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Why Gender Is Central to the Antidemocratic Playbook: Unpacking the Linkages in the United States and Beyond
Restrictive gender norms and authoritarianism often strengthen one another.
· November 25, 2024
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Saskia Brechenmacher
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
about
Saskia Brechenmacher is a PhD candidate and Gates Cambridge scholar at the University of Cambridge and a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, where her research focuses on gender, civil society, and democratic governance.
Prior to joining Carnegie, Brechenmacher worked as a graduate researcher at the World Peace Foundation in Boston and co-led a research project on corruption and state legitimacy in Uganda for the Henry J. Leir Institute for Migration and Human Security at Tufts University.
She has advised major governmental and private funders on strategies to advance women’s political participation and defend civic space in countries experiencing democratic backsliding. Her writing has been published in Foreign Policy, Just Security, National Interest, the Hill, World Politics Review, Open Democracy, and elsewhere. She is the co-author (with Katherine Mann) of Aiding Empowerment: Democracy Promotion and Gender Equality in Politics, published with Oxford University Press in 2024.
Brechenmacher currently serves on the board of directors of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law and as a member of the Advisory Group of the OECD’s Civic Space Observatory. She is a 2017 Atlantik-Brücke Young Leader and a Humanity in Action Senior Fellow and previously gained experience at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in London, and the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy in Prague.
affiliations
education
BA, Brown University, MALD, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, PhD candidate, University of Cambridgelanguages
English, French, German, RussianAll work from Saskia Brechenmacher
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66 Results
· March 21, 2024
The Election Brought Little Change for Women in Politics
But broad patterns obscured two noteworthy trends.
· November 18, 2024
Navigating Setbacks: Women’s Political Representation in the 2024 Super Election Year
So far, elections in 2024 have brought more setbacks than gains for women’s political representation.
Launch of Women LEAD: Women Leading Effective and Accountable Democracy in the Digital Age
July 8, 2024
On the margins of the seventy-fifth NATO summit, please join the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the National Democratic Institute for an event marking the launch of Women Leading Effective and Accountable Democracy in the Digital Age (Women LEAD), a new initiative from the Biden-Harris administration focused on advancing women’s political participation globally and addressing barriers to women’s leadership, both online and offline.
- +7
- Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar,
- Harriet (Hattie) Babbitt,
- Jennifer Klein,
- Jacqueline O’Neill ,
- Francina Armengol,
- Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta,
- Jamille Bigio,
- Sandra Pepera,
- Saskia Brechenmacher,
- Irene Mwendwa
What Strategies Work to Advance Women’s Political Power?
June 13, 2024
Globally, women remain systematically underrepresented in politics. But are current interventions to promote women’s political empowerment still fit for purpose?
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- Regina Waugh,
- Saskia Brechenmacher,
- Katherine Mann,
- Kristina Wilfore,
- Francesca Nyakora
Defending Civic Space in the United States: Lessons Learned Around the World
In a context of democratic erosion, U.S. civil society organizations face a widening array of legal, political, and security threats. They can learn from the experiences of civic activists in backsliding democracies around the world.
· May 9, 2024
Saskia Brechenmacher on Promoting Gender Equality Through Democracy Assistance Aid
A conversation on the evolution of democracy programs designed to encourage gender equality.
On the Front Lines: Women’s Mobilization for Democracy in an Era of Backsliding
Women play diverse roles in and exert major influence on popular movements against democratic erosion around the world, from Brazil to Hungary to India.
- Saskia Brechenmacher,
- Erin Jones,
- Özge Zihnioğlu
Aiding Empowerment: Democracy Promotion and Gender Equality in Politics
International assistance for women’s political empowerment has evolved significantly over the last three decades, from a first generation of aid programs aimed at integrating women into nascent democratic institutions to a second generation focused on transforming the broader political ecosystem.
Women’s Roles in Anti-Authoritarian Resistance
Many autocratic leaders have understood the power of women’s political action and are taking steps to co-opt or undermine it. Those looking to support democracy should take note.
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