This study offers a case study of women’s political participation and representation in pro-Kurdish politics in Turkey since 1990s. Kurdish women have been double oppressed in Turkey due to both their ethnic identity and gender identity. They have been mobilized by the Kurdish national movement for the Kurdish national cause and joined both Kurdish armed and political struggles from the early 1990s. From the foundation of the first pro-Kurdish political party, the People’s Labour Party [Halkın Emek Partisi- HEP] in 1990, Kurdish women have actively been involved in pro- Kurdish party politics. However, the pro-Kurdish party failed in promoting egalitarian gender values, policies and supporting women’s inclusion in decision-making until the end of 1990s except the election of the first Kurdish woman deputy, Leyla Zana in 1991. Women’s participation and representation in pro-Kurdish party politics have significantly advanced numerically since 1990s. In contrast to the general picture of women’s underrepresentation in Turkey’s politics, the proportion of Kurdish women representatives has been increasing in representation bodies. Therefore, this research aims to examine the Kurdish case through conducting an intensive field research in order to explain the reasons and factors behind these developments. This research is an empirical case study, primarily based on qualitative analysis of face-to-face in-depth semi-structured interviews of female political activists and participant observations held during field research. On the basis of empirical data gathered from field research and an analysis of pro-Kurdish party characteristics, its gender policies and female political activists’ roles in representation bodies, this study argues that the pro-Kurdish politics has gradually been feminizing which refers to an increase in women’s both descriptive and substantive representation since the beginning of 2000s. The changes and developments in terms of women’s representation in pro-Kurdish politics are framed as a process of feminization; which can simply be defined as a process for women to be included in political decision-making both in numbers and ideas for representing women’s interests. In this regard, this thesis searches for answers for two essential questions: how has the pro-Kurdish party politics been feminized and what difference has been made in pro-Kurdish politics since women are increasingly taking part in decision-making processes. Thus, this study assesses whether descriptive representation links to women's substantive representation in pro-Kurdish politics. The examination of Kurdish women’s representation based on the feminizing politics approach does not only theoretically contribute to broaden the scope of feminizing politics but it also broadens the scope of the concepts of descriptive and substantive representation included in this approach. In this respect, this thesis will demonstrate that the analysis of the Kurdish women case in the context of feminizing politics presents several insights about the women‘s political representation and put forth how political parties and actors strategically interact in changing women‘s political representation.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / Great Britain has adopted two definitive yet different political goals in Africa, each of which has been controlled in large part by the internal situation of the territories. In West Africa, colonial policy has granted power of decision to African political leadership, while in Central Africa, political authority has been given in large measure to the local European minority. Contrasted to these two major decisions, Britain has not adopted specific definitive policy goals for Kenya. The general goal of self-government is too vague to be meaningful to the different members of its disparate multi-racial population. The immediate question is "self-government for whom?" To what racial or ethnic group does the 'self' refer? In West Africa it certainly meant Africans and in Central Africa it has meant Europeans. What accounts for the unwillingness of Britain to define specific and immediate policies in Kenya? It is believed that an answer to this problem through analysis of the internal political and social situation will reveal not only the distinct problems that Kenya poses for policy, but will suggest that the present policy of traditional empiricism may not be able to meet the critical problems of this territory. [TRUNCATED]

<p>This dissertation examines the political representation of non<&ndash>citizen Latinos in the U.S. states. Specifically, it investigates why lawmakers, seen as primarily driven by the goal of reelection, would be compelled to vote for or sponsor legislation to favor this non<&ndash>citizen, non<&ndash>voting population.</p><p>Using newly collected data on bill sponsorship and roll call voting, combined with data collected from an original survey of current state lawmakers, I test a more nuanced version of David Mayhew<&rsquo>s reelection theory. I examine the short<&ndash>term and long<&ndash>term reelection goals of lawmakers finding that both current and potential future voting populations in a district (including non<&ndash>citizens) have significant effects on voting and sponsorship decisions. In addition, I find evidence to suggest that personal characteristics of a lawmaker, most notably ethnic identity, also affect legislative behavior. In line with an alternative <&ldquo>good public policy theory,<&rdquo> my results demonstrate that even when electoral pressures are low, Latino lawmakers remain significantly more likely to support non<&ndash>citizen interests when compared to all other lawmakers. The broader implication of this finding is that descriptive representation matters and the identity link between Latino legislators and non<&ndash>citizen Latinos in society encourages behavior that is not fully explained by standard reelection theories.</p> / Dissertation

This qualitative case study focuses on the development of women’s political representation in national legislation, from 2000 to 2021 in Mexico. To examine the development of women’s political representation, this study will use Hanna Pitkin’s (1967) four interconnected diminutions of representation: formal, descriptive, substantive, and symbolic representation. The result of this study has revealed a predominantly positive development trends in Mexican women’s political representation in the Congress of the Union, from 2000 to 2021 in terms of formal, descriptive, substantive representation. While the implantation of a gender quota system has had an overall positive impact, the unwavering scepticism and lack of trust of the democratic and representative political institutions, among women is still persistent.

