Power-sharing: A gender intervention

Published date01 January 2020
Date01 January 2020
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/0192512119861021
Subject MatterSpecial Issue Articles
https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512119861021
International Political Science Review
2020, Vol. 41(1) 44 –57
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0192512119861021
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Power-sharing: A gender
intervention
Allison McCulloch
Brandon University, Canada
Abstract
Power-sharing may be a leading model for the inclusion of ethnic minorities in post-conflict government, but it is
also considered a gender-blind approach to conflict regulation. In this article, I identify recent openings and shifts
in power-sharing theory that suggest a new receptivity to the adoption of a gender perspective. Specifically, I
focus on two major developments that have emerged over the last three decades – the widening of the power-
sharing universe and the refinement of its institutional prescriptions – which have opened up analytical and
political space for the inclusion of women in power-sharing theory. Building on these developments, I identify
extant gender gaps in power-sharing theory, discuss strategies for overcoming them through the adoption of
what I call least-ascriptive-most-prescriptive rules, and outline areas for future research on integrating a gender
perspective into power-sharing theory and practice. While power-sharing theory may initially appear resistant
to a gender intervention, I demonstrate there is new analytical space in the theory for such a venture.
Keywords
Power-sharing, women, gender, consociationalism, women, peace and security
Introduction
In divided societies, power-sharing is a leading approach for the inclusion and representation of
ethnic minorities in government. Yet by focusing almost exclusively on ethnicity as the baseline for
inclusion, power-sharing risks forsaking the inclusion of other identity-based groups, including
those based on gender. This article thus calls for a re-examination of power-sharing theory in order
to determine whether such gender blindness is intrinsic to the theory or whether power-sharing can
in fact be made gender-aware. My primary intention is to identify recent openings and shifts in the
theory of power-sharing that suggest a new receptivity to the adoption of a gender perspective.
Divided societies, Arend Lijphart (1977: 238) once argued, face a stark choice: in the pursuit of
democracy, they can have either consociational democracy or they can have ‘no democracy at all’.
Corresponding author:
Allison McCulloch, Department of Political Science, Brandon University, 270 18th Street, Brandon, MB R7B 1R7,
Canada.
Email: mccullocha@brandonu.ca
861021IPS0010.1177/0192512119861021International Political Science ReviewMcCulloch
research-article2019
Special Issue Article

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