The Politics of State Feminism: Innovation in Comparative Research

by Dorothy E. McBride, Amy G. Mazur

Overview

The Politics of State Feminism addresses essential questions of women's movement activism and political change in western democracies. The authors—top gender and politics scholars—provide a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of government agencies and women's movements regarding women’s policy issues—if, how, and why they form a kind of state feminism.

The central research questions are examined across five issue areas in thirteen postindustrial democracies in Europe and North America from the 1960s through the early 2000s. The authors explore a range of topics drawn from contemporary theory, interactions between descriptive and substantive representation, and the place of institutions in democratic change.

Using the innovative qualitative and quantitative methods employed by the Research Network on Gender Politics and the State, the authors have developed a new body of theories about the role of state feminism and how it can help further women’s rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439902097
Publisher:	Temple University Press
Publication date:	10/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	305
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Dorothy E. McBride is Professor Emerita of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University.

Amy G. Mazur is C.O. Johnson Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science at Washington State University.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part I. Framework and Foundations
1. The State Feminism Project
2. Concepts and Mixed Methods
3. Mapping Women’s Policy Agencies

Part II. Exploring State Feminism
4. Women’s Policy Agencies and Women’s Movement Success
5. Women’s Policy Agency Success and Failure: The Search for Explanations
6. What’s Feminist about State Feminism?

Part III. Unpacking State Feminism
7. Social Movements and Women’s Movements – Joyce Outshoorn
8. Political Representation – Joni Lovenduski and Marila Guadagnini
9. Framing and Gendering – Birgit Sauer
10. Gendering New Institutionalism – Amy G. Mazur and Dorothy E. McBride

Part IV. Conclusion
11. The New Politics of State Feminism

Notes
Glossary
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"The book is sure to be a classic for scholars focused on advanced research on women, gender, institutions, and politics, and for those studying women's policy apparatus in government as it connects with women's movements in the majority of nations (i.e., in the non-Western world). Summing Up: Highly recommended."
—CHOICE

"[A] long awaited culmination of a 15- year-long international collaborative project on comparative state feminism which was initiated by two prominent feminist political scientists.... This book is a celebrated finale of this collective odyssey that addresses essential questions of women’s movement activism and political change in Western democracies through a comprehensive comparative analysis of the effectiveness of women’s policy agencies and women’s movements on a range of important policy issues. The book presents a unique combination of conceptual sophistication, first-hand original data, wide-ranging review of interconnected literatures, methodological rigor, and thought-provoking theoretical conclusions. This book will be widely read by scholars and students interested in gender politics, institutional and policy change, social movements, and democratization.... The study’s conclusions are very important and timely."
—The Journal of Politics

From the Publisher