Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T09:38:57.009Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Conservative Women in Germany and Japan: Chancellors versus Madonnas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2019

Alisa Gaunder  and
Sarah Wiliarty
Alisa Gaunder
Affiliation:
Southwestern University
Sarah Wiliarty
Affiliation:
Wesleyan University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite many similarities between them, the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have represented women in parliament at different rates. This article argues that differences in party organization, electoral system rules, and left party strength interact to explain the varying levels of representation of conservative women in parliament. The CDU's corporatist structure allowed it to represent diverse interests and successfully respond to challenges for female support from the left. As a result of a weaker left party challenge and a classic catch-all party organization, the LDP's attempts to incorporate women have been less extensive and largely symbolic.

Keywords

CDULDPfemale representationJapanGermany
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 16 , Special Issue 1: Special Symposium on Women's Parties , March 2020 , pp. 99 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bösch, Frank. 2001. Die Adenauer-CDU: Gründung, Aufstieg und Krise einer Erfolgspartei, 1945–1969 [The Adenauer-CDU: The founding, rise and crisis of a successful party, 1945–1969]. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt.Google Scholar
Bösch, Frank. 2002. Macht und Machtverlust: Die Geschichte der CDU [Power and loss of power: The history of the CDU]. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt.Google Scholar
Cabinet Office [Japan]. 2005. “FY 2004 Annual Report on the State of Formation of a Gender Equal Society.” http://www.gender.go.jp/english_contents/category/pub/whitepaper/pdf/ewp2005.pdf (accessed March 22, 2012).Google Scholar
Cabinet Office [Japan]. 2018a. “Women and Men in Japan 2018.” http://www.gender.go.jp/english_contents/pr_act/pub/pamphlet/women-and-men18/pdf/2-7.pdf (accessed May 29, 2018).Google Scholar
Cabinet Office [Japan]. 2018b. “Josei no seiji sanka mappu 2018” [Women's 2018 political participation map]. http://www.gender.go.jp/policy/mieruka/pdf/map_josei_2018.pdf (accessed May 24, 2018).Google Scholar
Celis, Karen, and Childs, Sarah. 2012. “The Substantive Representation of Women: What to Do with Conservative Claims?” Political Studies 60 (1): 213–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Celis, Karen, and Childs, Sarah., eds. 2014. Gender, Conservatism and Political Representation. New York: Rowman & Littlefield International.Google Scholar
Celis, Karen, and Childs, Sarah. 2018. “Conservatism and Women's Political Representation.” Politics and Gender 14 (1): 5–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Childs, Sarah, and Krook, Mona Lena. 2009. “Analysing Women's Substantive Representation: From Critical Mass to Critical Actors.” Government and Opposition 44 (2): 125–45.10.1111/j.1477-7053.2009.01279.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Childs, Sarah, and Webb, Paul. 2012. Sex, Gender and the Conservative Party: From the Iron Lady to Kitten Heels. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Christensen, Ray. 2008. “Societal, Electoral, and Party Explanations for the Low Representation of Women in the House of Representatives.” In Women and Legislative Representation: Electoral Systems, Political Parties and Sex Quotas, ed. Tremblay, Manon. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 219–31.Google Scholar
Curtis, Gerald L. 1971. Election Campaigning Japanese Style. Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd.Google Scholar
Dahlerup, Drude. 1988. “From a Small to a Large Minority: Women in Scandinavian Politics.” Scandinavian Political Studies 11 (4): 275–97.10.1111/j.1467-9477.1988.tb00372.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalton, Emma. 2015. Women and Politics in Contemporary Japan. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson-Schmich, Louise. 2006. “The Implementation of Political Party Gender Quotas: Evidence from the German Länder 1990–2000.” Party Politics 12 (2): 211–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson-Schmich, Louise. 2010. “Gender Quota Compliance and Contagion in the 2009 Bundestag Election.” German Politics and Society 28 (3): 133–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dittrich, Karl. 1983. “Testing the Catch-all Thesis: Some Difficulties and Problems.” In Western European Party Systems, Continuity and Change, eds. Daalder, Hans and Mair, Peter. London: Sage, 257–66.Google Scholar
Duverger, Maurice. 1954. Political Parties: Their Organization and Activity in the Modern State. Trans. North, Barbara and North, Robert. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Esping-Anderson, Gøsta. 1990. Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Esping-Anderson, Gøsta. 1997. “Hybrid or Unique? The Japanese Welfare State between Europe and America.” Journal of European Social Policy 7 (3): 170–89.Google Scholar
