Gender Equality on a Grand Tour. Politics and Institutions â the Nordic Council, Sweden, Lithuania and Russia explores the politics around the establishment, development and transformation of gender equality institutions in the Nordic countries (on the example of Sweden), in the former communist countries east of the Baltic Sea region (the example of Lithuania) and in the northwestern part of Russia. The authors analyze the interplay between the internationalization and Europeanization of gender equality on the one hand and national and local contexts on the other. Gender Equality on a Grand Tour also is the first study to explore the role of one of the leading transnational actors in the region - the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers - in gender equality institutionalization in the Baltic Sea region.
Eva Blomberg, Ph.D. (1995) is Professor in History at the Södertörn University, Sweden. She has published several articles and monographs on gender history, such as 'Gender Relations in Iron Mining Communities in Sweden 1900-1940' in Mining Women. Gender in the Development of a Global Industry, 1670-2005 by Jaclyn J. Gier & Laurie Mercier (Eds.) (Palgrave, 2006).
Yulia Gradskova is Associate Professor at the Institute of Contemporary History, Södertörn University, Sweden. She has a Ph.D. in History (Södertörn University, 2007). Together with Sara Sanders she recently edited a volume Institutionalizing Gender Equality. Historical and Global Perspective (Lexington, 2015).
Ylva Waldemarson Ph.D. (2000) is Professor in History at Södertörn University, Sweden. She has published several monographs and articles on modern political history, including 'Openness and Elite Oral History: The Case of Sweden' in The Paradox of Openness. Transparency and Participation in Nordic Cultures of Consensus by Norbert Götz and Carl Marklund (Eds.) (Brill, 2014).
Alina ŽvinklienÄ, Ph.D. (1988) and a post-doctoral habilitation procedure in Social Sciences (2006) is a principal researcher at the Institute of Sociology of Lithuanian Centre for Social Research. Her main research fields are democratisation and social development in post-communist countries, human rights, identities and citizenship in multicultural societies from a gender perspective. She has published four books (as both co-editor and co-author) and more than 50 articles and chapters in books in English and Lithuanian, which have also appeared in Russian, French and Japanese, since 1987.
Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations
1 Introduction. Gender Equality on a Grand Tour: Politics and Institutions â The Nordic Council, Sweden, Lithuania and Russia
ââEva Blomberg, Yulia Gradskova, Ylva Waldemarson and Alina Zvinkliene
ââTheoretical Approaches
ââGender Equality in the Nordic Countries and Around the Baltic Sea as a Field of Scholarly Inquiry
ââContents and Structure
ââMain Findings
2 Gender Equality the Nordic Way: The Nordic Councilâs and Nordic Council of Ministersâ Cooperation with the Baltic States and Northwest Russia in the Political Field of Gender Equality 1999â2010
ââYlva Waldemarson
ââIntroduction
ââPoints of Departure
ââThe Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers
ââA Nordic Model of Gender Equality
ââBringing Gender Equality on the Political Agenda
ââA Difficult Mission
ââUtilitarian Politics: The Use of Gender Equality
ââMission Impossible?
3 Political Changes and Gender Equality in the Baltic States: The Case of Lithuania
ââAlina ŽvinklienÄ
ââIntroduction
ââPolitics of Visibility and Recognition in the Baltic States
ââWoman Mainstreaming in the Baltic Soviet Socialistic Republics (1940â1990/91)
ââGender Mainstreaming in the Baltic States (1990/91-now)
ââBeyond the Management of Equal Opportunities. The Case of Lithuania (1990â2014)
ââConclusions: Mediators and Innovations in Gender Equality Politics in the Baltic States
4 I Am Just Looking for a Fair Assessment: The Equal Opportunities Ombudsman in Sweden 1980â2008
ââEva Blomberg
ââIntroduction
ââStarting Point: Influences from un/eu since the 1960s
ââGender Equality
ââGender Discrimination
ââThe Transnational Ombudsman
ââThe Gender Equality Policy Debate
ââConclusion: Gender Equality
5 Russia â A âDifficult Caseâ for Gender Equality? The Transnational Politics of Womenâs Rights and Northwest Russia: The Case of Nordic-Russian Cooperation
ââYulia Gradskova
ââChanging Contexts: Soviet âequality of men and women,â Post-Soviet Reforms and the Arrival of âgender equalityâ in Russia
ââCooperating for Womenâs Rights and Democracy Building: The Nordic Perspective on Cooperation with Russia
ââWomenâs Rights Activism and the Institutionalization of Gender Equality: The Perspective of the Actors from Northwest Russia
ââConclusions
Bibliography Index
All interested in gender equality, Baltic Sea region, transfer of knowledge and post-communist institutional change.