Mind the gap? Civil society policy engagement and the pursuit of gender justice: critical discourse analysis of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in Africa 2003–2015

Chaney, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2110-0436 2016. Mind the gap? Civil society policy engagement and the pursuit of gender justice: critical discourse analysis of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in Africa 2003–2015. Review of African Political Economy 43 (150) , pp. 608-629. 10.1080/03056244.2016.1170675

Preview

PDF - Submitted Pre-Print Version Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

This article presents critical discourse analysis of state and civil society organisations’ efforts to implement the gender mainstreaming goals set out in the United Nations’ Beijing Declaration. It is argued that the latter represents a generational opportunity to apply a Feminist Political Economic Framework to development in Africa. However, the research findings show how current practice falls short of the sought-after participative democratic model of mainstreaming. Instead, analysis reveals significant differences in state and civil society organisations’ policy framing, issues over conceptual clarity and a disjuncture in state and civil society prioritisation of key gendered issues such as poverty, economic inequality and conflict resolution. This matters because it indicates that the capacity of the civil sphere to act as a political arena from which NGOs may challenge the traditionally male-dominated power structures is being undermined by a ‘disconnect’ between state and civil society as they pursue contrasting agendas.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DT Africa H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
ISSN:	0305-6244
Funders:	ESRC
Date of Acceptance:	4 November 2015
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2023 13:50
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/80658

Citation Data

Cited 3 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item