Esping-Anderson, Gøsta. 1999. Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eto, Mikiko. 2010. “Women and Representation in Japan: The Causes of Political Inequality.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 12 (2): 177–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, Elizabeth. 2013. Gender and the Liberal Democrats: Representing Women. Manchester: Manchester University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferree, Myra Marx. 1987. “Equality and Autonomy: Feminist Politics in the United States and West Germany.” In The Women's Movements of the United States and Western Europe: Consciousness, Political Opportunity and Public Policy, eds. Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod, and Mueller, Carol McClurg. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 171–95.Google Scholar
Ferree, Myra Marx. 2012. Varieties of Feminism: German Gender Politics in Global Perspective. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Frauen-Union der CSU [Women's Union of the CSU]. 1997. 50 Jahre Frauen-Union in Bayern [50 years of the Women's Union in Bavaria]. Augsburg: Hofmann-Druck GmbH.Google Scholar
Garon, Sheldon. 1997. Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Gaunder, Alisa. 2009. “Women Running for National Office in Japan: Are Koizumi's Female ‘Children’ a Short-Term Anomaly or a Lasting Phenomenon?” In Political Change in Japan: Electoral Behavior Party Realignment and the Koizumi Reforms, eds. Reed, Steven R., McElwain, Kenneth Mori, and Shimizu, Kay. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 239–59.Google Scholar
Gaunder, Alisa. 2012. “The DPJ and Women: The Limited Impact of the 2009 Alternation of Power on Policy and Governance.” Journal of East Asian Studies 12 (3): 441–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaunder, Alisa. 2015. “Quota Nonadoption in Japan: The Role of the Women's Movement and the Opposition.” Politics & Gender 11 (1): 176–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaunder, Alisa. 2017. “‘Madonnas,’ ‘Assassins,’ and ‘Girls’: How Female Politicians Respond to Media Labels Reflecting Party Leader Strategy.” U.S.-Japan Women's Journal 52: 23–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2018. “Women in National Parliaments.” http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm (accessed March 13, 2018).Google Scholar
Iwamoto, Misako. 2007. “Electoral Reform in Mid-1990s Japan.” In Gendering the State in the Age of Globalization: Women's Movements and State Feminism in Postindustrial Democracies, eds. Haussman, Melissa and Sauer, Birgit. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 198–208.Google Scholar
Katz, Richard, and Mair, Peter. 1995. “Changing Models of Party Organization and Party Democracy: The Emergence of the Cartel Party.” Party Politics 1 (1): 5–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod, and Mueller, Carol McClurg, eds. 1987. The Women's Movements of the United States and Europe: Consciousness, Political Opportunity and Public Policy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Kirchheimer, Otto. 1966. “The Transformation of the Western European Party Systems.” In Political Parties and Political Development, ed. La Palombara, Joseph and Weiner, Myron. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 177–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kittilson, Miki Caul. 2006. Challenging Parties, Changing Parliaments: Women and Elected Office in Contemporary Western Europe. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Kohno, Masaru. 1997. Japan's Postwar Party Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Kostadinova, Tatiana. 2007. “Ethnic and Women's Representation under Mixed Electoral Systems.” Electoral Studies 26 (2): 18–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krauss, Ellis S., and Pekkanen, Robert. 2011. The Rise and Fall of Japan's LDP: Political Party Organizations as Historical Institutions. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Kürschner, Isabelle. 2009. “Die CSU—eine Männerpartei? Erfolgreichen Frauen in einer Partei mit konservativem Frauenbild” [Die CSU—A party for men? Successful women in a party with a traditional image of women]. Gesellschaft—Wirtschaft—Politik 2: 227–39.Google Scholar
Lovenduski, Joni. 2005. Feminizing Politics. Oxford: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Mackie, Vera. 2003. Feminism in Modern Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matland, Richard E. 2002. “Enhancing Women's Political Participation: Legislative Recruitment and Electoral Systems.” In Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, eds. Ballington, Julie and Karam, Azza. Stockholm: International IDEA, 93–109.Google Scholar
Matland, Richard E., and Montgomery, Kathleen A.. 2003. Women's Access to Political Power in Post-Communist Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matland, Richard E., and Studlar, Donley T.. 1996. “The Contagion of Women Candidates in Single-member District and Proportional Representation Electoral Systems: Canada and Norway.” Journal of Politics 58 (3): 707–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKay, Joanna. 2004. “Women in German Politics: Still Jobs for the Boys?” German Politics 13 (1): 56–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKean, Margaret, and Scheiner, Ethan. 2000. “Japan's New Electoral System: La plus ca change.” Electoral Studies 19 (4): 447–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) [Japan]. 2014. 47th Lower House Election Data. http://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/senkyo_s/data/shugiin47/index.html (accessed May 30, 2018).Google Scholar
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) [Japan]. 2017. 48th Lower House Election Data. http://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/senkyo_s/data/shugiin48/index.html (accessed May 30, 2018).Google Scholar
