Anne Marie Goetz - Böcker

Though the proportion of women in national assemblies still barely scrapes 16% on average, the striking outliers – Rwanda with 49% of its assembly female, Argentina with 35%, Liberia and Chile with new women presidents this year – have raised expectations that there is an upward trend in women’s representation from which we may expect big changes in the quality of governance. But getting women into public office is just the first step in the challenge of creating governance and accountability systems that respond to women’s needs and protect their rights. Using case studies from around the world, the essays in this volume consider the conditions for effective connections between women in civil society and women in politics, for the evolution of political party platforms responsive to women’s interests, for local government arrangements that enable women to engage effectively, and for accountability mechanisms that answer to women. The book’s argument is that good governance from a gender perspective requires more than more women in politics. It requires fundamental incentive changes to orient public action and policy to support gender equality.

Though the proportion of women in national assemblies still barely scrapes 16% on average, the striking outliers – Rwanda with 49% of its assembly female, Argentina with 35%, Liberia and Chile with new women presidents this year – have raised expectations that there is an upward trend in women’s representation from which we may expect big changes in the quality of governance. But getting women into public office is just the first step in the challenge of creating governance and accountability systems that respond to women’s needs and protect their rights. Using case studies from around the world, the essays in this volume consider the conditions for effective connections between women in civil society and women in politics, for the evolution of political party platforms responsive to women’s interests, for local government arrangements that enable women to engage effectively, and for accountability mechanisms that answer to women. The book’s argument is that good governance from a gender perspective requires more than more women in politics. It requires fundamental incentive changes to orient public action and policy to support gender equality.

This book argues that increasing engagement between international institutions and sectors of civil society is producing a new form of global governance. The authors investigate 'complex multilateralism' by studying the relationship between three multilateral economic institutions (the IMF, World Bank, and World Trade Organization), and three global social movements (environmental, labour and women's movements). They provide a rich comparative analysis of the institutional response to social movement pressure, tracing institutional change, policy modification and social movement tactics as they struggle to influence the rules and practices governing trade, finance and development regimes. The contest to shape global governance is increasingly being conducted upon a number of levels and amongst a diverse set of actors. Analysing a unique breadth of institutions and movements, this book charts an important part of that contest.

This book argues that increasing engagement between international institutions and sectors of civil society is producing a new form of global governance. The authors investigate 'complex multilateralism' by studying the relationship between three multilateral economic institutions (the IMF, World Bank, and World Trade Organization), and three global social movements (environmental, labour and women's movements). They provide a rich comparative analysis of the institutional response to social movement pressure, tracing institutional change, policy modification and social movement tactics as they struggle to influence the rules and practices governing trade, finance and development regimes. The contest to shape global governance is increasingly being conducted upon a number of levels and amongst a diverse set of actors. Analysing a unique breadth of institutions and movements, this book charts an important part of that contest.

Whatever the other shortcomings of representative democracy in the world today, one issue that remains only partially resolved is the political participation and policy impact of one half of the population -- women. This book examines this question in the context of two countries, South Africa and Uganda, which in this regard have accomplished much more than most (including the Western democracies).How did women achieve some 30% representation in both national and local political institutions in these countries? How far did women's mobilization in civil society play a part? How sustainable are these gains likely to be? And of equal importance, there are the questions around the impact of women politicians on policy. Here the volume examines two litmus test pieces of legislation -- around land in Uganda and gender violence in South Africa. What emerges is that the political routes to increased female participation vary and the solidity of the gains made depends much on the strength of the gender-equity lobby in society at large. What is more, participation does not necessarily translate into effective policy influence enhancing the position and interests of women.