Democracy / Democratization

Citation:

Aoláin, Fionnuala Ní, and Eilish Rooney. 2007. “Underenforcement and Intersectionality: Gendered Aspects of Transition for Women.” The International Journal of Transitional Justice 1 (3): 338–54. 

Authors: Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Eilish Rooney

Abstract:

The transitional justice field has generally been preoccupied by ‘dealing with the past.’ Increasingly, it is also understood as enabling conflicted or politically unstable societies to integrate liberal democratic norms into processes of state-building or regime reform. Building on previous work, this article asserts that transitional justice encompasses far more in conceptual and policy terms. Two substantive arenas have generally been overlooked: underenforcement of change processes with transformational effects for women and the application of intersectionality theory to the experiences of women in post-conflict societies. This article addresses those lacunae.

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Women, Justice, Transitional Justice, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Year: 2007

Citation:

Lindio-McGovern, Ligaya, and Isidor Wallimann, eds. 2009. Globalization and Third World Women: Exploitation, Coping and Resistance. Burlington, VT: Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Globalization-and-Third-World-Women-Exploitation-Coping-and-Resistance/Lindio-McGovern-Wallimann/p/book/9780754674634.

Authors: Ligaya Lindio-McGovern, Isidor Wallimann

Abstract:

Adopting the notion of 'third world' as a political as well as a geographical category, this volume analyzes marginalized women's experiences of globalization. It unravels the intersections of race, culture, ethnicity, nationality and class which have shaped the position of these women in the global political economy, their cultural and their national history. In addition to a thematically structured and highly informative investigation, the authors offer an exploration of the policy implications which are commonly neglected in mainstream literature. The result is a must have volume for sociological academics, social policy experts and professionals working within non-governmental organizations.

(Routledge)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Class, Democracy / Democratization, Development, Economies, Ethnicity, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Globalization, Political Economies, Post-Conflict, Religion

Year: 2009

Citation:

Pruzan-Jorgensen, Julie. 2011. “Islam, Gender, and Democracy in Morocco: The Making of the Mudwana Reform.” In Gender and Islam in Africa: Rights, Sexuality, and Law, edited by Margot Badran. Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center Press.

Author: Julie Pruzan-Jorgensen

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Religion Regions: Africa, MENA, North Africa Countries: Morocco

Year: 2011

Citation:

Bush, Sarah Sunn, and Amaney A. Jamal. “Anti-Americanism, Authoritarian Politics, and Attitudes about Women’s Representation: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Jordan.” International Studies Quarterly 59, no. 1 (March 1, 2015): 34–45. doi:10.1111/isqu.12139.

Authors: Sarah Sunn Bush, Amaney A. Jamal

Abstract:

A pillar of American foreign policy in the Middle East since September 11, 2001, has been promoting democracy, with particular emphasis on support for women's representation. Given high levels of anti-Americanism in the region, does foreign pressure for policy reform undermine this project? Evidence from a nationally representative survey experiment in Jordan shows that an American endorsement of women in politics has no average effect on popular support for women's representation. Instead, domestic patterns of support and opposition to autocrats determine citizens' receptivity to policy endorsements, with policy endorsements of foreign-supported reforms polarizing public opinion. Both foreign and domestic endorsements of women in politics depress support among Jordanians who oppose their regime significantly more than among Jordanians who support it.

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Women, Governance, Quotas, Elections, Nationalism Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Jordan

Year: 2015

Citation:

Juran, Luke, and Jennifer Trivedi. 2015. “Women, Gender Norms, and Natural Disasters in Bangladesh.” Geographical Review 105 (4): 601–11.

Authors: Luke Juran, Jennifer Trivedi

Abstract:

Women and men are impacted differently by natural disasters, leading to claims that there exist gendered disaster vulnerabilities and a “gendered terrain of disasters” (Enarson and Morrow 1998). What makes this contention even more academically and practically relevant are recent increases in the number of natural disasters and affectees (Guha-Sapir and others 2004; Paul 2011). The confluence of gender and disaster is particularly clear in Bangladesh, a country challenging twin specters of gender issues and an array of regularly occurring natural disasters. Bangladesh’s unique geographic situation of extreme population densities overlaid on a low-lying deltaic and coastal landscape interacts with the nation’s range of social and environmental transitions: issues of democracy, government corruption, poverty, rural-urban divides, and gender parity, coupled with problems related to multihazard risk, looming effects of climate change, and issues of environmental justice that predispose certain demographics to heightened levels of risk. Thus, the topic of gender and natural disasters presents a valuable junction for practical and academic exploration,representing a space where these transitions jointly manifest, coexist, and both create and reveal vulnerability.

