Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T09:31:06.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Women's Movement Knocks on the Door: Theorizing the Strategy, Context and Impact of Frauen Macht Politik (FraP!) on Women's Representation in Swiss Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2019

Kimberly B. Cowell-Meyers Open the ORCID record for Kimberly B. Cowell-Meyers [Opens in a new window]
Kimberly B. Cowell-Meyers*
Affiliation:
American University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

“Get up, stand up and live! That's a movement.” — Elisabeth Joris (Joris 2015b)

Are women's parties effective? More than 50 women's parties have emerged since 1990 in countries all over the world, contesting and winning seats in local, national, and regional legislatures. Although women's parties are not infrequent, appear in a variety of contexts, and advance common agendas related to inclusion and equality, we know very little about their experiences or whether they have been able to achieve their goals. In this article, Frauen Macht Politik (FraP!) is examined to consider whether and how women's parties present an avenue for advancing women's movement goals. The evidence shows that forming a party can help the movement to set the public agenda, can increase the attention paid to their issues, and can influence the formal institutions of politics. Many variables neglected elsewhere in the literature shape the ability of niche parties to affect the commitments of more established parties: the nature of the small party; its composition, intent, reach, and resources; its institutional context; and the boundaries of the organization. These features also determine the extent to which women's movements can use a political party to influence the representativeness of a political system.

Keywords

women's partieswomen's movementspolitical partiescontagionsocial movementswomen's representationSwitzerland
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 16 , Special Issue 1: Special Symposium on Women's Parties , March 2020 , pp. 48 - 77
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.)

Footnotes

This research was funded through grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation, in coordination with the University of Zürich, the Carrie Chapman Catt Center at Iowa State University, and the School of Public Affairs at American University. None of it would have been possible without the support of Sonja Walti, Christine Scheidegger, and Fabrizio Gilardi and the meticulous and penetrating work of Werner Seitz. All of it was inspired and sustained by the courageous leadership of the women of FraP!, many of whom lent their time and insights to this project. The author wishes to thank especially Elisabeth Joris, Christine Goll and Zita Küng of FraP! and the anonymous reviewers who greatly strengthened the piece.

