Local Power and Female Political Pathways in Turkey: Cycles of Exclusion (Gender and Politics)

This book explores the "Turkish paradox" - women's lower representation in local politics than in parliament. By analyzing life stories of 200 female municipal councilors and party representatives, it offers a comprehensive assessment of what makes local politics in Turkey particularly inaccessible to women. It places women's pathways within the cycles of exclusion, starting by political socialization, going through the candidate recruitment process and continuing after the election. The research presented here brings together gender studies and political sociology and offers novel applications of concepts including intersectionality and biographical availability. It covers all major political parties and diverse local configurations in Turkey, and reveals political strategies of women in conservative parties as well as the reasons behind the exceptionally high representation of women within the pro-Kurdish political parties. The book further sheds some light on the intricate relationship between women's political activity and regime change in the context of democratic backsliding. Lucie G. Drechselová is a researcher at the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. She was previously a lecturer at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, and co-edited Kurds in Turkey: Ethnographies of Heterogeneous Experiences (with A. Çelik, 2019) Acknowledgments 7 Contents 9 Chapter 1 Women’s Political Involvement and Local Politics in Turkey 12 1.1 What Is It About Local Politics in Turkey that Makes It Particularly Inaccessible to Women? 13 1.2 Women’s Status and Political Representation in Contemporary Turkey 14 1.3 The State of the Art: A Scarcity of Studies About Women in Local Politics 18 Turkey in Global Trends 18 Women in Turkish Politics: The Prevalence of National Perspective 21 Local Politics and Women: An Emerging Field of Study 22 1.4 Qualitative Study Articulating Political Sociology and Gender Studies 25 Conceptual Framework 25 Renewal of Interest in Descriptive Political Representation 26 Cross-Partisan Analysis Anchored in Localities 27 Sociology of Political Actors and Women’s Political Careers 28 Gendered Constraints Within Political Parties 29 The Scope of the Study and Methodological Considerations 30 The Positionality of the Researcher 34 Challenges and Ethics of the Research 36 1.5 The Structure of the Book 39 References 41 Chapter 2 Contextualizing the “Turkish Paradox” 52 2.1 Historical Perspective on Women’s Political Underrepresentation in Turkey 53 State Feminism and Women’s Suffrage 54 The Forgotten Ballot of 1930 57 Female Absence from Politics: 1946–1990 60 2.2 A Party-Specific Perspective on Women’s Political Exclusion 63 Token Women in Conservative Parties 64 Kemalist Heritage and Moderate Women’s Inclusion 68 The Road Toward Parity in the Pro-Kurdish Parties 70 2.3 A Local Perspective: The Closure of Local Politics to Women 74 The Inertia of the Local Political Field and the “Turkish Paradox” 74 Local Configurations and the Transformations of Local Authorities in Turkey 78 2.4 Concluding Remarks 87 References 93 Chapter 3 The Road Toward Election: Women’s Exclusion from Electoral Lists 104 3.1 The Exclusion of Women by Local Recruiters 108 3.2 The Unbearable Weakness of Women’s Branches 116 3.3 Democracy, Not for Women? 126 3.4 Centralization: A Price for Selecting Female Candidates? 131 3.5 Concluding Remarks 136 References 140 Chapter 4 Female Councilors: Who Passes the Filter? 144 4.1 The Dominant Profile Among Female Councilors 145 Family Political Backgrounds and Socialization into Politics 147 The Local Female Elite: At the Intersection of Privileges 151 4.2 The Unconventional Profiles 160 Biographical Pathways Marked by Violence and State Repression 162 Two Generations of Pro-Kurdish Local Politicians 166 4.3 Gendered Resources and Stigmas 173 Women Lacking Political Capital? 173 A Volatile Gender Capital 182 4.4 Concluding Remarks 185 References 189 Chapter 5 Constraints on Women’s Political Agency 192 5.1 Social Order and Local Politics 193 5.2 The Party Environment: A Hostile Environment for Women 197 5.3 Gendered Differences of Local Configurations 206 5.4 Concluding Remarks 211 References 213 Chapter 6 Navigating Local Politics: Women’s Careers and Strategies 215 6.1 Adaptation Mechanisms and the Spirit of Self-Sacrifice 217 6.2 Individual Strategies: Between Ephemeral Change and “Butterfly Politics” 226 6.3 Collective Mobilization and Institutional Change 232 6.4 Concluding Remarks 243 References 247 Chapter 7 Conclusion: Women’s Representation and the Cycles of Exclusion from Local Politics 251 7.1 Gendering Political Science and Restoring Interest in Women’s Descriptive Representation 252 7.2 Who Succeeds in Turkish Local Politics? 254 7.3 Gatekeepers: The Key Role of Political Parties 262 7.4 Constraints on Women’s Collective Action 266 7.5 Women and Democracy: A Troubled Relationship 270 References 274 Index 276 This book explores the "Turkish paradox" - women's lower representation in local politics than in parliament. By analyzing life stories of 200 female municipal councilors and party representatives, it offers a comprehensive assessment of what makes local politics in Turkey particularly inaccessible to women. It places women's pathways within the cycles of exclusion, starting by political socialization, going through the candidate recruitment process and continuing after the election. The research presented here brings together gender studies and political sociology and offers novel applications of concepts including intersectionality and biographical availability. It covers all major political parties and diverse local configurations in Turkey, and reveals political strategies of women in conservative parties as well as the reasons behind the exceptionally high representation of women within the pro-Kurdish political parties. The book further sheds some light on the intricate relationship between women's political activity and regime change in the context of democratic backsliding. Lucie G. Drechselová is a researcher at the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. She was previously a lecturer at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, and co-edited Kurds in Turkey: Ethnographies of Heterogeneous Experiences (with A. Çelik, 2019) Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Women’s Political Involvement and Local Politics in Turkey (Lucie G. Drechselová)....Pages 1-40 Contextualizing the “Turkish Paradox” (Lucie G. Drechselová)....Pages 41-92 The Road Toward Election: Women’s Exclusion from Electoral Lists (Lucie G. Drechselová)....Pages 93-132 Female Councilors: Who Passes the Filter? (Lucie G. Drechselová)....Pages 133-180 Constraints on Women’s Political Agency (Lucie G. Drechselová)....Pages 181-203 Navigating Local Politics: Women’s Careers and Strategies (Lucie G. Drechselová)....Pages 205-240 Conclusion: Women’s Representation and the Cycles of Exclusion from Local Politics (Lucie G. Drechselová)....Pages 241-265 Back Matter ....Pages 267-270