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The Story of the Theory of Critical Mass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2006

Drude Dahlerup
Drude Dahlerup
Affiliation:
Stockholm University
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Extract

The theory of a “critical mass” seems to live a life of its own, in spite of reservations expressed by researchers, my own reservations included. In debates about women's political representation, the importance of a certain number or percentage of women in political assemblies is often stressed. According to conventional wisdom, research has shown that it takes a certain minimum representation, for example, 30%, before the minority, here women, are able to make a substantial difference in politics.

Type
CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON GENDER AND POLITICS
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 2 , Issue 4 , December 2006 , pp. 511 - 522
Copyright
© 2006 The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association

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