Women in Politics and Diplomacy in the MENA Region

Abstract

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is home to countries with distinct governance structures, resulting in a widely variable impact on women’s political empowerment. Despite a history of patriarchal societal norms and marginalization of women, there have been recent efforts to promote women’s inclusive participation in domestic politics and foreign policy. Using qualitative comparative case study analysis, this research draws on an in-depth literature review and thematic analysis of semi-structured key informant interviews to explore the impact of different governance systems in the MENA region on women’s representation, inclusion, and empowerment in the political and diplomatic corps. The thesis focuses on Lebanon's confessional-based political system, Tunisia's democratic turned authoritarian system, and Saudi Arabia's monarchic system as case studies, strategically chosen given their characteristic governance and public gender regime profiles in the MENA region. The study findings indicate that distinct governance structures have varying impacts on the representation of women in politics and diplomacy, highlighting the need for context-specific feminist policies to promote positive reform toward sustainable peace and development in the region. The study concludes with implications for policymakers and directions for future research on governance, gender, and diplomacy in the MENA region.