Both feminist and mainstream political science has taken an institutional ‘turn’, opening up possibilities for dialogue between the two fields. Yet, despite sharing a number of common interests and preoccupations, there has been little interplay between mainstream new institutionalist scholars and feminist political scientists working on institutions. This thesis attempts to fill this gap and evaluates the potential for theoretical synthesis between feminist gender analysis and new institutional theory. It argues that there is potential for mutual benefit from a synthesis of these two approaches, and that a ‘feminist institutionalism’ offers a promising theoretical approach for the study of gender and institutions. The thesis evaluates the potential of a feminist institutionalist approach in the context of the comparative literature on gender and political recruitment. It critically evaluates the supply and demand model (Norris and Lovenduski, 1995), one of the only models that attempts to systematically integrate gender into the dynamics of the recruitment process. The thesis contends that a feminist institutionalist approach offers a way to take the supply and demand forward, developing the theoretical interconnections that are present implicitly in Pippa Norris and Joni Lovenduski’s work on political recruitment and reintegrating and reformulating the key features of the model into a feminist and institutionalist framework. The thesis develops this theory-building project through an illustrative case study – the institutions of political recruitment in post-devolution Scotland. Using a multi-method approach – including discourse analysis, process tracing, and political interviewing – the thesis combines a macro-level analysis of gendered patterns of selection and recruitment in Scottish political parties over time with a micro-level case study of a Scottish Labour Party constituency seat selection contest in the run-up to the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections. The case study finds some evidence of institutional innovation and reform in the candidate selection process, but also highlights underlying continuities in the institutions of political recruitment. The case study illustrates the specific and gendered difficulties of institutionalizing a ‘new’ more gender-balanced politics within a pre-existing institutional context. Findings from the case study suggest that the ‘success’ of institutional innovation in candidate selection is a complex and contingent question, and that elements of the ‘old’ continue to co-exist with elements of the ‘new’, constraining and shaping each other. The Scottish case, then, underscores the need to rethink conventional models of political recruitment, illustrating the difficulties of reforming and redesigning the institutions of political recruitment in the face of powerful institutional and gendered legacies. As such, the thesis generates new theoretical and empirical insights into the gendered dynamics of institutional power, continuity and change that contribute to the growing body of research on gender and institutions and inform the wider literature on both new institutional theory and feminist political science.

The long line of representation studies posits that proportional representation systems, with larger electoral districts, have a representational advantage over majoritarian systems. However, over the last decade, scholars have challenged this longstanding nding (Blais & Bodet 2006, Golder & Stramski 2007). Additionally, Golder & Stramski (2007) initiated a debate over the conceptualization and measurement of congruence, arguing that the most common practice of assessing congruence is flawed. They call for an improved measure of congruence. In the light of this recent debates, the purpose of this thesis is to inspect the relationship between institutional designs and political representation in the European context, using Voting Advice Application generated data. Three main research questions are explored. The first question relates to institutional designs such as district magnitude, and electoral system characteristics such as disproportionality or polarization, investigating the conditions necessary for a country to present high levels of congruence between its citizens and their representatives. Looking at party level characteristics, I will investigate what are the effects of niche party status and governmental status on issue congruence in European democracies? Last but not least, what is the role of individual characteristics? These questions will be addressed by studying the impact of different features of electoral systems, party and individual characteristics have on political representation conceptualized as issue congruence. Congruence is measured as the degree of matching of the common policy preferences of citizens and parties as indicated by the Voting Advice Applications EU Pro filer 2009 and EUvox 2014. The present work contributes to the stream of research on political representation understood as congruence. The strength of this work lays in its comparative approach, and the use of VAA generated data to measure congruence. While most of the studies on political representation using congruence focus on the Left-Right dimension, this thesis uses the concept of issue congruence. Based on the 28 common statements of the VAA tool, the measure of congruence is metric-free, allowing for cross-country comparisons. Although there is a wide range of research on the effects of electoral systems on political representation, most of these studies are limited in their use of comparative approaches. The lack of extensive comparative research on issue congruence is due to insufficient data. The 2009 EU Profi ler and 2014 EUvox address this issue, providing the necessary framework for testing the predictors of congruence at a system, party and individual level. Political representation can be operationalized through congruence, as the distance between the citizen and the representative (Huber & Powell 1994, Powell 2004). Issue congruence is the correspondence between party electorates and their representatives across a set of salient policy dimensions (Powell 2004). VAA generated data provides a new means of measuring congruence. I propose two new measures of congruence, based on the distance between the citizen and the party the citizen intends to vote for. Unlike other comparative studies that measure congruence with the help of the Left-Right scale, the present work focuses on issue policies. Issue congruence is the outcome of the match between the citizen and the party she intends to vote for on a series of 28 and 22 political statements. Additionally, the focus on issue congruence is important because issue representation is mostly inferred from the alternative interpretations of congruence. The measures of issue congruence therefore contribute to a better understanding of political representation in the EU political space, tackling the recurrent crisis of representation.

