Description
Book SynopsisExamines the life and work of women who have reached positions of political power after the end of communism in Europe. This book explores the roles they have adopted, the relationships they have cultivated, and the agendas they have pursued.
Trade Review[T]his is a well-researched and well-organized volume. It should be standard reading for both scholars interested in woman politicians generally and post-Communist politics in particular. Its importance lies in the questions that it raises, perhaps more so than the answers it provides. 69.3, July 2010
* The Russian Review *
By not focusing on the post-communist superstar, this book draws a nuanced picture of the various women serving as members of parliament in the post-communist era. ... As the women describe their routes to parliament and their work there, they create an account of their experiences with and in power that is comparable to those of women in the West.
-- Elisheva Zakheim * Feminist Review *
[This] book provides genuinely interesting and legible data and analyses that inform us – both in a comparative sense, and by giving voice to individual actors – on the subject of women's pervasive and persistent inequality in the sphere of high politics.
* Canadian — American Slavic Studies *
[T]his edited volume is an important addition to the comparative literature on women in politics. It helps illuminate gender politics in an important, unique, and understudied region. . . . Overall, this niche-filling book is a welcome addition to the libraries of both political sociologists and gender scholars. It is a valuable resource, whether used for reference or instruction.
* Contemporary Sociology *
Unlike so many other edited works, with its succinct and suitable introduction and conclusion, Rueschemeyer and Wolchik's study manages to bring these contributions into a valuable and united whole. . . . This volume is a valuable addition for students of gender politics, as well as of those of post-Communist Central and East Central European cultures and societies.
* H-SAE, H-Net Reviews *
The volume fills an important scholarly gap by examining transitions in the political, economic, and social spheres of the postcommunist world. . . . [A] real empirical contribution to the study of women in power.
* Slavic Review *
Table of Contents
I Introduction
Marilyn Rueschemeyer and Sharon L. Wolchik
PART ONE
II Women in the Russian Duma
Linda J. Cook and Carol Nechemias
III Is There a Women's Lobby in the Polish Parliament: Progress and Current Difficulties
Renata Siemienska
IV Women in the Slovene Parliament: Working toward a Critical Mass
Milica Antic Gaber
V Women in Power in the Czech Republic: Problems and Prospects
Sharon L. Wolchik
VI East German Women in the Unified German Parliament
Marilyn Rueschemeyer
VII Reflections on the Return of the King: Women in the
Bulgarian Parliament
Karen Ghodsee
PART TWO
VIII Conversations with Russian Parliamentarians
Linda J. Cook and Carol Nechemias
IX The Perspective of the Head of the Parliamentary Women's Group:
Senator Dorota Kempka Speaks with Agnieszka Majcher
X A Specialist in Culture in the Slovene Parliament
Majda Sirca
XI Negotiating the Czech Parliament
Anna Curdova
XII From the German Democratic Republic to the European Parliament
Constanze Krehl
XIII Entering the Bulgarian Parliament
Kina Andreeva
XIV Conclusion
Marilyn Rueschemeyer and Sharon L. Wolchik
Selected Bibliography
About the Authors
