In this Paper we explore if and how domestic violence policies are affected by processes of state-reconfiguration in non-Western contexts. To this end we compare four cases marked by unstable and changing democratic political systems– Hungary and Croatia (Central and Eastern European region) and Ecuador and Bolivia (Latin America). We explore how these unstable contexts affect both the capacity of feminist actors outside and inside the state to influence policy-making processes and look into the consequences this has for making the state responsible to prevent and combat domestic violence.