References

REFERENCES

1990. “Frauen Macht Politik.” Neue Zürcher Zeitung, February 13, 94.Google Scholar
1991. “Die SP und ihre umstrittene FraP!” Neue Zürcher Zeitung, June 17: a37.Google Scholar
1992. Der Frauenstreik in den Medien/ La sciopero delle donne nei mass media. Edited by Schweizerische Journalistinnen und Journalisten Union & Schweizer Syndikat Medienschaffender. Bern and Zürich.Google Scholar
1993. “Woman Breaks into Swiss Male Cabinet after Week-Long Fight.” Associated Press, March 11, A9.Google Scholar
1996. FraP! -X-Press 1.Google Scholar
Armstrong, Elizabeth A., and Bernstein, Mary. 2008. “Culture, Power, and Institutions: A Multi-Institutional Politics Approach to Social Movements.” Sociological Theory 26 (1): 74–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bale, Tim. 2003. “Cinderella and her Ugly Sisters: The Mainstream and Extreme Right in Europe's Bipolarising Party Systems.” West European Politics 26 (3): 67–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bale, Tim, Luther, Kurt Richard, Green-Pedersen, Christoffer, Krouwel, André, and Sitter, Nick. 2010. “If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them? Explaining Social Democratic Responses to the Challenge from the Populist Radical Right in Western Europe.” Political Studies 58:410–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banaszak, Lee Ann. 1996. “When Waves Collide: Cycles of Protest and the Swiss and American Women's Movements.” Political Research Quarterly 49 (4): 837–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bochsler, Daniel. 2010. “Who Gains from Apparentments under D'Hondt?” Electoral Studies 29 (4): 617–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Budge, Ian. 1993. “Issues, Dimensions, and Agenda Change in Postwar Democracies: Longterm Trends in Party Election Programs and Newspaper Reports in Twenty-Three Democracies.” In Agenda Formation, ed. Riker, William H., 41–80. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Budge, Ian. 2015. “Issue Emphases, Saliency Theory and Issue Ownership: A Historical and Conceptual Analysis.” West European Politics 38 (4): 761–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burstein, Paul. 1999. “Social Movements and Public Policy.” In How Social Movements Matter, eds. Giugni, Marco, McAdam, Doug, and Tilly, Charles. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 3–21.Google Scholar
Caul, Miki. 1999. “Women's Representation in Parliament: The Role of Political Parties.” Party Politics 5 (1): 79–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caul, Miki. 2001. “Political Parties and the Adoption of Candidate Gender Quotas: A Cross-National Analysis ” Journal of Politics 63 (4): 1214–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clemens, Elisabeth S. 1997. The People's Lobby: Organizational Innovation and the Rise of Interest Group Politics in the United States, 1890–1925. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Commission Fédérale pour les Questions Féminines. 2004. “Les femmes et les élections fédérales de 2003: embûches sur la voie vers l'égalité politique.” Werner Seitz. Berne.Google Scholar
Cowell-Meyers, Kimberly. 2011. “A Collarette on a Donkey: The Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and the Limitations of Contagion Theory.” Political Studies 59:411–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowell-Meyers, Kimberly. 2014. “The Social Movement as Political Party: The Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and the Campaign for Inclusion.” Perspectives on Politics 12 (1): 61–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowell-Meyers, Kimberly. 2016. “Women's Political Parties in Europe.” Politics & Gender 12 (1): 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowell-Meyers, Kimberly. 2017. “The Contagion Effects of the Feminist Initiative in Sweden: Agenda-setting, Niche Parties and Mainstream Parties.” Scandinavian Political Studies 40 (4): 481–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dominelli, Lena, and Jonsdottir, Gudrun J.. 1988. “Feminist Political Organization in Iceland: Some Reflections on the Experience of Kwenna Frambothid.” Feminist Review 30 (1): 36–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duverger, Maurice. 1954. Political Parties: Their Organization and Activities in the Modern State. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Eatwell, Roger. 2000. “The Rebirth of the ‘Extreme Right’ in Western Europe.” Parliamentary Affairs 53 (3): 407–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engeli, Isebele, Ballmer-Cao, Thanh-Huyen, and Guigni, Marco. 2006. “Gender Gap and Turnout in the 2003 Federal Elections.” Swiss Political Science Review 12 (4): 217–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FraP! 1991a. Kurzporträt der FraP!Google Scholar
FraP! 1991b. “Mehr Frauen im Nationalen Rat.” Zürich, 5 July.Google Scholar
Frap!Xpress 1996 January.Google Scholar
Freidenvall, Lenita. 2003. “Women's Political Representation and Gender Quotas - the Swedish Case.” The Research Program: Gender Quotas – A Key to Equality? Working Paper Series (2). Stockholm: Department of Political Science, Stockholm University.Google Scholar
Fuchs, Gesine. 2009. “Women in Switzerland: From Backwardness to Uneven Progress.” In Women and Politics around the World, 581–603. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.Google Scholar
Golder, Matt. 2003. “Explaining Variation in the Success of Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe.” Comparative Political Studies 36 (4): 432–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldstone, Jack. 2003. “Introduction: Bridging Institutionalized and Noninstitutionalized Politics.” In States, Parties and Social Movements, ed. Goldstone, Jack. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goll, Christine. 2015. Interview with Kimberly Cowell-Meyers. Personal Interview. Zürich, 17 June.Google Scholar
Green-Pedersen, Christoffer. 2007. “The Growing Importance of Issue Competition: The Changing Nature of Party Competition in Western Europe.” Political Studies 55 (3): 607–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green-Pedersen, Christoffer. 2012. “A Giant Fast Asleep? Party Incentives and the Politicisation of European Integration.” Political Studies 60 (1): 115–30.10.1111/j.1467-9248.2011.00895.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green-Pedersen, Christoffer, and Mortensen, Peter B.. 2010. “Who Sets the Agenda and who Responds to it in the Danish Parliament? A New Model of Issue Competition and Agenda-Setting.” European Journal of Political Research 49 (2): 257–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, Kyung Joon. 2015. “The Impact of Radical Right-Wing Parties on the Positions of Mainstream Parties Regarding Multiculturalism ” West European Politics 38 (3): 557–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harmel, Robert, and Janda, Kenneth. 1994. “An Integrated Theory of Party Goals and Party Change ” Journal of Theoretical Politics 6 (3): 259–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hasler, Barbara. 1993. “Mehr Taten statt Worte.” Tages-Anzeiger, October 22.Google Scholar
