Political Equality Research Articles

Performance of Women-led Political Parties in Lesotho’s 2022 National Elections

Since the dawn of multi-party democracy in Lesotho in 1993, few political parties have been formed and led by women, and they are not doing well. The main political parties lack the political will and commitment to nominate women as leaders. In the elections of 7 October 2022, none of the main political parties were led by women and none of them won a single constituency. While many women-led parties could not make it into parliament, a few women leaders got into parliament through Proportional Representation (PR). Four women-led political parties contested the election, all of them performing dismally. It is important to explore why women-led political parties did not perform well, as Lesotho has signed and ratified international protocols on women’s empowerment and equality in politics, among others, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution 1325, the African Union (AU) Maputo Protocol, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) protocol on gender and development. All these urge member states to ensure meaningful participation of women in politics and elections, specifically as leaders. We assess the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 5) on gender equality and women empowerment to measure the progress Lesotho has made and the challenges yet to be addressed. This article explores factors that contributed to this poor performance and analyses the reasons for the poor performance by reviewing relevant documents regarding the performance of women-led political parties in Lesotho’s 2022 national elections.

The End of Liberal Peacebuilding

The End of Liberal Peacebuilding

Backlash after Quotas: Moral Panic as a Soft Repression Tactic against Women Politicians

Abstract Advocates of gender quotas emphasize their transformative potential for women’s political participation. Yet evidence on the symbolic effects of quotas remains inconclusive, with some studies uncovering significant backlash after implementation. Although elite resistance to quotas has been posited as an explanation, the underlying mechanisms generating negative effects remain underexplored. This study proposes the utilization of “moral panic” by elites as a mechanism of resistance. By leveraging their media influence and employing conservative moral rhetoric, elites engineer moral panic, framing women’s political engagement as detrimental to social order and gender hierarchies. Such panic aims to incite public opposition and rationalize elite resistance to progressive changes. Notably, this tactic is more prevalent in countries with reserved-seat quotas, where elites possess limited control over electoral outcomes. Using an original dataset encompassing politician names and genders, I analyze over 150,000 news articles from 2000 to 2021 across 10 sub-Saharan African countries. The findings indicate that quota-induced gains in women’s representation are followed by significant increases in conservative ethical language in news coverage of women politicians, particularly in countries with reserved-seat quotas. These findings bear important implications for gender equality in politics and shed light on the dynamics of backlash after quota implementation.

Reducing Social Stratification Bias in Referendum Participation: Evidence from the German Local Level

Political participation is socially distorted: Socio-economic resources affecting the probability of individuals becoming politically active question the principle of political equality. Such inequality in participation based on social stratification is well documented for elections, while research on inequality in referendum participation is still scarce. Based on the observation that such inequality varies between referendums, this paper explores referendum-specific contextual factors that may affect socially distorted referendum participation. We leverage information from an original dataset covering 1788 districts in 35 German municipalities for 68 local referendums held between 2000 and 2019. The results of our multilevel models indicate that concurrent first-order elections boost referendum turnout and decrease social stratification, while the closeness of the decision increases turnout but does not affect stratification bias. Moreover, we find a curvilinear relationship between turnout and stratification, with stratification only diminishing from participation levels above 40–50%.

Du Bois, Marx, and the Jewish Question Reconsidered

ABSTRACT W. E. B. Du Bois’s groundbreaking scholarship on race and racial prejudice was inseparable from his lifelong struggle for racial justice, Black liberation, and against social and political oppression. Both in his theoretical and in his historical-political work, Du Bois substantially and critically engaged with the “Jewish question”: with Jewish life, history, and politics, with the experiential perspective of an oppressed minority, and with the fight against prejudice and racial hatred. Throughout in life, and in particular in later years, Du Bois was influenced by Karl Marx’s critical analysis of social and economic life; Marx’s own discussion of the “Jewish question,” concerning the difference between political equality and human emancipation, proved substantial to his argument on civil rights and racial justice. In this article, I argue that Du Bois did not only draw from the Jewish experience and from Marx’s work on the “Jewish question” in his work on African American history and politics, but also that he, in fact, reconsidered the “Jewish question” from an African American perspective, offering his own reading and understanding of the “Jewish question,” thus applying his concept of double consciousness for rethinking it as a question of racial identity and racial consciousness, and as relevant and applicable to Black liberation and the fight against racism.

