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Revenge of the Patriarchs
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Revenge of the Patriarchs

Why Autocrats Fear Women

Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks
Foreign Affairs, 2022
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8

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Recommendation

When autocrats strategize to suppress free societies, women suffer. Suffragism for women is 100 years old, and yet they have to keep fighting for equality, even in democracies. As Erica Chenoweth and Zoe Marks report for Foreign Affairs, authoritarian movements worldwide are threatening many of women’s hard-won advances. For progress in women’s rights to continue, women must be on the front lines, pursuing diversified tactics and providing power in numbers while moderating conflicts and coercing opponents to defect. A multinational coalition to combat regressive policies would enshrine diversity, inclusivity and equal rights for women and for all people.

Take-Aways

  • Authoritarianism is misogynistic.
  • Mass movements that benefit from the participation of women are more likely to succeed.
  • Authoritarians use propaganda and policy changes to disempower women.

About the Authors

Erica Chenoweth is the Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University and the Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at the Harvard Kennedy School, where Zoe Marks is a lecturer in public policy.

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