Book Talk: 'Aiding Empowerment: Democracy Promotion and Gender Equality in Politics'

Speaker: Katherine Mann (University of Cambridge, Department of Politics & International Studies)

Discussant: Ilaria Michelis

S2, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DT

About this talk: In this book talk, Katherine Mann will present her recently published book, co-authored with Saskia Brechenmacher: Aiding Empowerment: Democracy Promotion and Gender Equality in Politics. The book critically surveys international efforts to support women's political participation and leadership over the past three decades, with case studies of Kenya, Nepal, Morocco, and Myanmar. It aims to chart both areas of progress and persistent challenges and take stock of the evidence undergirding different programmatic interventions in this area, recognizing that gender equality is a vital but increasingly contested element of democracy globally. They ask: What ideas about gender, power, and political change guide these aid programs? What have practitioners and advocates learned about their strengths and weaknesses, and how might they improve their work going forward?

Katherine Mann is a PhD candidate and Cambridge Trust Scholar at the University of Cambridge. Her research examines the role of gender in conflict, armed group behavior, and conflict-related sexual and reproductive violence. Previously, she was a Research Analyst in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She has also held positions as a Junior Fellow at the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, a Managing Editor at the Cambridge Review of International Affairs, and a Visiting Researcher at the Universidad de los Andes. Alongside her research, she has worked with non-governmental organizations to prevent political violence and support civic activism. She received her MPhil from the University of Oxford and her B.A. from the University of Georgia. Her writing has been published in Foreign Policy, Just Security, and other outlets.

Saskia Brechenmacher is a Fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a PhD candidate and Gates Cambridge Scholar at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on gender, civil society, and democratic governance, with a particular focus on women's political participation in new democracies. She has advised major governmental and private funders on strategies to promote women's political empowerment and support civil society activism and currently serves on the board of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. She is a 2017 Atlantic-Brücke Young Leader and previously worked for the World Peace Foundation, Carnegie Europe, and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in London. Her writing has been published in Foreign Policy, Just Security, World Politics Review, The National Interest, The Hill, Open Democracy, and other outlets.

Ilaria Michelis is a PhD student in Sociology and a Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge. Her research explores how, and to what effect, the concept of intersectionality and its analytical implications are integrated in the practice of feminist organisations that support survivors of violence against women and girls (VAWG). Previously, Ilaria worked in the field of VAWG prevention and response, women’s rights and gender equality in humanitarian and development settings. As both a practitioner and a researcher, she has a strong interest in the relationship between theory and practice and maximising research impact.

For more information, please contact Katherine Mann km829@cam.ac.uk