Political Representation Research Articles

Political Representation and the Human Rights Model of Disability: A Bulgarian Case

Political Representation and the Human Rights Model of Disability: A Bulgarian Case

Borgen y House of Cards: representaciones de la política en dos mujeres

Este trabajo se propone estudiar las representaciones de la política en dos personajes femeninos, Birgitte y Claire, en las series de Borgen y House of Cards, respectivamente. La perspectiva adoptada toma concepciones elaboradas en la teoría política: la política adversativa y la política deliberativa, y utiliza el análisis textual para identificar el tipo de representación, estudiando los personajes y las líneas narrativas de la vida pública y la privada. Birgitte y Claire encarnan concepciones de la política contrastantes, a la vez que proponen modelos de mujer política en tensión con los estereotipos.

Epilogue: ‘Claiming Time’ Special Issue

This paper offers an epilogue to a special edition of articles employing a temporal lens to examine the politics of European asylum and reception systems. From camps to courts to casework, the papers explore a range of temporal matters arising in relation to attempts to manage human mobility. In this epilogue, I identify three temporal themes that arise across the different papers and that are dominant in contemporary Euro-American migration governance. These are: 1) the tempos (the strategic, often contradictory, employment of fast and slow speeds); 2) synchronicity (the multiplicity of times in European migration systems, and the alienation caused by disharmony); and 3) the tenses (from thwarted and inaccessible individual futures, to political representations of the past and future, and the enduring reverberations of past events). The prologue goes on to argue the importance of avoiding allochronism and identifies ways the authors avoid temporally ‘othering’ people, including by recognising people’s autonomy in acts of timing and in reclaiming and recalibrating their own timelines and rhythms. The paper ends with a call for the migration sector to ‘widen our gaze’ and to draw out the underlying colonial and capitalist temporalities so as to situate migration governance in broader temporal bordering and dispossession. After all, themes of limbo, impermanence, insecurity, temporal poverty, negated futures, temporal dissonance, and other temporal governance mechanisms that hierarchise, marginalise and discipline us, are increasingly evident across the globe, whether or not we cross a border.

The Feminisation of Indonesia's Political Parties: Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)

The political representation of women in the Indonesian parliament has increased since the implementation of the affirmation policy through quotas, although the number has not yet reached 30%. In addition, the percentage of women placed in the management structure of political parties has also increased. In addition, the percentage of women's candidacy in each election period also showed an increasing trend. This article aims to analyze the feminization process that occurred in PDI Perjuangan and PKS, using the model of feminization of political parties introduced by Sarah Childs. By using a qualitative approach, in which data were obtained from party statues (AD/ART documents of political parties) and parties' documents of meetings, General Elections Commission (KPU) data, and data sourced from online media, it was found that the level feminization of PDI Perjuangan higher than PKS. The difference in the level of feminization is due to differences in representational dimension and policy.

Political equality: what is it and why does it matter?

Abstract Political inequality is a distinctive type of inequality, which cannot be reduced to economic or power inequalities. The article frames political equality as trying to achieve ‘equal consideration’ among members of a polity, arguing that assessing whether this is achieved requires looking at process as well as outcomes. The analysis focuses on two core dimensions that can be studied empirically: patterns of political participation and political representation. Studying these reinforces the idea that, even in advanced democracies, politics is an elite activity concentrated among the educated and those with material and ideological resources. The article discusses the consequences of political inequality framed as equal consideration and a range of reforms that have been proposed to reduce it. ‘[…] no society can genuinely humanize its institutions save as it becomes a community of equals.’ (Laski 1928, p. 31)

Women’s Representation and Participation in Politics in Uzbekistan from 1991 to 2023

Women’s Representation and Participation in Politics in Uzbekistan from 1991 to 2023

What do voters want from their legislators? evidence from ghana

Abstract Legislators make trade-offs when allocating their time and resources to their multiple tasks of representation, legislation, executive oversight, and constituency service. Furthermore, they must decide how much effort to exert or the balance to strike when undertaking a specific function. Existing research provides limited insights into citizens’ preferences over these officeholder multifaceted decisions in sub-Saharan Africa. I offer novel insights into citizens’ preferences using a conjoint survey experiment of Ghanaians to address this knowledge gap. My findings are threefold. First, I find that citizens put more ‘weight’ on constituency-related activities than parliamentary work. Second, in the constituency, citizens value political representation activities more than constituency services. Third, they weigh public-good-oriented constituency services higher than private ones. The research contributes to our understanding of citizen–legislator accountability relationships in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Implications of Strengthening ‘European Strategic Autonomy’ and Its Defence Capabilities for the Growth of France’s Global Importance and Power

France occupies a key position in Europe’s defence and security structures and the promotion of a ‘Europe of defence’ has been one of the political priorities of French leaders since the late 1990s. One of the key initiatives strengthening multilateral military cooperation in the EU is the European Intervention Initiative (EI2), which aims to instil a French strategic culture among Europeans. The aim of the study is to show that France is ‘shifting’ its power ambitions to Europe, which is to become a significant actor in international relations, equipped with mechanisms of political representation and credible military forces, enabling it to conduct a global-scale independent policy. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the strengthening of ‘European strategic autonomy’ serves to preserve a multipolar world, in which France will play the role of Europe’s ‘leader,’ and is expected to be conductive to the development of defence industry cooperation.

