Quotas and Electroral Systems

Abstract

This panel will consider both the discursive strategies employed to argue for gender quotas and the implementation of quotas policies. It welcomes papers on the ways in which political ‘problems’ are framed and ‘solutions’ to them defined, conceptualised and legitimised. At this level, quota debates are struggles over the meaning of words, categories, conceptual boundaries and connections or de-connections. Such processes can best be analysed with discourse-analytical approaches. The panel also welcomes papers on the implementation of gender quota policies. Although constitutional amendments and new electoral laws may seem commanding, it is not at all evident that this method is more efficient, when it comes to implementation, than party decisions. Much depends on the actual rules and possible sanctions for non-compliance. This panel will aim to contribute to a much more solid understanding of how different types of quotas work, seen in relation to different electoral and nomination systems (e.g. PR versus single member constituency, primaries or not, the degree of centralisation of the party organisations, closed versus open lists).

Title	Details
Framing Quotas in Contemporary Czech Politics: A New Concern in a New Arena?	View Paper Details
What is the Problem and What is the Solution? A European Comparative Analysis of Policy Frames on Gender Inequality in Politics	View Paper Details
Accounting for the variable performance of parity in France: an institutional analysis	View Paper Details
Mapping the Multiple Effects of Candidate Gender Quotas: the Case of Australia	View Paper Details