Gender, Institutions and Political Representation: Reproducing Male Dominance in Europe’s New Democracies

Description

This book traces the struggles over the institutions of political representation in Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on the factors that have held women back over the post-communist period, as well as on the growing evidence for change throughout the region. Post-communist Europe has long raised two puzzles for scholars of women’s representation in politics. First, why have women been under-represented in politics in every country in the region since communism’s collapse? Secondly, why are there relatively few cases where women’s advocates have been successful in pressing for change? This comparative study of Europe’s new democracies argues that these puzzles are best understood as questions about male dominance – that is, about the mechanisms that sustain, or, alternatively, change long-established patterns of male over-representation in politics over time. The author covers six EU member states – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – during the period 1990-2016. The book will be of use to students and scholars in the fields of Comparative Politics, Democracy and Democratization, European Studies, Gender Studies, Post-Communist Studies, and Central and Eastern European Studies. Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Introduction (Cristina Chiva)....Pages 1-28 Establishing Male Dominance: Descriptive, Substantive and Symbolic Representation (Cristina Chiva)....Pages 29-48 Candidate Selection and Male Dominance in Europe’s New Democracies (Cristina Chiva)....Pages 49-80 Reproducing Male Dominance: The Role of Incumbency (Cristina Chiva)....Pages 81-97 Reproducing Male Dominance: The Role of Electoral Systems (Cristina Chiva)....Pages 99-114 Reproducing Male Dominance: Asymmetric Institutionalisation in New Democracies (Cristina Chiva)....Pages 115-132 Breaking Male Dominance: Institutional Change in New Democracies (Cristina Chiva)....Pages 133-154 Conclusions (Cristina Chiva)....Pages 155-163 Back Matter ....Pages 165-208