Political Equality and Geographic Constituency

Political Equality and Geographic Constituency

Political Equality and Epistemic Constraints on Voting

Political Equality and Epistemic Constraints on Voting

Parliamentary Elections and the Gender Aspect: A Comparative Analysis of the Experience of Ukraine and Sweden

Gender aspects in parliamentary elections are becoming more and more important both in the context of achieving equality between the two sexes, and in view of the important role of women in increasing the effectiveness of politics, tolerance, and combating violence and war. Studying the Swedish experience in achieving gender equality in politics will reveal directions for further political reforms in this area. The purpose of the study is to identify the most effective practices for achieving gender balance in politics by conducting a comparative analysis of the Swedish and Ukrainian experience. The main methods are statistical analysis, comparative legal method and rating method. The study of the legislation of both countries regarding gender quotas and the analysis of additional ways in which Sweden achieved modern results made it possible to formulate recommendations for Ukraine that can contribute to the achievement of gender equality in the course of parliamentary elections.

A qualitative study on the attitudes of women politicians toward their roles in politics: a case of Northern Cyprus.

Politics is a mechanism of cooperation for the common interest of society. In this mechanism, each individual is expected to participate equally in the leadership and decision-making mechanisms. Women's participation in politics is essential for the spread of good governance and democracy. Globally, political participation is disaggregated by gender, with men's participation greater than women's. A lower representation of women in politics is also observed in Northern Cyprus. The attitudes or views of society and politicians may determine the political participation of women in leadership positions. This study examines the obstacles and determining factors that make it difficult for women to reach leadership positions even though their political role is increasing. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 female participants for this research. Eleven of them are female ministers in parliament and represent the three main political parties in the country. The remaining 10 female participants are also members of the central executive body of the three parties and the National Assembly. Women politicians believe that problems related to gender equality in politics prevent women from entering active politics and rising to leadership positions. Although there was no gender discrimination in Northern Cyprus means that women have gained equal rights with men in many areas, it was concluded that the traditional political culture keeps women out of politics.

Deepening or Endangering Democracy: Demonstrations and Institutions under Representative Government

Do demonstrations tend to deepen or endanger democracy? I examine this theme of major debate between scholars and among political actors, analyzing how the United States and other democracies have dealt with—and been shaped by—popular pressure on representative institutions. Cases that are discussed include Martin Luther King’s 1963 March on Washington and the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol, as well as examples drawn from Spain, Portugal, and Italy. I offer clear principles to differentiate between types of protest that deepen democracy, advance the goal of inclusion, and others that endanger democratic principles. Among the issues I take up is whether the location of protest—for example, adjacent to or even inside legislative chambers—is decisive. Rejecting that approach, my argument instead emphasizes the difference between protests intended to influence policy-making or the political agenda and those that use intimidation or violence to replace the primacy of elections in selecting office holders. The discussion argues that conceptualizing demonstrations as complementary to the work of representative institutions can help to promote the difficult to obtain objective of political equality between citizens. The article also asks whether consensus on this matter can be attained and if so how.

Promoting Political Equality in Healthcare

Promoting Political Equality in Healthcare

Understanding Turkish Cypriots’ Constantly Deepening Distrust Towards Greek Cypriots

The island of Cyprus has held a permanent position on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for decades. The UNSC regularly adopts resolutions to extend the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP). In 2023, UNSC Resolution 2674 reiterated several points, including “the importance of achieving an enduring, comprehensive and just settlement based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality” in Cyprus. The authorities of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) expressed their dissatisfaction with the resolution, highlighting that “the wording adapted in the resolution is completely detached from the realities on the ground and gives the rest of the world a misleading message.” This article aims to explain the reasons behind the TRNC authorities' perception of the UNSC resolution as detached from reality and misleading within the conceptual framework of trust. Trust is an essential prerequisite for cooperation, forming the foundation of common ground between two negotiating parties. By exploring the emotional aspects of the issue, this article argues that the historical trajectory of events, coupled with the current policies pursued by the Greek Cypriot authorities and the prevailing attitudes among the majority of Greek Cypriots, undeniably convinces Turkish Cypriots that Greek Cypriots would not engage in honest cooperation and would exploit Turkish Cypriots when presented with an opportunity.

