Dorothy McBride Stetson – författare

Abortion Politics, Women''s Movements and the Democratic State examines the impact of women''s movements since the 1960s on the policy-making processes determining abortion laws. The impact of women''s movements is assessed in terms of their success in increasing the democratic representation of women generally and movement organizations specifically. Rather than asking ''how many women are in political office'' this study asks ''to what extent are women included in theday to day process of making decisions?'' Of special interest in this project is the extent to which states, through establishment of women''s policy agencies, have assisted, opposed, or ignored the demands of movement activists for access to power and for feminist abortion policies. Researchers haveexamined these questions in policy debates over the last four decades in 11 advanced industrial democracies: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States.The findings of this cross-national longitudinal study document that women''s movements have been successful in gaining both substantive and descriptive representation on abortion policy in a majority of the 32 debates studied. The ability of women''s policy offices to provide a necessary and effective linkage between women''s movement activism and increased democratic representation in policy- making varies both cross-nationally and over time. The openness of policy subsystems and the statusof the parties on the left are factors that interact with variations in movement cohesion and resources to account for these variations.

Abortion Politics, Women's Movements and the Democratic State examines the impact of women's movements since the 1960s on the policy-making processes determining abortion laws. The impact of women's movements is assessed in terms of their success in increasing the democratic representation of women generally and movement organizations specifically. Rather than asking 'how many women are in political office' this study asks 'to what extent are women included in the day to day process of making decisions?' Of special interest in this project is the extent to which states, through establishment of women's policy agencies, have assisted, opposed, or ignored the demands of movement activists for access to power and for feminist abortion policies. Researchers have examined these questions in policy debates over the last four decades in 11 advanced industrial democracies: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States. The findings of this cross-national longitudinal study document that women's movements have been successful in gaining both substantive and descriptive representation on abortion policy in a majority of the 32 debates studied. The ability of women's policy offices to provide a necessary and effective linkage between women's movement activism and increased democratic representation in policy- making varies both cross-nationally and over time. The openness of policy subsystems and the status of the parties on the left are factors that interact with variations in movement cohesion and resources to account for these variations.

This volume examines the impact of women's movements on the policy making processes determining abortion laws. It comprises the results of a cross-national research project on abortion politics in 11 democratic states between the 1960s and 2000. The authors have developed a comprehensive research design to examine whether or not women's policy agencies (institutional machineries intended to improve the status of women) have functioned as necessary and effective allies of women's movements in their efforts to gain access to power arenas and secure abortion laws that coincide with feminist goals. The impact of women's movements is assessed in terms of their success in increasing the democratic representation of women generally and movement organizations specifically. The findings constitute a rigorous application of comparative methodology to assess explanations from social movement and democratic theory pertaining to variations in state feminism and movement success.The book aims to show the extent to which states, through establishment of women's policy agencies, have assisted, opposed, or ignored the demands of movement activists for access to power and for feminist abortion policies. Researchers have examined these questions in policy debates over four decades in 11 advanced industrial democracies: Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States.

Abortion Politics: Public Policy in Cross CulturalPerspective focuses on current abortion policy and practice in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan and aims to provide a comprehensive, stimulating and balanced picture of current abortion policy in a cross-cultural perspective. The contributors deal with comparative abortion policy including recent developments in Ireland, Germany and Eastern Europe.

Abortion Politics: Public Policy in Cross CulturalPerspective focuses on current abortion policy and practice in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan and aims to provide a comprehensive, stimulating and balanced picture of current abortion policy in a cross-cultural perspective. The contributors deal with comparative abortion policy including recent developments in Ireland, Germany and Eastern Europe.

Have institutional changes in governments resulted in policies that reduce gender-based inequities? Have such changes led to the creation of state feminism? And, if state feminism exists, are there variations in the abilities of state structures to promote feminist political agendas in the contexts of the different political, social, and cultural traditions of various countries? In Comparative State Feminism, an international team of contributors analyzes these questions, clearly describing the range and diversity of state structures formally responsible for promoting women's positions and rights in advanced industrial societies. In addition, these contributors explore the extent to which these state offices achieve feminist goals within the social, political, and historical contexts of each nation-state. Lastly, they propose, based on a cross-national comparison, the combination of political and social factors that appears to produce state structures prone to pursuing effective state feminist action. A must for students and scholars of political science, international studies, and gender studies, this volume will also interest policymakers and others involved in the affairs of government.