Brown Bag Seminar: Professor Daniela Donno (University of Cyprus)

Professor Daniela Donno (University of Cyprus) on March 30, 2022 in FASS 2034 and over zoom. 

"Rewarding Women's Rights in Dictatorships" 

How can dictatorships signal a commitment to democracy? We theorize women's rights as a policy area in which autocrats can make democratic progress without risking their survival in the way reforms to the electoral sphere can. We field a conjoint survey experiment on a sample of international elites working on foreign aid and a parallel sample of the American public. Our design allows us to assess how policies related to electoral competition, women's economic rights, and women's representation influence perceptions of democracy and support for giving foreign aid. Electoral reforms significantly improve perceived democracy and support for aid, but increasing women's economic rights is also highly effective. Gender quotas exhibit a significant (though smaller) effect on perceived democracy among elites. The findings indicate that relevant international elites espouse a broad, egalitarian conception of democracy, and that autocrats accordingly enjoy considerable leeway in how to burnish their reputations.

You may use the following the link to join the seminar online:

https://sabanciuniv.zoom.us/j/92915915594