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Promoting Gender And Building Peace: Evolving Norms And International Practices, Renata Avelar Giannini

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The United Nations (UN) has incorporated a strong gender perspective into its peacekeeping operations (PKO) based on a renewed focus on women's rights and participation in peace processes. These efforts are part of a complex organizational learning process in which women's central role in peace processes and the increasing efforts to respond to conflict-related sexual violence have become a central component of the organization' s strategy to build a lasting peace. The underlying logic is that it is only after an equitable society is founded and when the other half of the population's voice has been included in the political …

Political Culture And Women's Political Activity In Post Communist Ukraine A Case Study Of The 1994 Elections, Tonja M. Wilt

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This research identifies and examines two distinct political cultures in post-communist Ukraine, characterized by the presence of Soviet and non-Soviet influences. Soviet political culture is associated with East Ukrainian regions where Soviet policies of Russification, collectivization and urbanization were deeply entrenched. The non-Soviet political culture is present in Western Ukraine where said policies were least successful and the Ukrainian culture is more established.

The question posed in this thesis is: To what extent, if any, do regional political cultures influence women's political activity in Ukraine? This study focuses on the Soviet practice of appointing hundreds of women to the Supreme …