From communism to democratisation?: a comparative study of the political participation of women in the soviet union, Russia and central and eastern Europe.

Abstract

This thesis examines the scope of women's participation in politics both during communism and after its demise. It adopts a comparative framework of analysis in order to explore some of the differences and similarities in women’s political activism in a variety of contexts. It reviews the participation of women in the national legislatures before reform, as well as examining the changes in women's share of representation following the introduction of new electoral laws in the Soviet Union, Russia and Central and Eastern Europe since the late 1980's. It outlines the implications of political change for women seeking to enter the new politics, and argues that, as under communism, women’s experiences of political activity differ significantly to those of men. The legacy of the symbolic form of women's political articipation in the old systems is discussed in relation to the scope of women's activity since reform. An examination of the sharp fall in women’s share of representation since 1989, for example, includes an evaluation of the way in which the negative perceptions of women deputies and party officials under communism, continued to throw a shadow on women seeking election in the new regimes. This thesis also evaluates the role of the official women’s organisations before democratisation, as well as outlining the significance of the new women's groups now springing up throughout the region. The diversity and proliferation of these groups, it is argued, is helping to create an important base for women's politicisation and participation in informal politics. Women’s capacity for influencing policy is explored throughout, including an examination of women’s relationship to social policy, and the ways in which the structure of social provision reinforces women’s disadvantage in the home, at work and in politics.