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

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. Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 11 Chapter 1: Introduction 13 1.1 The Puzzles of Male Dominance in Central and Eastern Europe 17 1.2 Conceptualising Male Dominance 22 1.3 The Selection of the Country Case Studies 33 1.4 The Structure of the Book 36 References 37 Chapter 2: Establishing Male Dominance: Descriptive, Substantive and Symbolic Representation 41 2.1 The Actors: The Communist (Successor) Parties and the Anti-communist Opposition 44 2.2 Male Over-Representation in Transitional Settings 46 2.3 Repertoires of Symbolic Representation 50 2.4 Conclusion 56 References 57 Chapter 3: Candidate Selection and Male Dominance in Europe’s New Democracies 61 3.1 Candidate Recruitment in Post-communist Europe 64 3.2 The Supply of Candidates for Legislative Office 68 3.3 Party Ideology and Male Over-representation in Politics 81 3.4 The Voters 87 3.5 Conclusions 90 References 91 Chapter 4: Reproducing Male Dominance: The Role of Incumbency 93 4.1 Incumbency in Post-communist Europe: An Overview 95 4.2 The Gendered Effects of Variation in Incumbency in Post-communist Europe 101 4.3 Conclusions 107 References 108 Chapter 5: Reproducing Male Dominance: The Role of Electoral Systems 110 5.1 The Electoral Systems of Post-communist Europe: An Overview 112 5.2 Mixed Versus PR Systems 115 5.3 Closed-List Versus Open-List PR 118 5.4 The Impact of Electoral System Reform 122 5.5 Conclusion 123 References 124 Chapter 6: Reproducing Male Dominance: Asymmetric Institutionalisation in New Democracies 126 6.1 Conceptualising Asymmetric Institutionalisation 128 6.2 Asymmetric Institutionalisation and the Opportunities for State Feminism 133 6.3 Asymmetric Institutionalisation and Competitive Politics 137 6.4 Conclusion 140 References 141 Chapter 7: Breaking Male Dominance: Institutional Change in New Democracies 144 7.1 Gender Quotas 145 7.2 Contagion Effects 150 7.3 Party System Change 153 7.4 International Norm Diffusion 154 7.5 Women’s Activism 157 7.6 Conclusion 161 References 162 Chapter 8: Conclusions 166 References 174 Appendix A: Party Acronyms, Central and Eastern Europe, 1990–2016 175 Bulgaria: Party Acronyms 175 Czech Republic: Party Acronyms 176 Hungary: Party Acronyms 177 Poland: Party Acronyms 177 Romania: Party Acronyms 178 Slovakia: Party Acronyms 179 Appendix B: Women’s Representation in the Parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe, 1990–2016 181 Women’s Representation in the Bulgarian National Assembly, 1990–2014 182 Women’s Representation in the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic, 1990–2013 183 Women’s Representation in the Hungarian National Assembly, 1990–2014 184 Women’s Representation in Poland’s Sejm, 1991–2015 185 Women’s Representation in the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, 1990–2016 186 Women’s Representation in the Slovak National Council, 1990–2016 187 Appendix C: A Research Note on Data Collection 188 Bulgaria 190 Czech Republic 192 Hungary 192 Poland 193 Romania 194 Slovakia 196 References 197 Index 214 Annotation 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 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