In advanced democracies, many citizens abstain from participating in the political process. Does low and unequal voter turnout influence partisan election results or public policies? If so, how can participation be increased and how can the electorate become more representative of the greater population? / Government

"This study is predicated on a strong belief that the gender make-up of African parliamnets must relfect the gender demographics of African states. It is only when that is achieved that the concepts of equality, non-discrimination and democracy can gain their true meaning. As a departure point, the study makes a case that statistically women are under-represented across the overwhelming majority of African parliaments. The study asserts that the under-representation is prevalent amid the existence of international, regional and domestic instruments, all providing for women's right to representation in decision-making processes. Thus, the study demonstrates that there is a gap between de jure and de facto representation. The study then argues that the convoluted ideology of patriarchy, sacrosanct cultures, inviolable religions, the constructed public/private dichotomy, low levels of education, and the negative impact of globalisation all act in concert to deny African women their rightful place in decision-making institutions, particluarly parliaments. In a bid to investigate how this can be reserved, the study explores the Rwandan and South African models for purposes of gaining insights on how they have contrived to reach and surpass the critical mass of women in their parliaments. These two models demonstrate that a combination of temporary special measures and gender mainstreaming are effective tools for emancipating women and ensuring their representation in parliaments. These have to be buttressed by strong legal and institutioanl frameworks, which operate in a conducive socio-political environment." -- Abstract. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2006. / Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Ben Twinomugisha at the Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC), Makerere University, Faculty of Law, Kampala, Uganda / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Previous studies of identity and representation fail to fully recognise the complexity of identity and its inherent relevance to representation. In addition, they insufficiently acknowledge the institutional factors which mediate the performance of identity in representation. This thesis moves beyond this existing research by more critically analysing the relationship between identity and political representation through the lens of performative claim-making. Given that both representation and identity are concepts which have come to be understood as complex and multiply constructed, their interrelationship deserves a more critical and nuanced analysis. I argue that identity inherently shapes representative roles. Representation as a concept can be modelled as a series of claims to and understandings of representation. By applying Goffman’s interpretation of identity as performance, claims to representation are therefore a series of performative moves which evoke identity strategically and vary according to context and audience. Through the examples of the two case studies of New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the thesis explores the ways that MPs perform their identities in three distinct contexts: web biographies, maiden speeches and interviews. These allow for comparisons of contexts or ‘stages’ for performance of identity by MPs and shows how claim-making plays out in reality for MPs. I argue that performance of identity by MPs will vary depending on the method of selection of the MP, parliamentary norms and culture, and the audience. The potential for variation of performance due to contextual shifts requires an explicit consideration of the institutional factors which impact a representative’s performative role. Political space - its rules and regulations and its culture and norms – needs to be incorporated in more depth into studies of representation, claim-making and performance because these factors impact the extent to which MPs will engage with and perform identity within their representative roles. By investigating the ways in which MPs perform identity in different contexts and with different audiences, we can better understand the relationship between the two concepts of identity and political representation.

This thesis shows that citizens whose policy concerns are higher on political elites' agendas are more likely to be satisfied with democracy and to vote in elections. It develops a theoretical framework to explain the influence of the previously neglected variable priority congruence on democratic satisfaction and turnout and provides empirical evidence for it. The thesis thereby makes significant contributions to our knowledge about the ingredients of democratic legitimacy. Previous research shows that political representation, as measured by proximity between citizens' and elites' policy positions, is linked to democratic satisfaction. In this thesis, it is argued that congruence in priorities has a similar effect because citizens are likely to perceive elites who emphasise their concerns as responsive to societal needs and public opinion. The empirical analyses suggest that democratic satisfaction is indeed influenced by priority congruence, yet less so amongst more politically sophisticated individuals as well as in younger democracies and countries with lower levels of democracy and governance. These differences are probably due to variation in citizens' expectations towards elite behaviour and the democratic system. Elite attention to citizens' concerns moreover influences their decision to turn out in elections. If voters' issue priorities are salient in the campaign, they are likely to perceive the election to be more important. Moreover, they will find it easier to evaluate parties and make their vote choice. These mechanisms are shown to be less relevant amongst partisans, since party attachment mobilises voters and facilitates their vote choice. Again, previous policy-based explanations of turnout focus on positions, largely ignoring priorities. The hypotheses are tested through statistical analysis of data from voter and candidate surveys as well as media content analyses. The data come from all 27 European Union countries in 2009, whereby several hypotheses are only tested in Germany due to data availability.