The collapse of socialist regimes across Southeastern Europe changed the rules of the political game and led to the transformation of these societies. The status of women was immediately affected. The contributors to this volume contrast the status of women in the post-socialist societies of the region with their status under socialism.
This book is a collection of contributions to a symposium which was organized by the Southeast Europe Association on the topic "Women in the Balkans/Southeastern Europe" and held on 3rd and 4th November 2014 in Munich. It reflects on the situation of the women which has changed fundamentally since the end of the communist/socialist regime.
Presenting studies of the situation on gender inequalities and associated pattern of work and welfare in all southern European countries, this work focuses on the interaction of the three major societal institutions - the State, the family and the labour market.
This book analyses the diffusion of norms concerning gender-based violence and gender mainstreaming of aid and trade between the EU, South America and Southern Africa. Norm diffusion is conceptualized as a truly multidirectional and polycentric process, shaped by regional governance and resulting in new geometries of transnational activism.
It is the stated intention of this volume on Gender and Nation in South Eastern Europe to challenge the image of an antagonistic "inside" and "outside". The authors do not only argue from various geographical points of view, from within and without the region, including Bulgaria, the Kosovo, Serbia, Romania, Croatia, as well as Austria, Germany and the United States, they also argue from different scientific points of view and scholarly traditions, be it in the vein of Donna Haraway's standpoint of epistemology, a multi-sited ethnography or in reference to dialogical models. They raise their voices on sexist patriarchalism and thus on the relationship of gender and nation on which the specific phenomenon of regional nationalisms is based. The editors subscribe to an open definition of gender as a social and cultural localisation of perceptions of sex. The perception of biological sex is thus not ignored here, on the contrary. Its social and political role is particularly apparent when neo-liberal discourses of masculinity and femininity make reference to a "natural" sex. The question of socio-cultural gender differences, the ideals on which the categories "man" and "woman" are based and their forced or enabled embedding through a regional historical or political environment are thus central. The fact that the understanding of masculinity and femininity varies according to the respective local "reproductive regimes" is self- evident. In Part One, this volume is introduced in two contributions on the theoretical complex of gender and nation. They provide a glance at this web of meanings over time and space and explain why this relationship is so vital, why it inevitably leads to the inclusion of the male self and the exclusion of the female other. Ideological constructions and structural relationships develop and change based on a background of concrete historical events and in the course of specific social transformation processes. The essays in Part Two then delve into a discussion of regional and historical forms and effects. They demonstrate how the relationship has effected the consolidation and national self-definition processes of the countries of South Eastern Europe and to what specific forms of inequality between social and cultural groups this is leading or has led. Historically anchored, the inevitable relationship of gender and nation leads not only to the subordination of women in all nation-states, at the same time it allows nations to develop and survive on the basis of the inequality of the sexes.
This book is a collection of contributions to a symposium which was organized by the Southeast Europe Association (Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft) on the topic "Women in the Balkans/Southeastern Europe" and held on 3rd and 4th November 2014 in Munich. It reflects on the present situation of women in the Balkans/Southeast Europe which has experienced fundamental changes since the end of the communist/socialist regime and the transition towards a market oriented economy as well as the wars in former Yugoslavia. These fundamental changes and war time experiences have not only implicated disorders in political and social status, but also a backlash in terms of return to patriarchal values as well as to traditional gender relations and hierarchies. A perception of gender roles following traditional patterns and a concept of femininity reducing women to their bodies, open sexism in media, the so called "sex industry" and "women markets" plus the ban of abortion, increased domestic violence and trafficking in women have been combined with neoliberal values, right ideology, neo-patriarchy and the ruling concept of masculinity. On the other hand, women have also used their chance to create their own business, not to forget female subcultures. Women`s participation in decision-making, especially in political parties, and their representation in the public scenery is an important indicator for the degree of their emancipation. Bringing together women engaged on women`s issues in different areas - from the academia, the Non-Governmental Organisations and civil society, and policy makers - is bound to result in a variety of perspectives and views.
This book explores the politics of gender and democracy in post-communist Europe. Utilising the concept of political representation, the book scrutinises women’s legislative presence and highlights the opportunities and obstacles to parity democracy in this region of Europe. The book examines the link between women’s membership of national parliaments and the substantive representation of gender interests. It investigates the role of civil society, the state and the European Union in representing women’s interests and in promoting gender politics. The book provides an important and timely contribution to the classical political questions of who represents, what is represented, and how representation takes place. In adopting an integrated approach to political representation, the book extends current understanding of this fundamental concept. Using new research, it provides the first comprehensive comparative analysis of the interplay between emerging democracies and gender politics in post-communist Europe.
This Handbook is the key reference for contemporary historical and political approaches to gender in Central-Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Leading scholars examine the region’s highly diverse politics, histories, cultures, ethnicities, and religions, and how these structures intersect with gender alongside class, sexuality, coloniality, and racism. Comprising 51 chapters, the Handbook is divided into six thematic parts: Part I Conceptual debates and methodological differences Part II Feminist and women’s movements cooperating and colliding Part III Constructions of gender in different ideologies Part IV Lived experiences of individuals in different regimes Part V The ambiguous postcommunist transitions Part VI Postcommunist policy issues With a focus on defining debates, the collection considers how the shared experiences, especially communism, affect political forces’ organization of gender through a broad variety of topics including feminisms, ideology, violence, independence, regime transition, and public policy. It is a foundational collection that will become invaluable to scholars and students across a range of disciplines including Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Central-Eastern European and Eurasian Studies.
