Mind the gap? Civil society policy engagement and the pursuit of gender justice: critical discourse analysis of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in Africa 2003–2015

Abstract

This paper presents critical discourse analysis of state and civil society organizations' efforts to implement the gender mainstreaming goals set out in the United Nations' Beijing Declaration. It is argued that the latter represents a generational opportunity to apply Feminist Political Economic Framework to development in Africa. Yet, by drawing on the 'complementarity conjecture' in governance theory, this study shows how current practice falls short of the sought-after participative democratic model of mainstreaming whereby politicians attempt to cope with complexity by engaging civil society in policy formulation, thereby strengthening input legitimacy and policy efficacy. Instead, the findings reveal statistically-significant differences in state and CSOs' policy framing, issues over conceptual clarity and a disjuncture in the prioritization of key gendered issues such as poverty, economic inequality and conflict resolution. This matters because it indicates that the capacity of the civil sphere to act as a political arena from whence NGOs may challenge the traditionally male-dominated power structures is being undermined by a 'disconnect' between state and civil society as they pursue contrasting agendas.

Gender and climate change adaptation: A case of Ethiopian farmers

“…Therefore, increasing political participation alone does not automatically improve the other dimensions required to close the gender gap in the country. This might be due to the focus of the current gender policy on macroeconomic outcomes and macro‐level conceptualizations of gender issues rather than expanding the role of civil society in influencing such policy decisions at local level (Bekana, 2020; Chaney, 2016).…”

A bibliometric analysis of critical discourse analysis and its implications

“…Chaney and Wincott (2014) uncovered how decentralization has produced new policy developments in this space, highlighting the distinct, supplementary function of discourse-based analysis in terms of gaining an appreciation of the modes and procedures of governance best-suited to promoting contemporary welfare. Chaney (2016) also provided an analysis of attempts by the state as well as CSOs to realize the objectives of integrating gender mainstreaming outlined in the UN’s Beijing Declaration. The findings indicated substantial discrepancies between governments’ and social organizations’ respective policy portfolios, problems of procedural clarity, and misaligned state and civil-society preferences regarding critical gender issues.…”