Unleashing Equality and Women Empowerment: Analyzing Pakistan's Path to SDG-5

The paper provides an overview of Pakistan's achievements with regard to SDG-5, taking into account the marginal advances made in women joining the workforce and engaging politically, as well as facing remaining structural blocks. We used a mixed-method approach to embed the examined context in round data of 2019–2023 concerning three main indicators: workforce participation, political representation, and educational enrollment. Quantitative data were married with qualitative interviews and focus groups to provide a fuller view of the intricate landscape of gender in Pakistan. By contrast to the data for girls' education enrollment, and despite an incremental improvement in women's political representation within parliament, results pointed towards a marginal growth of workforce participation by women. While some important gaps remain (including in the most rigorous statistical measure available for regional comparability, creating a persistent differential in gender parity across regions), stakeholders identified sociocultural, political, and economic factors as the key barriers to empowerment, but rated current gender equality policies as only moderately effective. Pakistan is still a long way toward achieving SDG-5 and needs more focused, hard interventions. The following must be done to accelerate progress: increase the effectiveness of gender equality policies and tackle multiple barriers to women's empowerment. This study highlights the importance of concerted action from government, civil society, and international organizations in promoting both gender equality and women's empowerment across all levels of Pakistani societies.

Gender and the public realm in Nigeria: Hannah Arendt‘s perspective

Hannah Arendt, renowned for her insights into political philosophy, particularly in "The Human Condition" and "On Revolution", delineates the dichotomy between the public and private realms. In her analysis, the public sphere represents a space of political agency and rational discourse, crucial for the realization of human freedom and equality. Conversely, the private realm, characterized by necessity and domesticity, traditionally excludes women from active participation in public affairs. This study explores Arendt's theories to analyze gender exclusion in Nigeria's public realm. Historically, Nigerian women have faced systemic marginalization, confined to the private sphere, hindering their political participation. This research aims to evaluate women's representation in Nigerian politics, the impact of colonial and post-colonial policies, and the role of patriarchal structures. Integrating Arendt's framework with gender theory and social exclusion, the study underscores the need for constitutional amendments and cultural shifts to enhance women's political agency. This research proposes multifaceted solutions. These include legislative reforms to promote gender equality, educational initiatives to empower women politically, and cultural shifts to challenge stereotypes and biases against women in leadership roles. Such interventions are crucial for dismantling existing barriers and fostering a more inclusive public sphere where women's voices are heard and their contributions are valued. This research uniquely applies Arendt’s political theory to the contemporary issue of gender exclusion in Nigerian politics, providing a comprehensive analysis that links historical, cultural, and structural factors. It offers actionable recommendations to improve women's political representation and participation, fostering women's education, political advocacy, and cultural change to achieve a more egalitarian society.

How do minoritized migrant-background citizens perceive their political representation? An intracategorical perspective

ABSTRACT Although our insights into numerical political representation are expanding, we know remarkably little about whether minoritized migrant-background citizens feel represented as such. This study addresses to what extent there are intersectional differences in perceived representation among minoritized migrant-background citizens. We synthesize two separate literatures to develop an overarching boundaries-privilege framework, which we apply to the Dutch Ethnic Minority Election Study 2021. This shows for instance, that those with university degrees and those who identify as Muslim perceive lower political representation. This provides particular support for the idea that these perceptions are shaped negatively by exclusions grounded in discursive boundaries.

Gender quotas and media representation of female members of parliament under authoritarianism: The case of Egypt

Drawing on studies of gendered mediation and women's political representation, this study explores the implications of using gender quotas to facilitate women's political representation on their portrayal in the media. Focused on the coverage of Egyptian female members of parliament in the daily newspaper al-Masry al-Yawm, the study employs feminist content analysis to examine more than two thousand news articles across three parliamentary terms (2012–2022). The article reveals a heightened visibility that challenges patriarchal stereotypes and legitimizes women as political actors. However, this coverage exists within an authoritarian setting, where the media's compliance with government narratives subtly upholds the regime's image. This, in turn, may limit the empowering effect of such visibility, especially among regime critics, highlighting the complex role the media plays in mirroring and molding power relations and in the negotiation of gender perceptions.

How Political Representation Empowers Women

How Political Representation Empowers Women

A de facto state's struggle for international recognition: The case of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a unique example of a de facto state – having existed for almost 50 years and enjoying international recognition provided by over forty states. Nevertheless, it controls only one-fifth of the territory it claims rights to, while the rest of it lies within the Moroccan borders. Since the 1991 ceasefire, the POLISARIO Front – the Sahrawi political representation – has sought international recognition by means of peaceful methods. However, in November 2020 it renewed the conflict, because of the Moroccan activity in the buffer zone near Guerguerat. The article elaborates on the strategies adopted by the SADR to gain international recognition, as well as the Moroccan response in the form of counter-recognition strategies. The study is based on a qualitative analysis of the already-existing sources, a critical reading of the literature on the subject, and qualitative data gathered during study visits to Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania.

