Power-sharing: A gender intervention. Issue 1 (January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McCulloch, Allison
• Other Names: Agarin Timofey guest-editor.; McCulloch Allison guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: International political science review. Volume 41:Issue 1(2020:Jan.)
• Page Start: 44
• Page End: 57
• Publication Date: 2020-01
• Subjects: Power-sharing -- women -- gender -- consociationalism -- women -- peace and security; Political science -- Periodicals; 320.05
• DOI: 10.1177/0192512119861021
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0192-5121

Abstract

Power-sharing may be a leading model for the inclusion of ethnic minorities in post-conflict government, but it is also considered a gender-blind approach to conflict regulation. In this article, I identify recent openings and shifts in power-sharing theory that suggest a new receptivity to the adoption of a gender perspective. Specifically, I focus on two major developments that have emerged over the last three decades – the widening of the power-sharing universe and the refinement of its institutional prescriptions – which have opened up analytical and political space for the inclusion of women in power-sharing theory. Building on these developments, I identify extant gender gaps in power-sharing theory, discuss strategies for overcoming them through the adoption of what I call least-ascriptive-most-prescriptive rules, and outline areas for future research on integrating a gender perspective into power-sharing theory and practice. While power-sharing theory may initially appear resistant to a gender intervention, I demonstrate there is new analytical space in the theory for such a venture.