Project title
The Gendered Face of Autocratization
Research question
How does the rise of right wing populism and autocratization affect gender equality rights and movements defending those rights?
Project description
Opposition to gender equality and attacks on gender and sexual rights are a significant part of the current rise in authoritarian governments worldwide. Leaders with autocratic tendencies are trying to reverse progress in sexual and reproductive rights and often use openly sexist language against their citizens. Despite this, they still manage to gain wide public support and win elections that are more or less democratic.
Interestingly, these same autocratic regimes often highlight their political representation of women and offer more generous support for families and mothers. Prominent women politicians are often part of these authoritarian systems. These governments use women’s rights to strengthen their own power and advance their authoritarian agendas.
Conny Roggeband suggests that this contradiction needs further investigation: How do autocrats manage to simultaneously attack gender equality and promote certain women’s rights, and how does this strategy develop in the context of the current rise in authoritarianism?
Selected publications
- Krizsán, A., & Roggeband, C. (2021). Politicizing Gender and Democracy in the Context of the Istanbul Convention. (Gender and Politics). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-79069-1
- Ciccia, R., & Roggeband, C. (2021). Unpacking intersectional solidarity: dimensions of power in coalitions. European Journal of Politics and Gender, 4(2), 181-198. https://doi.org/10.1332/251510821X16145402377609
- Roggeband, C., & Krizsán, A. (2021). The Selective Closure of Civic Space. Global Policy, 12(S5), 23-33. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12973