Numerous European leaders have formed cabinets that contain equal numbers of women and men. But forming a gender-equal team at the center of the European Union remains a particularly difficult ...undertaking. This article analyses the case of Ursula von der Leyen, who, in 2019, set out to form a gender-equal college of commissioners. It analyses why von der Leyen's first leadership project did not initially succeed and assesses the longer-term prospects of gender equality in the European Commission. Employing a framework drawn from studies of Commission leadership, commissioner selection, and gendered executives, it conceptualizes Commission presidents-elect as constrained selectors. Even with personal dispositions that support gender equality and access to powerful institutional resources, treaty-based rules and situational settings obstruct the ability of presidents-elect to achieve their representational goals. In the future, even presidents-elect who are strongly committed to gender equality will likely struggle to achieve fully balanced colleges.
Scholars of teaching and learning frequently examine whether simulations promote content knowledge and engagement with course material. But many educators use simulations to promote additional goals. ...This article suggests that designers of political simulations often pursue four ends:
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nowledge,
e
ngagement,
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kills, and
e
mpathy (KESE). The article discusses the popularity of simulations and the reasons that political science educators use them. It establishes the KESE framework and pays particular attention to the ways that simulations might promote soft skills (e.g., public speaking, negotiation) and/or empathy. Then, to investigate the extent to which simulations promote KESE goals, the article examines several years of pre- and post-surveys of students who did and did not participate in the Mid-Atlantic European Union Simulation. It finds that the KESE framework and intentional, systematic assessment of all four KESE components can help to capture the full array of simulations' potential benefits.
What role does the international diffusion of gender norms play in determining recent increases in women's political representation? We argue that norm diffusion has larger positive effects on ...women's cabinet representation than on women's legislative representation. We also show that within cabinets, norm diffusion affects low‐prestige appointments more than high‐prestige appointments. We test these arguments using an original database of ministers from 1979 to 2009 and find that the association of women's representation with three separate indicators of international diffusion—levels of women's representation among neighboring states, levels of women's representation among intergovernmental organization partners, and time since ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women—is consistent with our arguments.
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.
Will rising world powers tilt global norms in less progressive directions? While there has been much theoretical speculation on this question, few scholars have explored it empirically. This article ...uses existing empirical evidence to test the extent to which countries compromise their own values to gain favor with influential countries. We analyze the gender of ambassadors sent to rising powers and established powers and suggest that this analysis generates insight into the likely effects of rising powers on global norms. We find that the probability that a country will send a woman ambassador to a rising power is significantly lower than the probability that it will send a woman ambassador to an established world power. We show that this difference increases when the sending country exhibits high levels of international economic dependence. Our findings imply that the rise of countries like China, Russia, and India may undermine the global gender-balanced decision-making norm and progressive global norms more broadly.
How do high levels of ministerial turnover affect the strength of ministers and bureaucrats in the Council of the European Union? We test two rival hypotheses - one suggesting that high turnover ...rates will empower bureaucrats, the other suggesting that they will increase uncertainty and increase ministerial involvement. We empirically document high turnover among ministers in the Council. Next, we develop a conceptual framework that identifies four ways that turnover might affect institutional balances. Then we outline rival hypotheses about turnover's vertical intra-institutional effects and present statistical models that gauge turnover's effects on the power of ministers and bureaucrats. Our analysis supports the hypothesis that higher turnover is associated with lower levels of ministerial control. The article generates new insights into institutional dynamics and informs debates about the nature of European Union accountability.
This study investigates whether members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and members of national parliaments (MNPs) use social media in distinctive ways. Specifically, it examines whether ...institutional differences affect the frequency, quality, and nature of legislators’ Twitter communications. Controlling for factors that previous studies find significant, we select for two kinds of legislators: (i) MEPs who are serving in the 2014–19 term and who served as MNPs immediately before their election to the EP and (ii) MEPs who served in the 2009–14 term and have subsequently become MNPs. We compare selected legislators’ tweets over a three‐month period during their EP tenures with their Twitter behaviors over an analogous period during their NP tenures. The statistical results demonstrate few significant differences between MEPs and MNPs. A preliminary qualitative probe suggests that legislators’ tweet patterns may owe less to the institution they serve and more to their policy responsibilities and leadership positions within particular institutions.
