Democracy / Democratization

Between the Human, the Citizen and the Tribal

Citation:

Bora, Papori. 2010. “Between the Human, the Citizen and the Tribal.” International Feminist Journal Of Politics 12 (3): 341-60.

Author: Bora Papori

Abstract:

On 15 July 2004, a public protest was staged in the state of Manipur, in India's Northeast, to oppose the rape and custodial killing of a young Meitei woman, Thangjam Manorama, by soldiers of a counter-insurgency paramilitary battalion, the Assam Rifles, who suspected she was a militant. At this protest, several women appeared nude, holding a banner that read 'Indian army rape us'. This analysis considers how we might read the nudity and the statement 'Indian army rape us'. I argue that the language of law, human rights and women's rights as human rights, are inadequate to analyze the protest and the events surrounding it because they do not situate the protest within larger political struggles in the Northeast. Further, such universalist approaches take categories like 'Indian citizen', 'woman' and 'tribal' as a given and do not allow for an engagement with how these categories are mutually constituted, or the law's complicity in their constitution. Accordingly, concerns about contested notions of citizenship that are at the heart of the Manipur protest cannot be adequately addressed within this framework. Instead, I suggest a postcolonial feminist analytics as an alternative means to engage with the political questions raised by the protest.

Keywords: women and political participation in India, rape as a weapon of war

Topics: Armed Conflict, Citizenship, Democracy / Democratization, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gender-Based Violence, Governance, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Paramilitaries, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Sexual Violence, Male Perpetrators, Rape, SV against Women, Tribe, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2010

Les femmes, le sexe de l’État et les enjeux du politique: l’exemple de la régionalisation au Sénégal

Citation:

Sow Fatou. 1997. “Les femmes, le sexe de l’État et les enjeux du politique: l’exemple de la régionalisation au Sénégal.” Clio. Histoire‚ femmes et sociétés, 6, en ligne. DOI: 10.4000/clio.379

English: Sow Fatou. 1997. “Women, the gender of the State and its policies: The example of regionalization in Senegal.” Clio. History, women and societies, 6, online. DOI: 10.4000/clio.379

Author: Fatou Sow

Abstract:

Les débats menés autour de l’État africain, ces trente dernières années, ont reflété les grandes idées qui ont agité le monde contemporain, mais ils sont, dans l’ensemble, restés muets sur des questions soulevées au cours des deux décennies des Nations Unies pour la femme. Or une approche de genre des questions du politique s’avère indispensable sur bien des plans. Elle aide désormais à mieux saisir la manière dont l’inégalité entre les sexes est instituée, prolongée, voire renforcée au cœur du politique. Cet article vise à montrer l’importance des travaux sur le genre, l’État et le politique et la logique dont ils procèdent. Il vise également à faire comprendre en quoi consiste l’interrogation sur le sexe de l’État en Afrique, sur la dimension masculine et patriarcale de l’État et son impact sur les politiques, sur les femmes et sur les rapports et les rôles sociaux des sexes. On ne saurait tendre vers les objectifs d’égalité dans le développement en Afrique sans reconsidérer le sexe de l’État et de ses politiques.

English Abstract:

The debates surrounding the African state over the last three decades have reflected the major ideas that existed in worlds, but they have not addressed issues brought to light during the two United Nations Women’s Decades. However a gender approach to political issues has proved essential at different levels. It is now serving to clarify the manner in which gender inequality has been established, perpetuated, or even strengthened within politics. This article focuses on the importance of the work carried out on gender issues, the state and politics, as well as their underlying rationale. It also seeks to provide a better understanding of the questions raised about the gender of the state in Africa, the male and patriarchal dimension of the state as well as its impact on policies, women, and gender roles and relationships. The goal of promoting equality and development in Africa may not be achieved until the gender of the state and of its policies has been reconsidered.

Keywords: nationalism, women, Senegal

Annotation:

Quotes:

“Les femmes ont été à la fois sujets et objets des projet nationalistes. Elles ont été des actrices dans la mesure où leur appui et leur engagement étaient indispensables au mouvement nationaliste qui a accepté qu’elles quittent leurs rôles traditionnels. Mais elles ont été, dans le même temps, réifiées, comme symboles de l’identité nationale.” (Sow, p. 1)

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Development, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Hierarchies, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Political Participation Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Senegal

Year: 1997

A Gender-Just Peace? Exploring the Post-Dayton Peace Process in Bosnia

Citation:

Björkdahl, Annika. 2012. “A Gender-Just Peace? Exploring the Post-Dayton Peace Process in Bosnia.” Peace & Change 37 (2): 286–317. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0130.2011.00746.x.

Author: Annika Björkdahl

Abstract:

This article is rooted in the understanding that global ideas of liberal democratic peace and the gendered dynamics of peacebuilding need to be confronted. The aim is to explore the challenges of localizing liberal democratic peace by exploring efforts such as those undertaken by women’s organizations in Bosnia-Herzegovina to promote a gender-just peace. The Dayton Peace Accord was the new “social contract” that set the standard for postwar societies. The gendered hierarchies built into this peace and the absence of women in the peace process created a “peace gap” that was gendered despite the fact that gender empowerment has become a standard tool in international peacebuilding. The post-Dayton peace process was characterized by a conservative backlash which has become a hallmark of women’s postwar experience.

