Gender equality is central to the protection of human rights and the functioning of democracy. It cannot be right that the experiences, skills and concerns of women are not fully represented or reflected in decision making about the laws and functioning of the societies in which they live. The regional study on women’s political representation in the Eastern Partnership countries was commissioned in response to the key objectives of the Council of Europe and the European Commission to address the lack of women’s political representation at national and local level in these countries. Researchers based in each of the countries have contributed qualitative information on both the situation of women and on the experiences of women who have stood for elected office. While the legal basis for equality of women and men exists in all the countries in question, the reality is quite different. Stereotypical views and assumptions about the roles of women in society affect how women step forward as candidates, and whether they are selected and elected. The Council of Europe is convinced that this study, by providing examples of good practice and evidence-based, practical recommendations, will help to address the current imbalance of women holding elected office and, by doing so, will enhance democracy and human rights in the countries of the Eastern Partnership.

EmGender equality is central to the protection of human rights and the functioning of democracy. It cannot be right that the experiences, skills and concerns of women are not fully represented or reflected in decision making about the laws and functioning of the societies in which they live./em The regional study on women's politic representation in the Eastern Partnership countries was commissioned in response to the key objectives of the Council of Europe and the European Commission to address the lack of women's political representation at national and local level in these countries. Researchers based in each of the countries have contributed qualitative information on both the situation of women and on the experiences of women who have stood for elected office. While the legal basis for equality of women and men exists in all the countries in question, the reality is quite different. Stereotypical views and assumptions about the roles of women in society affect how women step forward as candidates, and whether they are selected and elected. The Council of Europe is convinced that this study, by providing examples of good practice and evidence-based, practical recommendations, will help to address the current imbalance of women holding elected office and, by doing so, will enhance democracy and human rights in the countries of the Eastern Partnership.

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.

Accessible and student-friendly, Global Gender Politics analyzes the gendered divisions of power, labor, and resources that contribute to the global crises of representation, violence, and sustainability. The author emphasizes how hard-won attention to gender and other related inequalities in world affairs is simultaneously being jeopardized by new and old authoritarianisms and depoliticized through reducing gender to a binary and a problem-solving tool in global governance. The author examines gendered insecurities produced by the pursuit of international security and gendered injustices in the global political economy and sees promise in transnational struggles for global justice. In this new re-titled edition of a foundational contribution to the field of feminist International Relations, Anne Sisson Runyan continues to examine the challenges of placing inequalities andresisting injustices at the center of global politics scholarship and practice through intersectional and transnational feminist lenses. This more streamlined approach includes more illustrations and discussions have been updated to refl ect current issues. To provide more support to instructors and readers, Global Gender Politics is accompanied by an e-resource, which includes web resources, suggested topics for discussion, and suggested research activities also found in the book.

Over the past decade, the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) has consistently shown that governments need to look at discriminatory laws, social norms and practices to achieve gender equality and promote women’s empowerment. This 2019 regional report provides an overview of the main outcomes of the SIGI in 12 Eurasian countries in relation to women and the family, their physical integrity, access to productive and financial resources and their civic rights, as well as the economic cost they represent.

The Special Issue consolidates new approaches to the study of the EU’s role in the eastern neighbourhood and beyond, informed by post-structuralist traditions in international relations. More specifically, by revisiting the European Neighbourhood Policy’s agenda from the conceptual perspective of ‘the political’ and redefining the notions of ‘othering’, ‘differentiation’ and ‘normalisation’, this volume renders a new and much-needed theoretical and empirical outlook onto the policy developments and their practices. By unpacking and connecting security, regional, institutional, normative and sector-thematic policy dimensions, the book seeks to re-politicise the agenda and re-focus policy revision on understanding the fundamentals of power relations when applied to the EU external relations. In light of the compounding crises, external and internal, one can no longer afford to simply tinker around the edges of the policy content and instruments. A more radical theoretical undertaking is overdue, to re-shape, re-define and re-centre the EU relations with the eastern region especially, put in the context of the new EU’s Global Security Strategy, and the new aspirations for the 2017 European Neighbourhood summit. The chapters originally published as a special issue in East European Politics.

