Suchergebnisse

A review essay on books by (1) Hans May & Sybille Fritsch-Oppermann (Eds), Menschenrechte zwischen Universalitatsanspruch und kultureller Kontextualisierung. Internationales Symposium ([Human Rights between Universal Right and Cultural Contextualization. International Symposium] Rehberg-Loccum, 1993); (2) Sybille Fritsch-Oppermann (Ed), Frauenrecht als Menschenrecht. Menschenrechte zwischen Universalitatsanspruch und Kontextualitat II ([Women's Rights as Human Rights. Human Rights between Universal Rights and Contextualization II] Rehberg-Loccum, 1995); & (3) Basso-Sekretariat Berlin (Ed), Festung Europa auf der Anklagebank. Dokumentation des Basso-Tribunals zum Asylrecht in Europa ([Fortress Europa on the Prisoner's Dock. Documentation of the Basso Tribunals on Asylum Rights in Europe] Munster, Federal Republic of Germany: Westfalisches Dampfboot, 1995). These three works contribute to the debate over whether human rights are universal or culturally relative. May & Fritsch-Oppermann edit essays that take up several of the debate's central questions: human rights vs development as priorities in developing countries; individual vs collective rights; cultural & religious interpretation differences; universal human rights as a value of former colonizers; & efforts to expand human rights definitions to include social, economic, & women's rights. Fritsch-Oppermann edits an additional collection on the last topic: how advocating the inclusion of women's rights in human rights definitions fits into the universality vs contextuality debate. Materials from the Basso tribunals on asylum rights in Europe provides a series of expert opinions on the economic, legal, & political context of European asylum policies, raising questions about international rights norms & instruments; existence of rights unrelated to government repression, globalization & human rights; & causes of refugee flight. E. Blackwell

During the past three decades there has been an obvious modernization of gender relations. The intensification of gender politics in many countries as well as in the international political arena has been a key factor for this change. At the same time that public policy that has affected women's lives and opportunities has gained legitimacy in political practice, policy research in the area of women and politics has gained legitimacy as well. Globalization has contributed to this development, especially political globalization. It has opened up new opportunities and options to new political actors such as NGOs in various policy arenas including women's rights, environment, and peace. Women's networks have developed as an increasingly important form of organization for mobilization by gender equality actors within and across national boundaries. Several questions can be asked about these networks. First, how do these networks develop? Second, what are the shared organizational characteristics that facilitate mobilization on gender equality? Finally, what are the possibilities and limitations that these organizational networks have as mechanisms for furthering democracy? This book intends to answer these questions by looking at the case of Japanese women's networks since the 1970s. Gender equality actors in Japan developed a new international orientation and consciousness and accordingly initiated mobilization on various women's issues within and across borders. These actors, who were primarily women and committed to changing the existing gender order, formed networks in the process of mobilization. These networks were based on transnational interaction and communication with actors both inside and outside Japan. The origin of these contemporary Japanese women's networks can be found in Japanese society, but their formation is embedded in the global and regional context of the present era, in which a new form of politics – and thus new gender politics – has developed. This book examines the emergence of women's ...

Der Stand der Gender Equality und der politischen Repräsentation von Frauen in den verschiedenen Mitgliedstaaten der EU ist höchst unterschiedlich. Die Autorin vergleicht Schweden, Deutschland, Griechenland und Polen in Bezug auf ihre Verwirklichung der politischen Gender Equality. Dieser Band bietet eine Analyse der Kompetenzen und Karrierebausteine für den politischen Werdegang von Politikerinnen. Die Autorin stellt dar, welche Maßnahmen die gleichberechtigte politische Repräsentation von Frauen und Männern fördern und diskutiert, wie die Europäische Union die politische Gender Equality weiter anschieben kann.