Regime Support and Gender Quotas in Autocracies

Noh, Yuree; Grewal, Sharan; Kilavuz, M. Tahir

doi:10.1017/s000305542300059x

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 73 publications

(95 reference statements)

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“…Recent research suggests that political opposition in electoral autocracies tends to be less supportive of gender-related reforms once these reforms are embraced by the regime, as they are reluctant to legitimize autocratic leaders (Noh et al, 2023). Prioritizing women's empowerment, women's groups may worry that the fall of the regime could result in the abolishment of gender-related legislation.…”

Section: Gender Equality Reforms and International Reputationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One explanation revolves around internal legitimation, where the regime seeks women's support to maintain its power (Donno & Kreft, 2019;Lorch & Bunk, 2016). Women's rights policies enable the regime to co-opt women, as they may fear that any regime change could lead to a decline in their newly acquired rights.Recent research suggests that political opposition in electoral autocracies tends to be less supportive of gender-related reforms once these reforms are embraced by the regime, as they are reluctant to legitimize autocratic leaders (Noh et al, 2023). Prioritizing women's empowerment, women's groups may worry that the fall of the regime could result in the abolishment of gender-related legislation.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Autocratic Genderwashing: Gender‐Equality Reforms in Serbia

Lončar

2024

PaG

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While gender equality is usually linked with democracy, autocratic regimes frequently take the lead in such reforms. Focusing on the case of Serbia, this article demonstrates how gender equality reforms can be used as instruments of autocratic regimes. As electoral autocracies nowadays depend on international legitimation and support, they need to present a democratic image to the international audience. Very often they achieve this by introducing gender-sensitive policies and increasing the public visibility of women. This study shows that the democratic backsliding evidenced in Serbia since 2016 has been followed by increased attention to gender equality. In recent years, the Serbian parliament has increased the gender quota for national and local parliaments to 40% and passed several important pieces of legislation, including the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence (2016) and the Gender Equality Law (2021). Additionally, the regime has appointed a record number of women to executive government positions. Since 2017, Serbia has had a lesbian woman serving as a prime minister and the government formed in 2020 was labelled a “women’s government,” with 40% of ministerial positions held by women. This article argues that the regime tends to adopt these democratic reforms while, at the same time, manipulating their meaning to advance a conservative agenda and bolster anti-gender mobilizations. These different—often contradictory—strategies help the regime address a variety of audiences—both international and domestic—and gain their recognition.

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Section: Gender Equality Reforms and International Reputationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Autocratic Genderwashing: Gender‐Equality Reforms in Serbia

Lončar

2024

PaG

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Public Opinion and Women’s Rights in Autocracies

Noh

2023

Pol & Gen

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Authoritarian regimes around the world have increasingly implemented policies and reforms to strengthen women’s rights, ranging from adopting gender quotas to penalizing gender-based violence. Recent literature highlights that authoritarian leaders are at the forefront of these initiatives, often aiming to strengthen their rule rather than advance women’s rights (e.g., Bjarnegård and Zetterberg 2016; Bush and Zetterberg 2021; Donno, Fox, and Kaasik 2021). While we cannot ignore the contributions of grassroots activism in advancing gender equality (e.g., Kang and Tripp 2018; Krook 2009), authoritarian regimes, by nature, have less incentive to pay attention to popular demands. Thus, women’s rights reforms in autocracies tend to be top-down: initiated by the leadership, with a lack of citizen involvement in the design process. This essay considers how top-down gender reforms may be viewed by the public, and as a consequence, how the public’s perceptions of them may affect women’s status in the broader society.

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Who Supports Gender Quotas in Transitioning and Authoritarian States in the Middle East and North Africa?

Noh,

Shalaby

2024

Comparative Political Studies

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What are the drivers of citizens’ support for electoral gender quotas in transitioning and authoritarian states? Despite extensive research examining public support for women in politics in democracies, we know little about how the public perceives them in less democratic settings. To address this shortcoming, we use original survey data from authoritarian Morocco and transitioning Tunisia – two Arab countries hailed for their progressive gender policies. We argue that in these countries where citizens lack political information, they instead rely on their assessment of the government’s performance to form attitudes toward gender quotas. Furthermore, electoral legitimacy plays an important role in shaping citizens’ support for quotas, which are closely linked to how elections and legislatures operate. The findings offer strong support for our theoretical expectations and uncover important gender differences.

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Regime Support and Gender Quotas in Autocracies

Cited by 4 publications

References 73 publications

Autocratic Genderwashing: Gender‐Equality Reforms in Serbia

Autocratic Genderwashing: Gender‐Equality Reforms in Serbia

Public Opinion and Women’s Rights in Autocracies

Who Supports Gender Quotas in Transitioning and Authoritarian States in the Middle East and North Africa?

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