Feminist scholarship has long challenged the exclusions and hierarchies in democratic institutions. Drawing on classic works (e.g. Phillips on the “politics of presence” and Young on group difference), it shows how gender power structures shape policy and participation. Representation, for instance, is a crucial battleground where women’s identities and demands alter political agendas. At the same time, gendered violence (symbolic, structural and physical) is often used to silence feminist claims – even as women’s movements confront this violence to defend democratic norms. These issues are interconnected: vibrant feminist activism can strengthen civil society and democratic innovation, whereas backlash from illiberal, anti-feminist movements (including online disinformation and harassment) can undermine both gender equality and democracy itself. Understanding these dynamics is urgent.
This Collection brings together interdisciplinary research on feminism and democratic politics. We welcome contributions (theoretical, empirical, historical or comparative) from political science, sociology, gender studies, history, law, philosophy, anthropology, and related fields. Our aim is to foster dialogue across disciplines about how feminist movements and ideas are reshaping political institutions, policymaking and representation – and about how democracies can respond to violence and exclusion.
Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:
- Feminist theories of democracy and equality: Re-examining democratic ideals through feminist lenses (e.g. Phillips 1995; Young 2000)
- Gender and political representation: Descriptive vs substantive representation; quotas and parity laws; the politics of presence
- Feminist legislators and identity: How women’s (or feminist) identities influence parliamentary action, caucuses, and agenda-setting
- Feminist movements and democratic resilience: Protests, strikes or civil society campaigns for women’s rights; mobilization against democratic erosion
- Anti-gender politics and authoritarianism: The rise of anti-feminist rhetoric, gender ideology backlash, and illiberal right-wing movements
- Gendered violence in politics: Violence against women (public and private) as a threat to democratic life, and feminist responses to it
- Digital media and disinformation: Online misogyny, networked harassment, or anti-women conspiracy movements affecting elections and discourse
- Intersectionality and comparative studies: How race, class, sexuality, etc., intersect with feminist political claims; cross-national case studies of gender and democracy
- Institutional reforms and state feminism: Effects of gender quotas, women’s ministries, and state-driven gender policies on political equality
- Affective and emotional dimensions: The role of emotion, moral framing, and empathy in feminist mobilization and public support for gender justice
- Feminist Legal Theories, Feminist Jurisprudence & International/EU Instruments: analyses of the influence of feminist movements and activism on law, legal decisions, legal discourses and legal practices; the role Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, the Directive (EU) 2024/1385 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on combating violence against women and domestic violence, CEDAW Convention, among others)
- Education, Science & Technology, and Public Conservative Trends: progress and setbacks; Women’s Studies, Feminist & Gender Studies in Academia; public policies on STEAM.
Editors
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