No Agency Without Grassroots Autonomy: A Framework for Evaluating Women’s Political Inclusion in Jordan, Bahrain, and Morocco
Files
Preview
Publication Source
Empowering Women after the Arab Spring
Inclusive Pages
65-90
Creation Date
2016
Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan US : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Document Type
Book Chapter
Description
Today every state in the Middle East and North Africa incorporates women into the political process to some degree, but the extent of women’s political influence varies across the region. This chapter explores the experiences of women in the kingdoms of Bahrain, Jordan, and Morocco—three monarchies sometimes highlighted as success stories in terms of women’s empowerment. I argue that the presence of autonomous grassroots mobilization is key in facilitating women’s substantive political influence. That autonomy is at least partially contingent on the absence of internal mechanisms of control and rival agenda-setting such as GONGOs.