Engendering Democracy in Africa

Women, Politics and Development
1. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-0-367-70762-0
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 202 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 476 g

Reihe: Routledge Studies in African Development

This book investigates women’s political participation in Africa. Going beyond the formal institutions of electoral politics, it explores a range of spaces where everyday politics take place, at national and at local levels.

In recent years there have been significant improvements in the number of women elected to parliament in Africa. However, there is little indication that this is translating into better developmental outcomes, and indeed there is mounting evidence that it could in fact help to bolster some authoritarian regimes. Starting from the premise that politics is a far broader project than securing a seat in national or local legislatures alone, this book explores the opportunities for women’s political participation across a number of informal spaces where women and men gather, organise and interact in a more regular and systematic manner. Combining insights from political science, sociology and feminist theory and drawing on detailed cases from the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Rwanda, it examines how power in its multiple dimensions circulates across a range of everyday political spaces, while drawing attention to the links between domestic gender inequalities and the global political economy.

Inviting scholars, practitioners and activists to broaden their focus beyond formal electoral institutions if they want to support women to become more politically active, this book provides fresh insights into major issues at the heart of African studies, development studies, gender and development, democratisation, and international relations.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gaynor, Niamh

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Internationale Wirtschaft Entwicklungsökonomie & Emerging Markets
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Entwicklungsstudien
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

CHAPTER 1: Engendering democracy in Africa: Beyond numbers, CHAPTER 2: Why engender democracy: Gendered inequalities in development, CHAPTER 3: How to engender democracy: The 4W framework, CHAPTER 4: Looking East: Africa’s Lion economies and national development planning, CHAPTER 5: Seizing and transforming local spaces: The politics of decentralisation, CHAPTER 6: NGOs, the media and the public sphere: Evolving arenas for political participation, CHAPTER 7: Community associations, adaptive chieftaincies and the public sphere: Local politics of capture, compliance and contestation, CHAPTER 8: Conclusion: Lessons, tensions and reasons for hope

Über Autor(innen)

Niamh Gaynor is an Associate Professor in International Development, Dublin City University, Ireland.