Voting against Women: Political Patriarchy, Islam, and Representation in Indonesia

AbstractWe examine cultural and ideological barriers to gender equality in a young democracy, Indonesia, where women’s political representation has increased slowly since democratization, but where survey results point to declining support for women’s political leadership. In both country and comparative literature, the effect of ideological factors—including religion—on voter support for women candidates is contested. Using results of a nationally representative survey, we group respondents according to a “political patriarchy” index. We find that being a Muslim is a strong predictor of holding patriarchal attitudes; university education is associated with gender-egalitarian views. Patriarchal views, in turn, are associated with opposition to increasing Indonesia’s gender quota and with lower levels of self-reported voting for female candidates. Our findings suggest that patriarchal attitudes drive both policy preferences and voter behavior. We conclude that Indonesia’s recent conservative Islamic turn likely underpins widespread—and increasing—opposition to gender equality in politics.

THE IDEA OF “SOCIAL EQUALITY” AND ITS INTERPRETATION IN THE MAIN IDEOLOGICAL PARADIGMS OF WESTERN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. In the analysis of the ideas of social equality, inequality and justice through the prism of the main ideological paradigms of political philosophy, we rely on the ideas of the classics of philosophical thought (Plato, Aristotle, J. de Maistre, K. Marx, A. Camus) and on modern theorists of egalitarianism (J. Rawls, J. Pole, H. Phelps Brown, F. Hayek, R. Dworkin, etc.). The research objective. First, we will consider the different gradations of social equality, and look at the main arguments in favor of equality from the point of view of egalitarianism. Next, we will analyze how the idea of equality is interpreted in three key ideological traditions (paradigms) of Western social and political thought: liberalism, socialism, and conservatism. The statement of basic materials. The main gradations of social equality are considered, in particular, formal equality, equality of treatment, equality of opportunities, equality of consideration. It is noted that the philosophy of conservatism, as nostalgia for the state system of the ancient regime, denies equality and acts as an apologist for social inequality expressed in the idea of natural aristocracy. The philosophy of liberalism focuses attention on the formal aspects of equality before the law and political equality. Liberalism is based on the idea of meritocracy, where the equality of starting opportunities allows us to reveal the inequality of human potential. If the tradition of liberalism is characterized by a combination of the ideas of equality and individualism, then for socialism equality is necessarily connected with the idea of the dominance of the collective over the individual. The highest non-ideological gradation of equality is equality of consideration, which can also be called the ontological equality of all people.

The paradoxical image of democracy, votes, and elections in the selected African states

Voting and elections are regarded as quintessential democratic and policy behaviours. The problem with elections is that they do not fully mean democracy. The rationale behind the latter is that regular, free and fair elections do not provide for individual freedoms, political equality, empowerment, an independent civil society, a free press, or scope for deliberation-all key components of liberal democracy. Moreover, elections serve as a pivotal instrument designed to express and simultaneously reinforce the principles (representation, equality, and participation) on which democracy is founded. In democracy, communities exercise their voting rights to elect their representatives, who in turn hold the bureaucracy accountable for implementing decisions that affect the welfare of local communities. Looking at South Africa among African countries, the introduction of a democratic dispensation came with opportunities for the previously excluded citizens. Therefore, Section 195 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, emphasizes that 'people' needs must be responded to and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy making. The Paper seeks to give a comparison of democracy and elections in selected African countries. Often countries tend to practice elections and perceive democracy differently. This conceptual paper employed the use of a desktop study and has retrieved its basic contribution and argument from the existing literature on democracy and elections in Africa. Furthermore, the article discovered that in most cases citizens’ beliefs, preferences and behaviors change through political engagement, and further recommends that during voting campaigns and elections, a diversity of issues such as culture, beliefs, tradition, and individual preferences should be considered.

Tantangan Dan Keberhasilan Peran Perempuan Dalam Partisipasi Politik Swedia Dan Implikasinya Terhadap Keadilan Gender Secara Global

Women's political participation is a key factor in achieving an inclusive and equitable democracy. This research aims to investigate the role of women in increasing political participation and democracy in Sweden. Qualitative research is used to understand complex and subjective cases by collecting descriptive and unstructured data. The results show that Sweden has achieved significant progress in women's political participation. The country has consistently championed gender equality and ranks fourth in the 2020 Global Gender Gap Index. The gender equality approach as a cornerstone of its politics has brought significant changes in the role of women in politics and government policy. Sweden also acts as a global change agent in promoting gender equality values. The research also identified that gender gaps still exist in Sweden, influenced by structural barriers, political institutions and political culture. Sweden has used quota mechanisms and women's competency preparation to increase women's representation in parliament. However, there is still work to be done to fully address gender inequality. Sweden is an inspiring country in the fight for gender equality and women's empowerment in politics. Quota efforts, competency preparation, and community support are important steps in increasing women's representation in Swedish politics. Gender concepts and feminist perspectives have becGender equality
 ome the basis for policies that support women to participate in politics, ensure gender equality, and create a more inclusive and fair political environment for everyone.

