The “Magic” Number: Women’s Critical Mass and Substantive Representation in Angola

Year 2024, Volume: 33 Issue: 2, 205 - 223, 24.10.2024

Pelin Kılınçarslan

https://doi.org/10.26650/siyasal.2024.33.1367071

Abstract

This study explores whether and how a critical mass of women in parliament, after years of underrepresentation, translates into substantive representation of women (SRW). Critical mass in politics refers to a threshold number necessary to effect change in legislative contexts. It is rooted in the assumed causal relationship between two forms of representation— descriptive and substantive—implying that SRW depends on active political engagement. This paper offers a nuanced perspective by deconstructing SRW into a process and an outcome, and it suggests four potential scenarios that connect critical mass to SRW. Through a comparative within-case analysis of Angola, a country that witnessed the emergence of a critical mass of women through the adoption of gender quotas after a prolonged period of underrepresentation, this study reveals that SRW can manifest in multiple forms. This study challenges the assumption of a direct link between SRW and descriptive representation of women (DRW) by demonstrating that the impact of DRW on SRW is multiple and can proceed independently as both a process and an outcome. Ultimately, this paper underscores the need for a more comprehensive understanding of SRW in diverse political contexts.

Keywords

Women’s political representation, critical mass, substantive representation, descriptive representation, Angola

“Sihirli” Sayı: Angola’da Kadınların Kritik Eşik ve Niteliksel Temsil İlişkisi

Abstract

Bu çalışma, uzun yıllar süren temsil eksikliğinin ardından parlamentodaki kadınların kritik eşik düzeyinde temsilinin kadınların niteliksel temsiline etkilerini ve bu etkilerin ne şekilde ortaya çıktığını incelemektedir. Siyasal temsilde kritik eşik, yasama bağlamında dönüştürücü etki sağlayabilmek için gerekli olan en düşük sayısal oranı ifade etmektedir. Niceliksel ve niteliksel temsil arasındaki nedensel ilişkiye dayalı bu ölçüt, kadın temsilinin kadınların aktif siyasi katılımlarına bağlı olduğu varsayımını taşımaktadır. Bu makale, niteliksel temsili süreç ve sonuç olarak iki boyutta kavramsallaştırarak kritik eşik düzeyindeki temsil ile niteliksel temsil arasındaki ilişkiyi dört farklı olasılık üzerinden açıklamaktadır ve böylece daha kapsamlı bir yaklaşım sunmaktadır. Cinsiyet kotalarının benimsenmesiyle uzun bir temsil eksikliği döneminin ardından kritik eşik düzeyinde kadın temsilinin ortaya çıktığı Angola’nın karşılaştırmalı vaka analizi yoluyla bu çalışma niteliksel temsilin farklı biçimlerde ortaya çıkabileceğini göstermektedir. Ayrıca, niceliksel temsil ile niteliksel temsil arasında doğrudan bir bağlantı olduğu varsayımını sorgulayarak, bu bağlantının farklı biçimlerde kurulabileceğini ve bunun süreç ve sonuç açısından bağımsız bir şekilde gerçekleşebileceğini ortaya koymaktadır. Böylelikle bu makale, farklı siyasi bağlamlara dikkat çekerek niteliksel temsilin daha kapsamlı bir şekilde anlaşılmasının gerekliliğini vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

Kadınların siyasal temsili, kritik eşik, niteliksel temsil, niceliksel temsil, Angola

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