Dear all,
Paper proposals are very welcome for the panel on Democratising Political
Recruitment at the ECPR General Conference in September in Bordeaux.
Although this panel is not part of the "Gender+" section, its content will
be of interest to many gender and politics scholars, and especially those
working on political recruitment and gender quotas. The panel abstract is
below. More information is here:
http://ecpr.eu/Events/PanelList.aspx?EventID=5&SectionID=94 The deadline
for paper proposals is 1 February 2013.
Abstract:
Political recruitment is renowned for being a “secret garden”, where
political elites are anointed by small selectorates. However, the processes
of political recruitment and candidate selection already vary widely from
one country to another, and even between parties within the same polity.
Criticisms of opaque and exclusive selection procedures, resulting in the
self-reproduction of narrow elites, have led to attempts to democratise and
diversify political recruitment. One such measure has been to involve a
greater number of people in the selection process, either through more
inclusive selection processes within political parties or through the use
of open primaries. Expanding the size of selectorates can increase the
legitimacy of (and satisfaction with) the selection outcome, provide an
incentive for people to become members of a political party, and produce a
candidate with broad appeal.
In addition to democratising the process of selection, another means of
opening up political recruitment to a more diverse body is through the
introduction of quotas and other positive action measures. Quotas have been
taken up in some form in scores of countries around the world. They
facilitate the inclusion of a more diverse range of candidates, even though
the implementation of quotas may actually hinder the use of a more free and
transparent selection process.
This panel considers developments in political recruitment to determine the
extent to which the process has become more inclusive. The democratic
benefits and potential pitfalls of efforts to democratise recruitment will
be reviewed. Papers are welcomed which focus on the electoral and
organisational consequences for political parties of more diverse candidate
selection procedures. We also encourage papers that consider the tension
between the wish to increase involvement by party members and the public in
the selection process, and the desire to ensure adequate selection of
under-represented groups.
Thanks and best wishes
Rainbow
--
Dr. Rainbow Murray
Reader (Associate Professor) in Politics
School of Politics and International Relations
Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
Chercheure associée, Centre de recherches politiques de Sciences Po -
CEVIPOF
Co-editor of the EJPR Political Data Yearbook
Founder and convenor of the Women in French Politics network
www.rainbowmurray.co.uk
Twitter: @rainbowmurray Blog: http://rainbowmurray.blogspot.co.uk/
--
Dr. Rainbow Murray
Reader (Associate Professor) in Politics
School of Politics and International Relations
Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
Chercheure associée, Centre de recherches politiques de Sciences Po -
CEVIPOF
Co-editor of the EJPR Political Data Yearbook
Founder and convenor of the Women in French Politics network
www.rainbowmurray.co.uk
Twitter: @rainbowmurray Blog: http://rainbowmurray.blogspot.co.uk/
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