citizens and citizens alike.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Legal Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Yarr, Ellen

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2025 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2025-16514

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/43881