Topics: Corruption, Democracy / Democratization, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Men, Gendered Power Relations Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2015

Citation:

Saleh, Layla. 2016. “(Muslim) Woman in Need of Empowerment: US Foreign Policy Discourses in the Arab Spring.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 18 (1): 80–98. 

Author: Layla Saleh

Abstract:

Why, in the current geo-political and strategic context seemingly in stark contrast to the “War on Terror,” does the emphasis on women in US foreign policy persist? Why the repeated references to the vulnerability of women who “need” US help to become “empowered” in the countries of the Arab Spring? An examination of US policymakers’ discourses indicates a neo-orientalist biopolitical construction of the (Muslim) female population as one in perpetual need of “empowerment,” presumably by American or western benefactors. Public statements by US foreign policy officials, discussions of government programs and Congressional testimony add to the repertoire of a western-constructed archaeology of neo-orientalist knowledge of Islam. Further, these gendered discursive “imperial encounters” create open-ended possibilities for US interventionist policies in the region for years to come. The Arab (Muslim) woman may have participated in sparking and sustaining revolutions and even bringing down dictators, but she must still be trained and taught – by Americans or westerners. The sometimes didactic, often foreboding “concern” for her empowerment is more nuanced, but no less significant, than the professed commitment to “saving” her as justification for military operations in the heyday of the War on Terror.

Keywords: Arab Spring, orientalism, US foreign policy, Muslim women, biopolitics

Topics: Armed Conflict, Democracy / Democratization, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Gendered Discourses, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Religion, Human Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, MENA, Americas, North America, Asia, Middle East Countries: United States of America

Year: 2016

Citation:

Dewi, Kurniawati Hastuti. 2015. Indonesian Women and Local Politics: Islam, Gender and Networks in Post-Suharto Indonesia. Kyoto CSEAS Series on Asian Studies 14. NUS Press and Kyoto University Press. http://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/indonesian-women-and-local-politics.

Author: Kurniawati Hastuti Dewi

Abstract:

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Women, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, Political Participation, Post-Conflict, Religion Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Indonesia

Year: 2015

Citation:

Clark, Evelyn A. 2013. Victims of Time, Warriors for Change: Chilean Women in a Global, Neoliberal Society. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Author: Evelyn A. Clark

Abstract:

Topics: Civil Society, Class, Democracy / Democratization, Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Gender, Women, Globalization, Political Participation, Post-Conflict Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Chile

Year: 2013

Citation:

Jamal, Manal A. 2015. “Western Donor Assistance and Gender Empowerment in the Palestinian Territories and Beyond.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 17 (2): 232–52. doi:10.1080/14616742.2013.849966.

Author: Manal A. Jamal

Abstract:

Since the end of the Cold War, the quest to spread democracy has become the rallying call of many Western donor agencies. Reflecting this new agenda, new program priorities prevailed that placed greater emphasis on civil society development, civic engagement and gender empowerment. Contrary to expectations, however, many of these programs have often adversely affected existing social movements. Most scholars attempting to explain these unintended outcomes have focused on the impact of NGO professionalization. Examining the Palestinian women's movement, this article addresses the inadequacy of this explanation and focuses on the political dimension of this discussion by illustrating how Western donors' lack of understanding of the Palestinian women's movement and its “embeddedness” in the broader political context served to weaken and undermine this movement. The influx of Western donor assistance in the post-Madrid, post-Oslo era, along with the greater emphasis on Western promoted gender empowerment, undermined the cohesiveness of the women's movement by exacerbating existing political polarization (that went beyond Islamist and secular divisions) and disempowering many grassroots activists. Effectively, many of these activists were transformed from active political participants involved in their organizations to the recipients of skills and services in need of awareness raising. Findings in this article also speak to current regional developments, especially in light of the current Arab uprisings and the promise of greater Western involvement to empower women in the region.

Keywords: gender empowerment, democracy promotion, Western donor assistance, Palestinian women's movement, Arab women

Topics: Civil Society, Democracy / Democratization, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Humanitarian Assistance, NGOs, Political Participation Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Palestine / Occupied Palestinian Territories

Year: 2015