Gender and Authoritarian Politics: Citizens and Elites’ Responses to Gender Reforms

Abstract

Scholarship investigating autocrats’ motivations to adopt gender equality reforms has proliferated. Yet, many questions remain unanswered: Who supports these gender reforms? Do citizens support gender quota policies? What is the role of political elites? Under what conditions do women’s increased presence in politics lead to positive outcomes for women? Answering these questions is crucial for both practical and empirical reasons. On the one hand, the number of ‘partly free’ and ‘not free’ countries is increasing, making up the majority of world countries (79%). On the other hand, women’s access to political power has exponentially grown over the past two decades. Women in autocracies are participating in politics more than ever before. This special issue presents cutting-edge research on gender and authoritarian politics relying on diverse methodological approaches and geographical foci. The introduction of this SI identifies the remaining knowledge gaps and provides future directions for more scholarship on the intersection of gender and authoritarian politics.