摘要
本文调查了欧洲议会议员 (members of the European Parliament, 简称MEPs) 和国家议会议员 (members of national parliaments, 简称MNPs) 是否在使用社交网络服务上存在不同。 具体而言, 本文检测了制度差异是否会影响立法者在推特交流中的频率、质量和本质。 为控制之前研究发现的显著因素, 本文选择了两种立法者进行研究: (a) 任期为2014‐2019年 的MEPs—他们在被选为欧洲议会议员前刚担任过MNPs； (b) 曾在2009‐2014年间担任MEPs—之后被选为MNP。 本文在立法者担任欧洲议会议员期间内挑选了其中三个月所发送的推特信息, 并将其在担任国家议会议员期间类似时期的推特行为进行对比。 统计结果表明: MEPs和MNPs之间几乎不存在显著差异。一项初步定 性调查暗示: 立法者的推特模式更多地取决于其政策责任和在特定机构中的领导地位, 而不是其所服务的机构。
Resumen
Este estudio investiga si los miembros del Parlamento Europeo (MEPs) y los miembros de parlamentos nacionales (MNPs) utilizan las redes sociales de formas distintivas. Específicamente, se examina si las diferencias institucionales afectan la frecuencia, calidad, y naturaleza de las comunicaciones de Twitter de los legisladores. Con control sobre ciertos factores que estudios previos encuentran significativos, seleccionamos dos tipos de legisladores: (i) MEPs cuyo mandato es de 2014 a 2019 y que han ejercido inmediatamente después de su reelección al Parlamento Europeo y (ii) MEPs cuyo mandato es de 2009 a 2014 que después fueron MNPs. Comparamos los tweets de legisladores selectos en un periodo de tres meses durante su mandato en el Parlamento Europeo a su comportamiento en Twitter en un periodo análogo durante sus mandatos en parlamentos nacionales. Las estadísticas resultantes muestran muy pocas diferencias significativas entre los MEPs y los MNPs. Un sondeo cualitativo preliminar sugiere que los patrones de tweets podrían tener menos que ver con la institución en la que se desempeñan y más que ver con sus responsabilidades políticas y posiciones de liderazgo dentro de instituciones específicas.
Recent decades have witnessed the rise, across a wide range of countries, of political institutions designed to promote gender equality and women's political representation. Existing studies have ...shown how international diffusion processes have contributed to the adoption of two kinds of such institutions - gender mainstreaming and gender quotas. Mounting evidence suggests that institutional reforms within legislatures constitute the latest wave of gendered institutional reform. This article identifies and explains trends in the adoption of one kind of gender-focused parliamentary institution - women's legislative caucuses (WLCs). We use a discrete time duration model to assess the effect of several factors on WLC establishment. While there is theoretical room to expect diffusion, structural and institutional variables to affect the likelihood of caucus adoption, we find the strongest empirical support for diffusion and institutional factors. A parliament's likelihood of adopting a WLC rises when sub-regional peers have created WLCs, when women's international non-governmental organizations are active in the country and when the country has implemented a gender quota. Understanding the factors that affect the adoption of gender-focused parliamentary institutions is critically important, we argue, since such bodies provide space to confront masculinized institutionalized rules and norms.
This article probes the extent to which politics in Central and Eastern European (CEE) regions are becoming Europeanized. Existing analyses suggest that Europeanization and regionalization in CEE ...have been loosely related phenomena. These claims, along with broader forecasts about the waning post-accession influence of the European Union (EU), generate predictions that the politics of the regions will be 'lightly Europeanized'. The article presents evidence to refute these predictions. It shows that EU norms, incentives and discourses are being transmitted through EU cohesion policy and becoming deeply embedded in the identities and strategies of Polish, Czech and Slovak regional officials. It further suggests that subnational actors are drawing on EU resources to reinforce their traditionally weak positions vis-à-vis their respective central states.
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