Citizenship in an enlarging Europe : from dream to awakening / Barbara Einhorn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Einhorn, Barbara.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women--Political activity--Europe, Eastern.

Women.

Women--Political activity.

Sex role.

Sex discrimination against women.

Eastern Europe.

Sex discrimination against women--Europe, Eastern.

Sex role--Europe, Eastern.

Europe, Eastern--Social conditions--1989-.

Europe, Eastern.

Social conditions.

Physical Description:

ix, 254 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, [2006]

Summary:

Citizenship in an Enlarging Europe considers the impact of economic, political and social transformation in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of EU enlargement. In a lively and engaging narrative, the author uses gender as the lens through which to examine the processes of democratization, marketization and newly emergent nationalism. She shows the centrality of gender to these processes and the ways in which rigid codes of masculinity and femininity limit people's choices. Individual chapters examine mainstream politics versus civil society engagement as routes to empowerment and participation. Barbara Einhorn highlights the growing public-private divide in the region, pinpointing the negative influences of the neo-liberal market model and its gendered media representations. Voices of scholars and actors from the region enliven the narrative. With great clarity, the author reveals the relevance of fully active citizenship within a vibrant civil society as a measure of democracy and gender equitable societies.

Contents:

1 Democratization and Reinvented National Identity: Contradictory Trends? 1

Difficulties in 'transition' 5

Gender in transformation/transforming gender 8

Gendered nationalisms 12

Feminist sightings: prospects for citizenship 14

2 Issues of Governance: Contested Strategies for Gender Equity 21

Strategies for gender equitable citizenship 23

The role of the nation state in political representation 27

Civil society activism as political strategy 30

European Union enlargement and gender mainstreaming 33

3 Gender in Mainstream Politics: Scaling the Structures 42

What counts as 'politics' and where does it occur? 44

The discursive focus on civil society 46

Gender in mainstream politics 47

Moving gender from margin to centre: the quota debate 56

4 Civil Society or NGOs: Empowerment or Depoliticization? 61

Civil society and gender 64

Feminism in East-West dialogue 69

Grassroots activism 74

Eastern European feminism within the global context 87

5 Family, Nation and Reproductive Politics: Between the Private and the Public 94

Debates about the public-private divide 96

Altered family and social policy models 99

Demographic shifts and the question of childcare 104

Reproductive politics and discourses of the nation 108

6 Femininities and Masculinities: Gender Re-presented 124

Media images and market realities 126

Superwoman teetering on a tightrope 129

Glamour puss sweeps the market 131

Gender and national identity 136

Hegemonic femininity: a conclusion 139

7 Labour Market Access: Persistent Patterns of Inequality 144

Male bias in economic restructuring? 148

Gender-unequal access to the labour market 151

Marketization and occupational segregation 156

Experiencing unemployment 163

The impact of social policy changes 166

8 Citizenship in an Enlarging Europe: Towards Gender Equity? 171

Civil society and the language of empowerment 172

Which institutional framework? 175

Citizenship: agency or capabilities, rights or entitlements? 178

Identity, differences and the capacity for joint political strategies 186.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-240) and index.

ISBN:

140399840X

OCLC:

64230469

Publisher Number:

9781403998408 (cloth)

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description