INTEGRASI TEORI STIGMA ERVING GOFFMAN TERHADAP KEADILAN SOSIAL BAGI “GOOD LOOKING” DAN DISKRIMINASI UNTUK “BAD LOOKING”

This study explores the phenomenon of "lookism" or appearance-based discrimination, which divides individuals into two primary groups: those regarded as attractive or "good looking" and those viewed as less attractive or "bad looking." It reveals that individuals perceived to meet the standards of being good-looking gain social and economic advantages through the "halo effect," wherein their appearance positively influences assessments of their professional and moral capabilities. In contrast, those perceived as less attractive or bad-looking encounter substantial disadvantages, including discrimination in job recruitment and promotion, as well as in social and institutional interactions. Utilizing a literature review with a qualitative research approach and an analytical framework based on Erving Goffman's Stigma Theory, this research demonstrates that physical appearance acts as a discrediting stigma, significantly impacting individuals' social identity and opportunities. The analysis emphasizes the integration of stigma into institutional structures and social practices, resulting in hidden yet systematic discrimination. Furthermore, the study explicates how the media and entertainment industries, through their portrayal of unrealistic beauty standards, reinforce societal beauty stereotypes. This influence on public perceptions heightens social pressure to conform to narrow beauty standards. From a sociological perspective, the unequal distribution of "beauty capital" creates persistent inequalities that affect not only economic opportunities but also political representation and power. This research underscores the need for social interventions and policies that reduce stigma and broaden the definition of beauty, which are crucial for dismantling power structures that perpetuate appearance-based discrimination and for fostering a more inclusive and equitable society. Through an informed and data-driven approach, this study provides essential insights into how social norms and values can be reformed to minimize "lookism" bias and enhance appreciation for human character diversity and complexity.

Canaries in the Coal Mine: On the Political Representation and Participation of Social Groups

Canaries used to be taken into the coal mines to warn miners for danger to come. Nowadays, the phrase is still used as an idiom describing a warning sign. Diversity and gender studies scholars resemble these canaries in some respects. They are occasionally put in cages, where they may even die, but where they can also sing. Contrary to those of the canaries, their songs are in themselves warning signs, underlining political and societal problems, and often danger to come. Many diversity and gender studies scholars are driven by a concern about structural inequalities, marginalization, and exclusion which certain social groups face in politics and society. The more they sing, the more danger there seems to be, whereas – for what I know – the silence of the canaries represents the danger. Note that a sudden silence of diversity and gender studies scholars represents a similar imminent danger, as we have unfortunately witnessed over the last couple of years. But the question here is what diversity and gender studies scholars are concerned about and warning for nowadays, more particularly when it comes to the political representation and participation of social groups.

Gender politics and Victorian literary representation of the body: a distant reading of the body in Charles Dickens’s works

This paper analyses the nineteenth-century discourse around the human body. It examines two corpora: Charles Dickens’s works and contemporary writings. In both contexts, the body is observed through a detailed focus on its individual parts. This study employs a corpus-driven approach to investigate the vocabulary used to describe the body in these two corpora, providing complementary explanations to traditional close reading methods. The findings indicate that Victorian authors, including Dickens, tend to use nouns associated with time and space when representing the body, while also placing significant emphasis on codes of etiquette in the depiction of its physical actions. In Dickens’s corpus, nouns related to the body are influenced by gender ideology. Furthermore, a gender-based sub-corpus analysis, particularly focusing on verbs, highlights the disparities in agency between male and female bodies.

Who Is the Asianist? The Politics of Representation in Asian Studies

Who Is the Asianist? The Politics of Representation in Asian Studies

Just a Cup of Tea? Jewish-Muslim Interfaith Activism and the Gendered Politics of Representation

Just a Cup of Tea? Jewish-Muslim Interfaith Activism and the Gendered Politics of Representation

“The Hand That Tried to Feed You”

Abstract This article offers an in-depth reading of Flora Veit-Wild’s They Called You Dambudzo: A Memoir (2020) and its contentious racial politics of representation. Through the memoir, which I contend is an apologia pro vita sua, a justification for the author’s own life and work, Veit-Wild seeks to dispel long-standing accusations that she has benefitted from Dambudzo Marechera and his legacy. As she depicts herself as a magnanimous activist and scholar, Veit-Wild reverses the script by portraying Marechera as a “galling scoundrel” who “depended on others to sustain him.” In the process, far from offering an authoritative portrait of Marechera that we can trust, the memoir dehumanises the writer. Suggesting that Veit-Wild’s relationship with Marechera was motivated more by racialised objectification than love and respect, the text reproduces a white saviour narrative that reinscribes racist tropes of representation. While it also engages other works by Veit-Wild, this article delves into They Called You Dambudzo’s (un)critical reception, its unsettling portrayal of Marechera as a spoilt, ungrateful, and mentally ill writer who “had a way of taking for granted whatever was done for him,” Veit-Wild’s self-representation as both Marechera’s victim and saviour, her misappropriation of Marechera’s thought to enforce colourblindness, and the vexed colonial politics of speaking for others that the memoir lays bare.