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Decoupling Values from Action

An Event-History Analysis of the Election of Women to Parliament in the Developing World, 1945—90

McGill University, Canada, liam.swiss{at}mail.mcgill.ca

World polity explanations of the isomorphism of institutions and values among nation-states have not focused sufficient attention on explaining the decoupling or gap between granting rights and actually implementing them. This article examines the decoupling phenomenon by exploring what factors influenced the gap between granting women the right to stand for election and the eventual election of the first woman to parliament in 92 countries of the developing world from 1945 to 1990. Both the influence of the world society and concepts of state-weakness are examined as determinants of this decoupling gap. This article shows that world polity influence on the nation-state extends beyond the adoption of policy scripts to bear on the actual implementation of world cultural models.

Key Words: decoupling • developing world • policy • women in politics • world society

International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Vol. 50, No. 1, 69-95 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0020715208100981


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