Even before the Ukrainian crisis, neither Russia nor the EU were content with their relationship. Despite economic interdependence, strategic partnership, official declarations of belonging culturally and historically to the same ‘European family’ and in spite of Russia’s stated interest in establishing an economic community stretching from Lisbon to Vladivostok, the two actors found it difficult to agree on important issues. The conflictual atmosphere between the EU and Russia has three main dimensions: the normative issue, energy relations, and the shared neighbourhood with the latter being particularly salient after the launch of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) in 2009. The former Soviet space is at the core of Russian foreign policy. Moscow’s special interest in this area results from economic factors, diaspora issues, and, most importantly, from its perceived security need. Obsessed by a fear of being encircled by enemies, Russia sees its hegemony over the former Soviet republics as paramount to the protection of its own borders. Therefore, the rapprochement of any other actor towards this region is regarded with high suspicion. Against this background, Vasile Rotaru analyzes EU-Russia relations with a particular emphasis on the impact of the EaP on Moscow’s relations with Brussels. He argues that the EaP represented a turning point in EU-Russia relations, determining Moscow to revise its attitude towards the Union. Rotaru explains that, even if the EaP was Brussels’ initiative, the Partnership met the aspirations of the six former Soviet republics. Moreover, despite its opposition towards the EU’s initiative, Russia itself acted involuntarily as a propeller of the EaP. By aiming to keep the former Soviet republics close, Moscow often conducts an assertive, aggressive policy in the ‘near abroad.’ This strategy, however, had mostly opposite effects, causing Russia’s neighbors to look elsewhere for support of their sovereignty. From this perspective, the rapprochement of Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, and the three Caucasus republics with the EU has not been determined only by Brussels’ prosperity and soft-power attractiveness but also by existential fears in the former Soviet republics. The book appeals to a wide range of students, researchers, and professors specializing on Russia, the EU, and the former Soviet space in the fields of International Relations, Foreign Policy Analysis, and Security Studies as well as to think-tank analysts and policy makers.

Latvia Country Study Guide - Strategic Information and Developments Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments

Although party membership has been extensively analysed in the EU Members States from Western and Eastern Europe, there is a gap in systematic data collection and analyses for the other countries in the Balkans and post-Soviet region. This book provides new and innovative insights in the area of party membership research to analyse the evolution of membership organizations in political parties from under-investigated countries. Specifically, it seeks to understand the way in which political parties and the national legislation conceptualize the notion of membership within and across countries. It provides original data and affords a first comprehensive, comparative study of party members in the EU neighbouring countries, which resonate particular interest because some of them occupy the "precarious middle ground between a full-fledge democracy and outright dictatorship". In light of these relevant observations, this systematic analysis of membership evolutions in democratizing countries brings valuable insights for the study of party politics in general. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of political parties and party systems, party organisation and elections, post-Soviet and East European politics and more broadly to democratization studies and comparative politics.

A quiet revolution has been occurring in post-World War II Europe. A world power has emerged across the Atlantic that is recrafting the rules for how a modern society should provide economic security, environmental sustainability, and global stability. In Europe's Promise, Steven Hill explains Europe's bold new vision. For a decade Hill traveled widely to understand this uniquely European way of life. He shatters myths and shows how Europe's leadership manifests in five major areas: economic strength, with Europe now the world's wealthiest trading bloc, nearly as large as the U.S. and China combined; the best health care and other workfare supports for families and individuals; widespread use of renewable energy technologies and conservation; the world's most advanced democracies; and regional networks of trade, foreign aid, and investment that link one-third of the world to the European Union. Europe's Promise masterfully conveys how Europe has taken the lead in this make-or-break century challenged by a worldwide economic crisis and global warming.