The Strategic Use of Women’s Representation in Hybrid Regimes
Chapter 6 examines the context of hybrid regimes and argues that the incentive to mimic democracies in this regime type triggers governments to increase the legislative representation of women, particularly when the state is removing civil rights. That is, because of the stereotype that women are naturally more honest, cooperative, and democratic, women’s descriptive representation is strategically manipulated to signal a commitment to these ideals. This theory is tested through a cross-sectional, time-series model of election results of 27 countries over 16 years, which offers evidence that increases in women’s legislative presence in hybrid regimes correlates with a loss of civil rights. Two case studies are also presented, from Ethiopia and Bangladesh, two hybrid regimes that experienced a dramatic reduction in civil rights while simultaneously adopting gender quotas and increasing the presence of women in politics.