Moser, Robert G. 2001. “The Effects of Electoral Systems on Women's Representation in Post-Communist States.” Electoral Studies 20 (3): 353–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moser, Robert G., and Scheiner, Ethan. 2012. Electoral Systems and Political Context. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, Wolfgang C., and Strøm, Kaare. 1999. Policy, Office, or Votes? How Political Parties in Western Europe Make Hard Decisions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muramatsu, Michio, and Krauss, Ellis S.. 1990. “The Dominant Party and Social Coalitions in Japan.” In Uncommon Democracies: The One-Party Dominant Regimes, ed. Pempel, T. J.. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 282–305.Google Scholar
Norris, Pippa. 2004. Electoral Engineering: Voting Rules and Political Behavior. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Brien, Diana Z. 2018. “‘Righting’ Conventional Wisdom: Women and Right Parties in Established Democracies.” Politics & Gender 14 (1): 27–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ogai, Tokuko. 2001. “Japanese Women and Political Institutions: Why Are Women Politically Underrepresented?” PS: Political Science and Politics 34 (2): 207–10.Google Scholar
Osawa, Mari. 2007. Gendai nihon no seikatsu hoshō shisutemu: zahyō to yukue [Social security in contemporary Japan: A comparative analysis]. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.Google Scholar
Pridham, Geoffrey. 1977. Christian Democracy in Western Germany. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
Reed, Steven R., and Thies, Michael F.. 2001. “The Consequences of Electoral Reform in Japan.” In Mixed-Member Electoral Systems: The Best of Both Worlds?, eds. Shugart, Matthew Soburg and Wattenberg, Martin P.. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 380–403.Google Scholar
Ritter, Gerhard A., and Niehuss, Merith. 1991. Wahlen in Deutschland, 1946–1991: Ein Handbuch [Elections in Germany, 1946–1991: A handbook]. Munich: Verlag C. H. Beck.Google Scholar
Schindler, Peter. 1999. Datenhandbuch zur Geschichte des Deutschen Bundestages 1949 bis 1999 [Data handbook of the history of the German Bundestag, 1949 to 1999]. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft.Google Scholar
Schreiber, Ronnee. 2008. Righting Feminism: Conservative Women and American Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schreiber, Ronnee. 2014. “Understanding the Future of Feminism Requires Understanding Conservative Women.” Politics & Gender 10 (2): 276–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shin, Ki-young. 2004. “Fūfubessei Movement in Japan: Thinking about Women's Resistance and Subjectivity.” Frontiers of Gender Studies Journal 2: 107–14.Google Scholar
Smith, Daniel M. 2013. “Candidate Recruitment for the 2012 Election: New Parties, New Methods … Same Old Pool of Candidates?” In Japan Decides 2012: The Japanese General Election, eds. Pekkanen, Robert, Reed, Steven R. and Scheiner, Ethan. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 101–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statitisches Bundesamt. 2005. Wahl zum 16. Deutschen Bundestag am 18. September 2005 [The election of the 16th German Bundestag on September 18, 2005]. Wiesbaden: Statistisches Bundesamt.Google Scholar
Statitisches Bundesamt. 2009. Wahl zum 17. Deutschen Bundestag am 27. September 2009 [The election of the 17th German Bundestag on September 27, 2009]. Wiesbaden: Statitisches Bundesamt.Google Scholar
Steele, Gil. 2004. “Gender and Political Behaviour in Japan.” Social Science Japan Journal 7 (2): 223–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stockwin, J. A. A. 1994. “On Trying to Move Mountains: The Political Career of Doi Takako.” Japan Forum 6: 21–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stockwin, J. A. A. 2000. “The Social Democratic Party (formerly Japan Socialist Party): A Turbulent Odyssey.” In Japan's New Party System, 3rd ed., ed. Hrebenar, Ronald J.. Boulder: CO: Westview Press, 209–51.Google Scholar
Tremblay, Manon, ed. 2012. Women and Legislative Representative: Electoral Systems, Political Parties and Sex Quotas. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations (UN). 2015. “Gender Inequality Index.” http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/GII (accessed November 16, 2018).Google Scholar
Vogel, Steven K. 2001. “The Crisis of German and Japanese Capitalism: Stalled on the Road to the Liberal Market Model?” Comparative Political Studies 34 (10): 1103–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Schwartzenberg, Margritta. 2002. Wirtschaft und Statistik [The economy and statistics]. Wiesbaden: Statitisches Bundesamt.Google Scholar
Weldon, S. Laurel. 2002. Protest, Policy, and the Problem of Violence against Women: A Cross-national Perspective. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiliarty, Sarah E. 2010. The CDU and the Politics of Gender in Germany: Bringing Women to the Party. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolinetz, Steven B. 1979. “The Transformation of Western European Party Systems Revisited.” West European Politics 2 (1): 4–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamamura, Kozo, and Streeck, Wolfgang, eds. 2003. The End of Diversity? Prospects for German and Japanese Capitalism. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar