Call for articles. Women and Power: From Descriptive to Substantive Representation”

Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals nº. 127

Barcelona, March-April 2020 

Founded in 1982 and a pioneer in the Spanish-speaking world, Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals is a cultural-academic international relations journal which publishes original articles. Edited by an expert, each number is a monograph which, from a transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective, offers in-depth analysis of a theme related with the international domain. The articles are subjected to an external double-blind peer review process and are indexed and summarised in the main academic databases of the social sciences, for example Scopus and Web of Science. 

Theme and content of Number 127:

“Women and Power: From Descriptive to Substantive Representation”

Scientific coordinators: Mercedes García Montero and Cristina Rivas Pérez (Instituto de Iberoamérica, Universidad de Salamanca – Latin American Institute, University of Salamanca)

In recent decades, considerable advances have been made in the representative democracies regarding the presence of women in politics and other spaces of power. This progress is the result of several factors, notable among which are the social and cultural changes that have allowed women better access to resources, prestige, and enhancement of their capabilities; the growth of a favourable institutional framework which promotes parity by means of establishing quotas and rules; heightened public awareness of gender inequality and its consequences; and a thriving feminist movement which, after years of struggle, has managed to introduce aspects of the gender agenda into the realm of political debate.

Analysis of the entry of women into these spaces of power has led to the expansion of a prolific field of research with several different areas. Some have been widely studied, for example the number of women occupying political positions, and the variables and factors explaining the diverse degrees of their presence in different countries. However, there are other, more incipient aspects in terms of such studies, these being related with the impact of the participation of women in decision-making spheres like parliaments, governments, and international organisms, and the substantial changes this has brought about.

This issue of Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals aims to contribute to this area of analysis by focusing on the characteristics, attitudes and values, behaviour, positioning, and influence of women occupying spaces of power in the public sphere. Hence, articles along the following lines of analysis will be welcome:

• Attitudes, behaviour, and perceptions about the political representation of women;
• Differences between women and men in their ways of exercising and understanding power;
• Women’s careers and political recruitment;
• Ideological positions and inclinations, and their influence on the gender agenda;
• The role of international organisms in formulating equality policies. 

Case studies will be considered, but comparative analyses of several countries and/or international organisations from a longitudinal standpoint are of special interest, as are studies based on empirical evidence. 

Schedule of the call for articles:

30 April 2020: Deadline for abstracts (300 words) and a brief biographical note of author/s (100 words).

11 May 2020: Authors will be informed of the result of the selection.

30 June 2020: Deadline for finished articles (see Instructions for authors)

Selection process: 

• The Editorial Board—coordinated in this number by Dr Mercedes García Montero and Dr Cristina Rivas—will carry out a preselection of articles based on the summaries received.
• The author/s of the selected articles will receive detailed instructions for sending the completed texts by the agreed deadline.
• After a scientific filter check, the final texts will be submitted for external double-blind peer review which will determine whether the articles will or will not be accepted for publication.
• All written communications should be sent by email to publicaciones@cidob.org 

Further requirements: 

• The articles must be original unpublished works.
• Abstracts will be accepted in Spanish (preferably), English, and Portuguese.
• The articles will be published in Spanish with abstracts in English.