Challenging identity hierarchies: Gender and consociational power-sharing

Ronan Kennedy, Claire Pierson, Jennifer Thomson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Consociational democracy has become the most influential paradigm in the field of power-sharing institutional design and post-conflict peacebuilding. Consociation institutes representation for certain formerly excluded groups. However, it simultaneously inhibits effective political representation for groups that do not align with the societal divisions that consociation seeks to accommodate, specifically the ‘additional’ cleavage of gender. Given the extensive use of the consociational model as a peacebuilding tool in divided states and the growing awareness of the disproportionate negative effect of conflict on women, there is a surprising lack of consideration of the effect that consociational power-sharing has on women’s representation. This article considers the specific impact that the consociational model has on women’s representation. We argue that because gender is an integral factor in conflict, it should therefore be integral to post-conflict governance. With empirical reference to contemporary Northern Ireland, it is illustrated that consociationalism is a ‘gender-blind’ theory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)618-633
Number of pages16
JournalBritish Journal of Politics and International Relations
Volume18
Issue number3
Early online date2 Jun 2016
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2016

Keywords

  • consocationalism
  • gender
  • Northern Ireland
  • post-conflict
  • power-sharing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Political Science and International Relations
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

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