For Better or for Worse? Gender Quotas and Electoral Violence

• In Event: Democratic Backsliding

Abstract

Does the implementation of gender quotas influence the risk of electoral violence? Existing research on the causes of electoral violence has overlooked the role of gender-based representation that may mitigate the incentives for contentious elections. I investigate how and when gender quotas can influence electoral violence in subsequent election cycles. I argue that gender quotas can be effective or ineffective tools for improving women's representation in government, enacting positive changes in governments, and influencing the risk of electoral violence. This study examines the relationship between gender quotas and electoral violence by combining global data on quotas in the polity, data on bureaucratic dynamics that point to the motivation for implementing quotas, and data on electoral violence across all national elections from 1990 to 2012.

Author

• Maya Dalton, Pennsylvania State University