Hug, Simon. 2001. Altering Party Systems: Strategic Behavior and the Emergence of New Political Parties in Western Democracies. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hug, Simon, and Schulz, Tobias. 2007. “‘Left-Right Positions of Political Parties in Switzerland.” Party Politics 13 (3): 305–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isele, Christine. 1996. “Bedeutung der sozialen Bewegungen in der Schweiz: Entstehungs und Stabilisierungsbedingungen sozialer Bewegungen, und Probleme, die mit der Institutionalisierung einhergehen; erläutert am Beispiel der FraP!” Social Movements, Pressure Groups and Political Parties.Google Scholar
Jegher, Stella. 2015. Interview with Kimberly Cowell-Meyers. Personal Interview. Bern, 24 June.Google Scholar
Joris, Elisabeth. 2011. “Der Frauenstreik im Jubeljahr 1991.” Neue Zürcher Zeitung, June 14. http://www.nzz.ch/der-frauenstreik-im-jubeljahr-1991-1.10913567.Google Scholar
Joris, Elisabeth. 2015a. Personal communication with author.Google Scholar
Joris, Elisabeth. 2015b. Interview with Kimberly Cowell-Meyers. Personal Interview. Zürich, 16 June.Google Scholar
Kaiser, Andreas. 2011. “Lohnunterschiede sind immer noch ein Faktum.” Swissinfo.ch, 14 June. http://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/lohnunterschiede-sind-immer-noch-ein-faktum/30455390.Google Scholar
Kollman, Ken, Miller, John, and Page, Scott. 1992. “Adaptive Parties in Spatial Elections.” American Political Science Review 86 (4): 929–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Küng, Zita. 2015. Interview with Kimberly Cowell-Meyers. Personal Interview. Zürich, 23 June.Google Scholar
Landolt, Noëmi and Suter, Anja. 2011. “FRAUENSTREIK 201: Die Transparente könnten noch immer dieselben sein.” Die Wochenzeitung, June 9. https://www.woz.ch/-1c51.Google Scholar
Laver, Michael. 2005. “Policy and Dynamics of Political Competition.” American Political Science Review 99 (2): 263–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laver, Michael, Kenneth, Benoit, and Gary, John. 2003. “Extracting Policy Positions from Political Texts Using Words as Data.” American Political Science Review 97 (2): 311–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lefevre, Jonas, Tresch, Anke, and Walgrave, Stefaan. 2015. “Issue Ownership.” West European Politics 38 (4): 755–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levin, Leah. 1999. “Setting the Agenda: The Success of the 1977 Israel Women's Party.” Israel Studies 4 (2): 40–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lijphart, Arend. 1994. Electoral Systems and Party Systems. A Study of Twenty-Seven Democracies 1945–1990. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matland, Richard. 2003. “Women's Representation in Post-Communist Europe.” In Women's Access to Political Power in Post-Communist Europe.” In Women's Access to Political Power in Post-Communist Europe, ed. Matland, Richard and Montgomery, Kathleen, 321–42. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matland, Richard, and Studlar, Donley. 1996. “The Contagion of Women Candidates in Single-Member District and Proportional Representation Systems: Canada and Norway.” Journal of Politics 58 (3): 707–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAdam, Doug, and Tarrow, Sidney. 2010. “Ballots and Barricades: On the Reciprocal Relationship between Elections and Social Movements.” Perspectives on Politics 8 (2): 529–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAdam, Doug, Tarrow, Sidney, and Tilly, Charles. 2001. Dynamics of Contention. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McBride, Dorothy, Amy, Mazur, and Lovenduski, Joni. 2010. Politics of State Feminism: Innovations in Comparative Research. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Meguid, Bonnie. 2005. “Competition between Unequals: The Role of Mainstream Party Strategy in Niche Party Success.” American Political Science Review 99 (3): 347–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meguid, Bonnie. 2008. Party Competition between Unequals: Strategies and Electoral Fortunes in Western Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, Thomas M., and Miller, Bernhard. 2015. “The Niche Party Concept and its Measurement.” Party Politics 21 (2): 259–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Müller-Rommel, Ferdinand. 2002. “The Lifespan and the Political Performance of Green Parties in Western Europe.” Environmental Politics 11 (1): 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, Pippa. 1997. Passages to Power: Legislative Recruitment in Advanced Democracies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Polletta, Francesca. 2002. Freedom Is an Endless Meeting. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sani, Giacomo, and Sartori, Giovanni. 2002. “Polarization, Fragmentation and Competition in Western Democracies.” In Western European Party Systems: Continuity and Change, edited by Hans Daalder and Peter Mair, 307–40. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Scheidegger, Esther. 1992. “Schrittweise Zum Ziel.” Annabelle 5 June 5.Google Scholar
Schwyn, Christine. 2015. Interview with Kimberly Cowell-Meyers. Personal Interview. Zürich, 15 June.Google Scholar
Seitz, Werner. 2015. Interview with Kimberly Cowell-Meyers. Personal Interview. Neuchâtel, 19 June.Google Scholar
Strech, Marlies. 1995. “Die Erfahrungen mit getrennten männlichen und weiblichen Listen Repräsentantenhaus Wahl 1991: Frauenförderung oder Frauenverhinderung?” Tages-Anzeiger 1 March.Google Scholar
Stump, Doris 2015. Interview with Kimberly Cowell-Meyers. Personal Interview. Wettingen, 26 June.Google Scholar
Tavits, Margit. 2007. “Principle vs. Pragmatism: Policy Shifts and Political Competition.” American Journal of Political Science 51 (1): 151–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Wordt, Marc. 2015. “Desperate Needs, Desperate Deeds: Why Mainstream Parties Respond to the Issues of Niche Parties.” West European Politics 38 (1): 93–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vliegenthart, Rens, Walgrave, Stefaan, and Meppelink, Corinne. 2011. “Inter-party Agenda-Setting in the Belgian Parliament: The Role of Party Characteristics and Competition.” Political Studies 59:368–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weil, Anjuska. 2015. Interview with Kimberly Cowell-Meyers. Personal Interview. Zürich, 17 June.Google Scholar
Weldon, S. Laurel. 2011. When Protest Makes Policy: How Social Movements Represent Disadvantaged Groups. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolbrecht, Christina. 2000. The Politics of Women's Rights: Parties, Positions and Change. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Cowell-Meyers supplementary material

Cowell-Meyers supplementary material 1

Download Cowell-Meyers supplementary material(File)
File 24.2 KB