ABSTRACT
The feminist framework for policy analysis developed in this book combines conceptual elements from two sets of theoretical sources the inter-related literatures on the state and on policy, from feminist and developing country perspectives. Though this might appear to be an eclectic theoretical strategy, the permeation of policy by the socially embedded state in developing countries and the need to consider its intersections with gender, poverty and ethnic identity necessitates a pluralist theoretical strategy. An analysis limited by the perspective of a single theory would provide only a partial picture of policy processes, since each is insufficient on its own to describe the densely layered and complex realities of policy, particularly of how it is gendered. This framework therefore (re)assembles analytical components from multiple theoretical sources to construct a coherent and verifiable framework that parsimoniously explains observed phenomena. This pluralist methodology allows for flexibility and the use of a contextual and reflexive approach to explain different aspects of policy processes.