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Europe, Balkans, Eastern Europe Countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina

Year: 2012

Individual Bodies, Collective State Interests: The Case of Israeli Combat Soldiers

Citation:

Sasson-Levy, Orna. 2007. “Individual Bodies, Collective State Interests: The Case of Israeli Combat Soldiers.” Men and Masculinities 10 (3): 296–321.

Author: Orna Sasson-Levy

Abstract:

The primary question this article raises is how democratic societies, whose liberal values seem to contradict the coercive values of the military, persuade men to enlist and participate in fighting. The author argues that part of the answer lies in alternative interpretation of transformative bodily and emotional practices. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Israeli combat soldiers, the author claims that the warrior's bodily and emotional practices are constituted through two opposing discursive regimes: self-control and thrill. The nexus of these two themes promotes an individualized interpretation frame of militarized practices, which blurs the boundaries between choice and coercion, presents mandatory military service as a fulfilling self-actualization, and enables soldiers to ignore the political and moral meanings of their actions. Thus, the individualized body and emotion management of the combat soldier serves the symbolic and pragmatic interests of the state, as it reinforces the cooperation between hegemonic masculinity and Israeli militarism.

Keywords: hegemonic masculinity, body and emotion management, military, combat soldiers, individualism, collectivism, Israeli society

Topics: Citizenship, Combatants, Male Combatants, Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Militarism Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Israel

Year: 2007

African Feminism: How Should We Change?

Citation:

Tamale, Sylvia. 2006. “African Feminism: How Should We Change?” Development 49 (1): 38–41.

Author: Sylvia Tamale

Abstract:

Sylvia Tamale gives a critical, self-reflexive analysis of the African women's movement, with her proposals for the changes she would like to see. She asks that African feminists transform themselves and societies into a more equitable, democratic and tolerant one.

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Governance, Political Participation Regions: Africa

Year: 2006

Burkina Faso: Recruiting Women for the Legislative Elections

Citation:

Compaoré, Nestorine. 2005. “Burkina Faso: Recruiting Women for Legislative Elections.” In Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, edited by Julie Ballington and Azza Karam, 132-138. Stockholm: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

Author: Nestorine Compaoré

Abstract:

As in the other countries of francophone Africa, women are under-represented in the power structures of Burkina Faso. This case study addresses the issue of women’s political participation in Burkina Faso, and in particular their access to the national legislature and the recruitment of women candidates by political parties when elections to the legislature are approaching. It emphasizes the impact of the electoral system and quotas on women’s representation, the stages of the recruitment process, and the constraints women face in being elected to the legislature.

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Women, Governance, Quotas, Elections, Political Participation Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Burkina Faso

Year: 2005

Women, Land and Authority: Perspectives from South Africa

Citation:

Meer, Shamim. 1997. Women, Land and Authority: Perspectives from South Africa. Cape Town, Zimbabwe: National Land Committee.

Author: Shamim Meer

Abstract:

The issue of land lies at the heart of South Africa's democratic transformation, but the extremity of apartheid's racial legacy is in danger of obscuring a no less pervasive oppression: that of women. This volume brings together recent research on women by the National Land Committee of South Africa. What emerges is a sharp sense of transition and crisis - and a pressing need for women's organization, to ensure that development and legislation are informed by the priorities of women, and that South Africa's land question is treated not least as a problem of gender transformation.

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Development, Gender, Women, Governance, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: South Africa

Year: 1997

Petroleum Patriarchy? A Response to Ross

Citation:

Norris, Pippa. 2009. “Petroleum Patriarchy? A Response to Ross.” Politics & Gender 5 (4): 553-560. doi:10.1017/S1743923X09990365.

Author: Pippa Norris

Abstract:

The notion of a “resource curse” has been most commonly applied in explaining why many countries apparently blessed with abundant reserves of nonrenewable mineral resources, such as Nigerian oil, Democratic Republic of Congo gold, or Sierra Leone diamonds, in fact, are commonly blighted with less transparency and probity, economic stability, economic diversification, social equality, and investment in human capital. In these conditions, the heightened danger of state capture and rent seeking by ruling elites generate poorer prospects for the transition from autocracy and the consolidation of stable democracies (Auty 1993; Boix 2003; Dunning 2008; Jensen and Wantchekon 2004; Ross 2001). Lootable mineral resources, in particular, are thought to make a country particularly vulnerable to civil war, insurgency, and rebellion (Collier and Sambanis 2005; Humphreys 2005; Ross 2004, 2006; Snyder 2006).

