Leader Sex and State Regimes: Democratic Transitions and the Agency of the Sexes

• In Event: Poster Session: Democracy & Autocracy

Abstract

Why are democracies the sole regime type where females have been able to acquire executive roles? This research aims to address this phenomenon and how it ultimately influences state behavior. International Relations scholars have examined the effects of gender in various contexts related to the field. However, to date, there is insufficient empirical evidence to conclusively support many assertions. Using variables from the Varieties of Democracy (VDem) and Leader Experience and Attributes Dataset, this research quantifies divergences in levels of institutionalized democracy and autocracy between female and male executives where women have obtained foreign policy decision-making authority. It finds that gendered associations play a pivotal role in the perception of male and female leaders, which influences their agency as state executives. Biological sex will typically shape the experiences of state leaders. This subsequently works to shape a state’s domestic and international affairs. By peering through feminist critical lenses, the paper argues that leader sex matters in multifaceted ways relating to state regimes that have been overlooked in the current quantitative literature. Leader sex matters in a complex arrangement of gender role expectations, coupled with the gendered behavior of states and gendered cultures. As a result, both leadership and state conduct are subject to preconceived and gendered assumptions; thereby constraining executives of either sex.

Author

• Joshua Corona, Northwestern University