Women's Rights Foreign Policy in the US Congress: Policy Objectives, Congressional Motivations, and the Role of Policy Entrepreneurs

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 597-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyros Blavoukos ◽  
Dimitris Bourantonis

AbstractBesides systemic changes that lead to the re-prioritization of foreign policy objectives, foreign policy change is also a result of domestic policy entrepreneurs’ pursuit of a political return. Their potential to orchestrate change depends on the existing entry barriers that emanate from the political and institutional features of the domestic policy-making process. It is accentuated by system-wide developments and security crises that illustrate old policy failure. This article discusses the role of policy entrepreneurs in foreign policy change by reference to the Greek–Turkish rapprochement in the late 1990s that resulted in Turkey receiving the status of EU candidate country in 1999.


Author(s):  
Sari Kouvo ◽  
Corey Levine

Since the emergence of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, the situation of Afghan women has been a prominent issue in media and policy. This chapter analyzes the complex and contested role of women’s rights in Afghanistan since the US military-led intervention. Beginning with a review of justifications for the intervention—based in part on the situation of Afghan women—the chapter details and critiques the legislative and constitutional changes brought about by the intervention and the subsequent backlash against increased freedoms. As the international community shifted to prioritize security and stability over women’s rights, it illustrates the abandonment of Afghan women in favor of the possibility of negotiations with the Taliban. The chapter calls for greater involvement of women in peace processes and a genuine commitment to women’s rights by both the government and the international community. It closes with recommendations for other countries in transition.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Sara Angevine

Abstract American foreign policy has expanded in recent years to address issues that affect women and girls worldwide, global women's rights, yet there has been minimal investigation into how these representative claims for women worldwide are formed and the substantive U.S. commitment. Is this a reflection of a growing American feminist foreign policy or symbolic rhetoric for domestic audiences? To better understand the representation of global women's rights in American foreign policy, I analyze the political context behind three widely supported American foreign policy bills focusing on women that were introduced during the 111th Congress (2009–10). Each of these bills failed to become statute. Drawing from qualitative comparative case study analysis, I show how antiabortion politics constrain the legislative success of any American foreign policy legislation that focuses on women, regardless of relevance. This suggests that foreign women's bodies are a terrain for U.S. legislators to advance abortion policy objectives with minimal electoral constraint. Although advancing women's rights furthers broader U.S. foreign policy objectives, such as preventing terrorism and growing market economies, domestic abortion politics shape the boundaries of how global women's rights are represented in American foreign policy.


This volume reframes the debate around Islam and women’s rights within a broader comparative literature. It examines the complex and contingent historical relationships between religion, secularism, democracy, law, and gender equality. Part I addresses the nexus of religion, law, gender, and democracy through different disciplinary perspectives (sociology, anthropology, political science, law). Part II localizes the implementation of this nexus between law, gender, and democracy, and provides contextualized responses to questions raised in Part I. The contributors explore the situation of Muslim women’s rights vis-à-vis human rights to shed light on gender politics in the modernization of the nation and to ponder over the role of Islam in gender inequality across different Muslim countries.


Author(s):  
A. Dolinkiy

Education exchanges are a key element of public diplomacy for most countries that considered effective in that domain of foreign policy activities. Education exchanges are attributed an important role in the post-war peace settlement between Germany and France and in determining the outcome of the Cold war. Relevant aspects of public diplomacy remain key elements of foreign policy instruments of the US, Germany and many other countries. Russia has been increasingly active in public diplomacy in the past decade and the role of education exchanges has been increasing which is also demonstrated by a growing number of expert publications on the subject. However the strategy, the quality of organization and the use of modern technologies remain at a relatively low level which leads to an inefficient use of resources. Priority issues that can be a core of Russia's public diplomacy (and foreign policy in general). Moreover, systemic work would be required to evaluate efficiency of current and complete projects which would allow determine effectiveness of programs and appropriateness of resources used. Education exchanges need to be targeted at both bringing international students to Russia and assisting Russian students to study internationally and professors to teach abroad. Finally, international best practices show that there is a need to maintain connections with international exchanges alumni and assist them to maintain connections with each other including with the use of modern technologies.


Author(s):  
Лариса ГАРУСОВА

Анализируется взаимосвязь и корреляция современной внешнеполитической стратегии США с общественной рефлексией на неё. Информационной основой работы являются результаты социологических опросов ведущих американских исследовательских центров, статистические данные, статьи, официальные документы. Прослежена связь официальных внешнеполитических доктрин и мнения американских граждан в отношении России и Китая. Выявлена корреляция между усилением антикитайских настроений в США за последние два года и появлением новой официальной стратегии Вашингтона в отношении КНР («Стратегический подход США к КНР») от 20 мая 2020 г. внешняя политика, США, стратегия, рефлексия, общественное мнение, Россия, Китай, национальная безопасность This article analyzes the relationship and correlation of the US modern foreign policy strategy with public reflection on it. Washington's active foreign policy and US claims to the role of world leader are supported by American society in recent decades. The informational basis of this work is the analysis of the sociological surveys of leading American research centers, statistics, academic articles, as well as official documents on the studied issues. The study revealed the peculiarities of the perception of traditional and new threats to national and international security by the American elite and society. The author traces the connection between official foreign policy doctrines and the opinions of American citizens regarding Russia and China. A correlation was found between the strengthening of anti-Chinese sentiment in the US over the past two years and the appearance of a new official strategy of Washington towards the PRC (“United States Strategic Approach to The People’s Republic of China”) in May 20, 2020. foreign policy, USA, strategy, reflection, public opinion, Russia, China, national security


Rights of women in cyber space are as important as rights of women in physical space. In this chapter, both rights of women in cyber space and their related duties are placed with equal emphasis. Role of conventions, which support the rights of women in cyber space, their successes, their failures in the execution in cyberspace, are discussed. The importance of CEDAW and its execution in cyber space is strongly emphasized. Laws and constitutions of countries like USA, Canada and India are also analyzed. Various duties of women in cyber space is newly created and examined in-depth with a discussion.


Women Rising ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 354-362
Author(s):  
Layla Saleh

Giving a personal voice to the role of women in the Syrian revolution, Layla Saleh places the account of one Syrian woman, Um Ibrahim, exiled in the second year of the uprising, in the larger context of women’s participation in the revolutionary popular mobilization, after the Assad regime’s “women’s rights” proved unsatisfactory and insufficient. The narrative culminates in Um Ibrahim’s own participation in the protests in Damascus before the full-fledged war took hold. Um Ibrahim recounts how women took on a central role in the Syrian revolution, hiding protesters, cooking, delivering food and weapons, and serving in the political and armed opposition. However, they have been victimized by the war, their activist role has been diminished, and their security and physical well-being have become precarious as the country is bloodily entrenched in civil and proxy warfare.


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