Deliberative Democracy: Affirmative Action Policy on the 30% Quota for Women in Parliament

This paper aims to determine the process of deliberative democracy in the use of affirmative action 30% quota for women as a starting point in increasing women's representation in parliament. This is because in gender equality in politics in Indonesia there is a large gap between the representation of women and men even after the policy is enacted. Through deliberative democracy, increasing women's representation can use policies made through discursive means in civil society. The method in this paper is a descriptive qualitative method using the author's analysis of book reviews and research with related themes. The results of this paper study the ratification of affirmative action policies in 2023 through various kinds of dialogue and rejection. Arguments for rejection include (1) equality is considered an individual quality, not a quota, (2) quotas are considered an obstacle, (3) psychological constraints on women, (4) gender construction against women. The rejection argument makes the affirmative action policy a massive debate in the public sphere which becomes the aspiration of women activists to fight for in the political system. Habermas' view states that a legal product will gain strong legitimacy if in the process of making it through debate and discussion in the public sphere.

Equality implies proportionality: Assessing the (dis)proportionality of constituencies created for the 2022 Slovak regional elections

Abstract In a democratic environment, political equality implies proportionality. Achieving this in an electoral setting can be complicated and unrealistic. The aim of this article is to investigate the logic, approach and method of creating constituencies in the elections for Slovak self-governing regions in 2022. We track the key attributes related to proportionality: the legislation, the actual creation of constituencies, the mechanisms used for the redistribution of mandates and the achievement of proportionality in individual constituencies within particular regions. Our results indicate considerable disproportionality within the constituencies of particular self-governing regions, which is mainly caused by the lack of effective legislation, the different approaches of authorities in creating constituencies and the absence of limits to the violation of electoral and thus political equality.

Analysis on the Reasons for the Failure of Revolutions: A Comparison Between the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War

The American Revolutionary War aimed for political equality, resulting in the independence of the United States and the retention of the social order. The law established after the movement preserved slavery without making a direct claim. In contrast, the target of the American Civil War was to abolish slavery. It gained legal success but failed to change American society. Treating citizens differently according to their skin colour was banned, however, racial segregation remained in the country. In this paper, the causes of the failure of the two revolutions mentioned above are discussed, focusing on their influences on laws and communities. The principles, aims, and results of the events are compared and contrasted, so as to discover the reasons why revolutions are not able to shape society according to their purposes. Conclusions can be drawn that revolutions do not succeed mainly due to two reasons: either because the laws that line up with the principles of the revolutions are not established as the revolutions themselves do not aim for the principles or because the principles are not carried out in society even if related laws are established, for the domestic force against them is too strong.

Does Political Equality Require Equal Power? A Pluralist Account

AbstractIn this paper, I criticize two views on how political equality is related to equally distributed political power, and I offer a novel, pluralist account of political equality to address their shortcomings—in particular, concerning their implications for affirmative action in the political domain, political representation, and the situation of permanent minorities. The Equal Power View holds that political equality requires equally distributed political power. It considers affirmative action—e.g., racial or gender electoral quotas—, representation, and more-than-equal power to permanent minorities pro tanto objectionable. The Equal Status View, in contrast, holds that political equality concerns equal relations and status, and it is only contingently related to equally distributed power. I argue that while the Equal Status View is right that equal power can be insufficient for—or even objectionable from the viewpoint of—political equality, it is wrong to conclude that equal power has no independent significance in an account of political equality. My pluralist account shows that political equality entails not only status-based requirements but also independent egalitarian requirements to distribute political power equally. This account provides a finer-grained understanding of affirmative action in the political domain. It justifies affirmative action but holds that it should only be used to realize equal political status until thorough-going social reform allows us to maintain both equal political status and equally distributed political power at the same time. Similarly, representation should be amended with power-balancing institutions, and permanent minorities should enjoy equal status with minimal compromise to power equality.