Autocratic Genderwashing
The purpose of this book project is to examine why autocracies adopt gender equality reforms. Historically, autocracies have had a bad track record with respect to the adoption of women’s rights reforms. Yet, in the past 30 years a majority of gender equality reforms have been adopted by non-democratic states.
Details
- Period: 2024-03-01 – 2025-02-28
- Funder: Riksbankens jubileumsfond
Description
In the book, my co-author Elin Bjarnegård and I make the argument that modern autocrats adopt gender-equality reforms with ulterior motives: to boost regime legitimacy while shifting attention away from violations of electoral integrity and human rights. We refer to this phenomenon as “autocratic genderwashing”. By taking credit for advances in gender equality, autocratic governments put the spotlight on an area that is widely seen as intimately connected with democracy, while drawing the focus away from persistent authoritarian practices.
To exercise autocratic genderwashing, autocrats devise legitimation strategies aimed at specific groups: the political opposition, international actors, and civil society and citizens. We use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze how and where these strategies take place and whether they are successful. We conclude by discussing how to expose autocratic genderwashing and prevent that gender-equality reforms are being used to strengthen authoritarian rule.
Both researchers and practitioners working with democracy promotion need to better understand how autocratic governments weaponize women’s rights to stay in power. It is important to explore where these strategies take place, whether they are successful, and how to expose them, says principal investigator Pär Zetterberg.