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Climate Shocks and Gendered Political Transformation: How Crises Alter Women’s Political Representation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2023

Rachel Brulé Open the ORCID record for Rachel Brulé [Opens in a new window]
Rachel Brulé*
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Boston University
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Email: [email protected]
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Extract

In 2019, visible, “rapid onset” climate-related disasters displaced roughly 24.9 million people, with more than 143 million anticipated to be internally displaced by 2050 in Latin America, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa (Kaczan and Orgill-Meyer 2020). Not only can climate change induce migration, but, I argue, climate shocks—which I define as discrete, unanticipated destruction due to weather such as floods, drought, or windstorms—can also destabilize gendered social systems. Climate shocks can initiate political transformations that open new space for women in representative politics. Additionally, they can compel women to mobilize—as representatives and their supporters—to redirect local and national political agendas to respond to the vulnerabilities exposed by climate shocks.

Type
Critical Perspectives Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , September 2023 , pp. 928 - 934
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Women, Gender, and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association

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