Gender-Balanced Representation and the Erosion of Global Liberal Norms

ABSTRACT

How will the rise of China and other illiberal regimes affect the behaviour-shaping power of global liberal norms? The paper uses updated dyadic data on ambassadorial appointments to address this question. It focuses on the fate of a global liberal norm on gender-balanced representation. It argues that when powerful international partners discount the importance of gender balance, governments become less likely to prioritise gender balance themselves. The pattern of nodding toward partners’ norms is particularly pronounced for governments of structurally dependent, poorer countries. We find that the gender-balanced representation norm has eroded in the last five years. In this period, countries like Sweden and Germany have increased their support for global liberal norms, but China has become an increasingly vocal opponent. We also find that countries’ international power positions—not their broad cultural value systems (e.g. ‘Asian values’)—affect partner countries’ approaches. We suggest that the pressure for states to prioritise women’s political representation will weaken further unless rising powers dramatically reorient their current behaviours.

KEYWORDS:

• Global norms
• gender
• women’s political representation
• diplomacy
• power

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Additional information

Funding

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Notes on contributors

Suraj Jacob

Suraj Jacob works at Vidya Bhawan (Udaipur, India) and is affiliated with Azim Premji University (Bengaluru, India). He has recently published (with Babu Jacob) Governing Locally: Institutions, Policies and Implementation in Indian Cities with Cambridge University Press.

John A. Scherpereel

John A. Scherpereel is Professor of Political Science at James Madison University (Virginia, USA). His research interests include executive politics and European politics. He has recently edited Personnel Turnover and the Legitimacy of the EU published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Melinda Adams

Melinda Adams is a Professor of Political Science at James Madison University (Virginia, USA). Her research interests include women’s political representation, the diffusion of gender equity initiatives, and domestic and regional women’s movements.