Women's Rights in Democratizing States: Just Debate and Gender Justice in the Public Sphere

ISBN-13: 9781107001916 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 306 str.

Denise Walsh

Opis

This study offers a new explanation for why advances in women s rights rarely occur in democratizing states. Drawing on deliberative theory, Denise Walsh argues that the leading institutions in the public sphere are highly gendered, meaning women s ability to shape the content of public debate and put pressure on the state to advance their rights is limited. She tests this claim by measuring the openness and inclusiveness of debate conditions in the public sphere during select time periods in Poland, Chile, and South Africa. Through a series of structured, focused comparisons, the book confirms the importance of just debate for securing gender justice. The comparisons also reveal that counterpublics in the leading institutions in the public sphere are crucial for expanding debate conditions. The book concludes with an analysis of counterpublics and suggests an active role for the state in the public sphere."

Recenzje

'Denise Walsh's book remains a great contribution to the (currently limited) understanding of gender and politics in developing countries. Readers will appreciate the author's ability to break down complex concepts and contentious problems central to the subject at hand, which allows her book to be accessible and engaging to a wider audience. Her rigorous methodologies have much to offer social science students and scholars, and the wealth of data contained within her work provides a strong foundation on which future research could rely.' Gender and Development

Spis treści

Part I. Just Debate: 1. Democratization and just debate; 2. Just debate in the public sphere; 3. Probing and testing just debate; Part II. Just Debate in Democratizing States: 4. Just debate denied: socialist and democratizing Poland; 5. Just debate diverges: regime breakdown in Chile and South Africa; 6. Just debate prevails: the liberal moment in South Africa; 7. Just debate declines: consolidation in South Africa; Part III. Gender Justice: 8. Pursuing just debate.