1st Edition

The Promise and Perils of Transnationalization NGO Activism and the Socialization of Women’s Human Rights in Egypt and Iran

By Benjamin Stachursky Copyright 2013
310 Pages
by Routledge

310 Pages
by Routledge

310 Pages
by Routledge

To date, most constructivist international relations studies have characterized the influence of transnationalism on domestic forms of activism as uniformly positive. In particular, transnational interactions are viewed as positive factors for the development and daily impact of gender activism. Benjamin Stachursky’s book questions the unvarying positive view of transnationalism on domestic... Read more

Introduction. Part I: (Women’s) Human Rights, Domestic NGOs And The Challenge Of Transnationalization: A Theoretical Framework 1. (Women’s) Human Rights And Culture 2. ‘Transnationalism Reversed’ – Reframing The IR Debate On The Role Of NGOs In Processes Of Domestic Norm-Socialisation Part II: The Socialization Of Women’s Human Rights In Egypt And Iran: A Comparative Case Study 3. Contextualizing NGO-activism on Women’s Human Rights in Egypt 4. Contextualizing NGO-activism on Women’s Human Rights in Iran 5. ‘Transnationalism Reversed’ and Women’s Human Rights Activism in Egypt and Iran Conclusion: Refining Theories On Domestic Norm Socialization And Transnationalization

Biography

Benjamin Stachursky is working as a consultant in the field of development cooperation for the German Agency for International Cooperation.

"This is a superb study about the dynamics at work in the translation of global norms. Stachursky focuses on women’s rights as a set of norms that requires far more than state socialization to make a real life difference, and he picks the particularly ’tough cases’ of Egypt and Iran in which he traces women’s rights activism. His results help us understand the complexities of profound societal change and reveal the various roles, both enabling and constraining, that transnationalism may play in this endeavor."

—Susanne Zwingel, SUNY Potsdam

"The book’s interdisciplinary approach to international relations and transnationalism, which incorporates insights from political science, law, sociology, and gender studies, provides an important corrective to the international relations field which has traditionally focused on state actors. By examining the crucial role of non-state actors in the international system and their transnational practices, such as women’s human rights NGOs, Benjamin Stachursky highlights the challenges of these NGOs to not only lobby state institutions but the necessary yet difficult task of targeting the larger society in order to change societal and cultural norms that prevent gender equality."

—Helen Rizzo, The American University in Cairo