ABSTRACT
Studying women and politics within any one of the nations affords insights into particular raced and gendered political dynamics, but a comparative approach has distinct advantages. Western nations often position themselves as world leaders in gender equality, a position that is quickly complicated by comparative analysis. Comparative analysis provides a critical context in which to examine the political worlds of women. In addition to analyzing the intricate connections that link the local to the global and global to the local in these campaigns, the multileveled approach to politics raises questions about raced and gendered nature of the state. Texts devoted to feminist theory often organize their subject matter as a fixed body of work structured in relation to the history of Western political thought. Feminist theoretical frameworks help clarify points of disagreement and possibilities for negotiation among women activists within and across regions of the world. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
