The Politics of State Feminism: Innovation in Comparative Research

"The Politics of State Feminisma"addresses essential questions of women's movement activism and political change in western democracies. The authorsOCotop gender and politics scholarsOCoprovide a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of government agencies and women's movements regarding womenOCOs policy issuesOCoif, how, and why they form a kind of state feminism.

The central research questions are examined across five issue areas in thirteen postindustrial democracies in Europe and North America from the 1960s through the early 2000s. The authors explore a range of topics drawn from contemporary theory, interactions between descriptive and substantive representation, and the place of institutions in democratic change.

Using the innovative qualitative and quantitative methods employed by the Research Network on Gender Politics and the State, the authors have developed a new body of theories about the role of state feminism and how it can help further womenOCOs rights.

Dorothy E. McBride is Professor Emerita of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University.

Amy G. Mazur is C.O. Johnson Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science at Washington State University.