1,721,037 research outputs found
Reclaiming Party Politics Research
Get PDFIn a 2021 Special Issue in European Political Science, Anika Gauja and Karina Kosiara-Pedersen review the sub-field of party politics research. In doing so, they argue party politics scholarship reflects the broader development of the political science discipline, illustrating the evolving relationship between politics researchers and the organisations they study. In this reply, we argue that the party politics sub-field reflects the wider discipline in another crucial respect – it continues to marginalise gender politics scholarship. We demonstrate that a gendered lens fundamentally transforms key questions in the field around what party politics scholars study, and how and why they conduct their research, with relevant consequences for whose work is included. In failing to engage with this scholarship, “mainstream” party politics scholars are (re)producing unequal power relations and hierarchies within the discipline, whilst also depriving themselves of the capacity to address fully key questions of representation, democracy, continuity and change
Feminism and politics
No full textBook synopsis: This text is part of a series which aims to bring together articles in the field of comparative politics. It offers a collection of essays which provide a basis for understanding the established conceptual terrain and modern developments in the field of comparative political analysis. This text presents volumes I and II, and focuses on feminism and politics
Linkages between industrialisation and the liberalisation of agricultural trade: Britain, Germany and Japan
No full textPinning the butterfly: women, blue-collar and ethnic minority MPs vis-àvis parliamentary norms and the parliamentary role of the group representative
Get PDFThis article deals with the apparent contradiction between, on the one hand, parliaments as envisaged by neo-institutionalists as stable and stabilising institutions and, on the other hand, the societal desire to diversify political personnel and to open up political decision making processes to include group interests that were under-represented in the past. To answer the question whether and to what extent norms have changed to embrace diversity in parliament, we investigate everyday rituals, including role behaviour. Based on a focus group interview and a series of individual interviews with women, ethnic minority and blue-collar MPs in the Belgian Chamber, the article concludes that these groups are more likely to adapt themselves than to change parliamentary norms. Regarding the role of the group representative, the major finding is that it cannot be seen as a sign of parliament truly and positively embracing diversity. Moreover, it might even be interpreted as a strategy to address the request for diversity without changing existing power relations
Gender and party politics
No full textBook synopsis: How have the political parties of the liberal democratic states responded to women's demands for political representation? To answer this question, the authors examine 11 democratic states, relating what has happened to theories of representation and gender politics. They trace developments in party systems as political parties have implemented new systems of candidate selection, new means of policymaking, the reform of internal structures and the establishment of new structures. The interaction between gender and party politics is shown to be of direct importance to the understanding of the political status of women.
This is the only source of its kind on this important topic and makes a valuable contribution to the literature on political parties and women's studies for researchers and students
The new politics of abortion
No full textBook synopsis: The New Politics of Abortion compares the reactions of eight Western political systems to demands for abortion legislation. The abortion issue is not easily integrated into party doctrines and consequently has been marginalized except where effective pressure groups have intervened. Examining the experience of Europe and the US in the last two decades, the contributors draw the surprising conclusion that the effect of abortion legislation has in many respects been minimal. The availability of abortion is ultimately dependent less on the law than on the existence of good medical facilities
Gender politics: a breakthrough for women?
No full textBook synopsis: In Britain Votes, a prestigious array of writers provide a detailed appraisal of the 1997 British government election. Fifteen incisively written and well-integrated articles carefullt analyse the party campaigns, the media, and the results. In-depth assessment of developments in each of the main parties from 1992 to 1997 is also given, covering their aims and objectives, organization, factionalism, leadership contests, and their battle for the centre ground in politics. Britain Votes is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in British politics or elections
The institutionalisation of sexism in politics
No full textWomen remain significantly under-represented in political life. A major part of the problem, writes Joni Lovenduski, is that female marginalisation is hardwired into the traditional institutions within which politics takes place
Women and European politics: contemporary feminism and public policy
No full textBook synopsis: Women and European Politics is a comprehensive country-by-country survey of the changing political and economic history of women in Eastern and Western Europe over the last two centuries. Joni Lovenduski first discusses the contributions of the "first wave" feminists who fought for women suffrage as well as for reforms in family life, wage work, and educational opportunities. A more economically independent group of "second wave" feminists were concerned primarily with women's political activism, reproductive rights, child care provision for wage-earning women, laws against rape and sexual harassment, and consciousness-raising about women's oppression.
Throughout her consideration of these issues, Lovenduski remains keenly aware of the unique situation for the women in each country discussed, as well as the divisions created among women due to differing social class and ethnic background. She is also skeptical of official press reports and accounts of women's political activity and aware of the interplay between professed government ideology and actual social and political practices as they affect women's daily lives
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