Can We Change How Political Science Thinks? “Gender Mainstreaming” in a Resistant Discipline

2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 747-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Vickers
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Fragmented Structure ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Women Professors

AbstractThis paper argues that, despite significant increases in the number of women professors and the growth of feminist political science, transformative change hasn't occurred in how conventional political scientists think about politics. “Transformative change” requires the successful mainstreaming of gender-focused knowledge and the use of “gender” as a category of analysis in studies of politics. The article first explores the insights of leading feminist political scientists in the five Anglo-American democracies, about why gender mainstreaming has not succeeded to date. It establishes the extent of the failure and explores its causes, including the discipline's fragmented structure, polarized culture and a number of theoretical and methodological incompatibilities between mainstream and feminist political science. Finally, several promising strategies for achieving transformative change are explored.

Russian Culture as Alternative to Global and European Continental Culture in the Context of the Civilizational Approach and “Ideology” and “Post-ideology” Phenomena

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 258-264
Author(s):  
Nikolay S. Skipin
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Philosophical Analysis ◽  
Russian Culture ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Cultural Code

The article offers a concise analysis of three cultures (global (Anglo-American), European continental and Russian) in the context of the civilizational approach and such phenomena as ideology (national-wide) and post-ideology. The author gives the analysis of the metamorphosis of ideology into post-ideology, as well as their connection to the concept of “cultural code”. He explains how in the course of the transition from ideology to post-ideology, there happens the “rise from the depths of culture” of the values that have not changed since pre-political times, and constitute the cultural code. He also explains why, when ideology is transformed into post-ideology, the “death of the ideologue” occurs and some values and rights become “natural”. The differences between the three cultures under consideration are shown by the example of some traits-values, and the intermediate (buffer) state of the European continental culture in relation to the global and Russian culture. The author suggests to study the “cultural code” using sociological and political science tools, as well as philosophical analysis of texts. The manifestation of the cultural code is associated with the response of its carriers to an external challenge - a situation.

History and Political Science: Together Again?

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian E. Zelizer
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Research University ◽  
American Political Science Association ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
Philosophy And Literature ◽  
American Tradition ◽  
American Research ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
American Political Science ◽  
Science Association

There was a period in America when the political science and history disciplines were not that far apart. Both approaches to analyzing civil society had evolved out of an old Anglo-American tradition where these two subjects, along with philosophy and literature, were all considered in relationship to one another. During the formative years of the American research university, which took place at the turn of the twentieth century, both disciplines shared common founding fathers. A classic example was Charles Beard, whose influence spanned both areas of scholarship. Indeed, it was a breakaway faction of the American Historical Association that formed the American Political Science Association.

Gender and Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexis Leanna Henshaw
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Security Threats ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
The Status ◽  
And Gender ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Status Of Women

While explicit efforts at gender mainstreaming in foreign policy are relatively recent, a view of foreign policy through a feminist lens illustrates that foreign policy has always been gendered. Feminist scholarship in this area suggests that masculinity has historically shaped foreign policy in important ways, while the increased presence of women in national governments, government cabinets, and the diplomatic corps has produced some notable change in policy outcomes. An examination of two key concepts related to policymaking and gender—securitization and gender mainstreaming—shows how gender issues have come to the forefront of national and international security agendas since 2000. In particular, the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda promulgated by the United Nations has obligated individual states to address gendered security issues, and dozens of countries have responded with their own National Action Plans. While these national efforts have led to some improvement in the status of women and related humanitarian outcomes, feminist scholars generally agree that the WPS agenda has stalled in its efforts to produce transformative change. As a way forward, feminist foreign policy stances promise to produce more comprehensive outcomes, though a backlash toward gender mainstreaming and the re-emergence of more traditional security threats has led to questions about the future of such efforts.

scholarly journals Ivers oeuvre

2019 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Torbjørn L. Knutsen
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
English School ◽  
Post Modernism ◽  
Political Studies ◽  
Science Community ◽  
Anchor Points ◽  
Anglo American

Iver Neumann has been one of the most productive and visible foreign policy and IR scholars of his generation. He has had great influence both internationally and at NUPI. He has, however, not become a prophet in his own country. Norway’s political science community has expressed little interest in the three traditions that have been the lasting anchor points in Neumann’s works: the English School, the German tradition of critical theory and French post-modernism. This article suggests that Norwegian political studies have expressed a lack of curiosity – if not an active skepticism – towards political theory in general and continental approaches in particular. The errand here is not to wonder why. Rather, it is to provide the briefest of glimpses into some of the perspectives that lie outside the Anglo-American, methodological mainstream of Norwegian political science.

scholarly journals Integrating Gender into the Political Science Core Curriculum

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (02) ◽  
pp. 238-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin C. Cassese ◽  
Angela L. Bos ◽  
Lauren E. Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
The Political ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
New Research ◽  
Science Major ◽  
The Impact

The New Research on Gender in Political Psychology Conference brought together new and experienced teachers with interests in gender politics. The conference session “Teaching Gender throughout the Curriculum” generated a great deal of discussion concerning the pedagogical practice of gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming—the integration of gendered content into courses required for a major—was recognized as one of 11 recommendations for reforming the undergraduate political science curriculum in the 1991 APSA report “Liberal Learning an The Political Science Major: A Report to the Profession” (popularly referred to as the Wahlke Report). Little information is available on the prevalence of gender courses in the undergraduate curriculum, but the data that does exist suggest such courses are uncommon (Brandes et al. 2001). We found virtually no data on the practice of gender mainstreaming in political science and little data in the way of assessing the impact of gendered content when students are exposed to it. This absence of data suggests gender mainstreaming has not emerged as a serious priority for curricular reform.

Through a Glass, Darkly: The Vision and Visions of Political Theory

2009 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Recent History ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
The Relationship

This article assesses the recent history and possible future of political theory in Britain. Part One surveys the difficulties that political theory has faced. In particular, it focuses on the relationship between political theory and three developments in the study of politics: (i) the divorce of Anglo-American and continental political theory; (ii) the rise of the idea of a political science; and (iii) the tendency to narrow the focus of Anglo-American political theory around the themes of liberalism and justice. In Part Two the article focuses on the nature of both seeing and being seen by political theory. In doing so a conception of political theory is developed that views it as the activity of seeing ourselves reflected with others. Such an account of political theory advances it as (i) a social activity; that (ii) focuses on the importance of understanding; and (iii) involves a perspectivism based around a reflective seeing with others. This opens a space for a pluralistic political theory—a pluralism that reflects both perspectives and change, but one that is always limited by the reality, values and value of others, and the possibility of a shared understanding.

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