Annotation:

Quotes:

 “Patriarchal cultures in Arab states did not spring up overnight in the mid-nineteenth century as the result of the discovery and commercial exploitation of refined petroleum; they have enduring historical roots that predate the discovery and production of oil. In the extreme cases of states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where women continue to lack the legal right to vote and to stand for office, it also remains unclear theoretically how any amount of female participation in the labor force will eventually facilitate women’s representation in decision-making.” (556)

“If the oil and gas extraction industries are overwhelmingly male dominated, then so too is the workforce mining gold, diamonds, and copper. Since the extraction and distribution of natural commodities forms a critical part of the economy in many diverse regions of the world, a measure that reflects a more comprehensive basket of these resources would also help to disentangle the complex effects of Muslim religious faith and oil.” (557)

“Therefore, the research literature presents a wealth of evidence that the resource curse can probably be blamed for a multitude of ills, from conflict and civil war to anemic economic growth, corruption, state capture, and the contemporary push-back in Russia and Venezuela against the forces of democratization. But it has not yet been clearly established whether the resource curse, at least petroleum, is a major factor at the heart of the problems concerning the continuing gender disparities in elected office among Arab states.” (559)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Corruption, Democracy / Democratization, Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Governance, Livelihoods, Religion, Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2009

Armed Resistance: Masculinities, Egbesu Spirits, and Violence in the Niger Delta of Nigeria

Citation:

Golden, Rebecca Lynne. 2012. “Armed Resistance: Masculinities, Egbesu Spirits, and Violence in the Niger Delta of Nigeria.” PhD diss., Tulane University.

Author: Rebecca Lynne Golden

Annotation:

Summary:

This dissertation addresses the Ijaw/Ijo armed resistance movement for self-determination waged by young men against multinational oil companies and the Federal Government of Nigeria in the Niger Delta. I investigated the reciprocity of violence, the transgression of social order, and the search for legitimacy. The processes of defining Ijaw masculinities as responses to the everyday militarization and of this riverine, polluted environment and the increasing marginalization of Ijaw youth encompassed three dimensions of warriorhood, cosmology, and reciprocal, brutal disorder. This struggle was not one of disengagement but of diverse involvement, where a generation of men, were torn together by poverty, despair, and revolt. Complex notions of agency, (dis)connection, and belonging provide outlets for a youth-based political hierarchy that hurls young men over the gerontocracy and into the mainstream of Ijaw petrol politics. Armed with Egbesu (powerful Ijaw god of justice and war) warriors intensified their violent resistance, infused with renewed vigor from historical, ethno-spiritual identities. I demonstrated, through a progression of violent professionalization and a new democracy, that indigenous cosmology shaped and legitimized the struggle against the Nigerian Government; Egbesu orders daily lives in a world of disorder. The war god offers a counter-balance to tradition and modernity, and yet he is the manifestation of both. I revealed that the modern Ijaw warrior believes that well-organized, fighting organizations are capable of propelling the Delta out of her problems while socially promoting young men to senior status, as condoned by their elders. The new Ijaw warrior dreams of returning to his village or town as a hero to supplant older forms of rule, yet he is no longer in control of his lands and trading routes. Instead, oil lifting, pipeline sabotage, and burning cash have become the new order. The armed rebellion wove a web of betrayals and disillusionment. The contradictory reverberations of failures and successes of Ijaw warriors continues to anchor everyday meanings on historical transgressions, warrior obligations, and future aspirations for social inclusion, while sequestering the emergent Ijaw warrior in perpetual battle. He is the unseen additive in the Nigerian oil, on which the world depends.

Topics: Age, Youth, Armed Conflict, Democracy / Democratization, Economies, Environment, Extractive Industries, Gender, Boys, Masculinity/ies, Men, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarization, Multi-National Corporations, Violence Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2012

The Morning After: Sexual Politics at the End of the Cold War

Citation:

Enloe, Cynthia. 1993. The Morning After: Sexual Politics at the End of the Cold War. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Author: Cynthia Enloe

Abstract:

Cynthia Enloe's riveting new book looks at the end of the Cold War and places women at the center of international politics. Focusing on the relationship between the politics of sexuality and the politics of militarism, Enloe charts the changing definitions of gender roles, sexuality, and militarism at the end of the twentieth century.

In the gray dawn of this new era, Enloe finds that the politics of sexuality have already shifted irrevocably. Women glimpse the possibilities of democratization and demilitarization within what is still a largely patriarchal world. New opportunities for greater freedom are seen in emerging social movements—gays fighting for their place in the American military, Filipina servants rallying for their rights in Saudi Arabia, Danish women organizing against the European Community's Maastricht treaty. Enloe also documents the ongoing assaults against women as newly emerging nationalist movements serve to reestablish the privileges of masculinity.

The voices of real women are heard in this book. They reach across cultures, showing the interconnections between military networks, jobs, domestic life, and international politics. The Morning After will spark new ways of thinking about the complexities of the post-Cold War period, and it will bring contemporary sexual politics into the clear light of day as no other book has done. (University of California Press)

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Women, Masculinity/ies, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarism, Political Economies, Post-Conflict, Sexuality

Year: 1993

Pages

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