Negotiating gendered transnationalism and nationalism in post-socialist Latvia

Abstract

This article examines how gender equality activists in postsocialist Latvia negotiate national and transnational frameworks in their campaigns. The case study for this analysis is the 15-year evolution of one gender equality non-governmental organization (NGO), the Resource Center for Women, Marta, in Riga. RCW Malta's work has resulted in significant steps in policy reform and broader social awareness regarding questions of gender equality. In doing so, it bridges essentialist, patriarchal conceptions of the Latvian nation-state and a transnational European feminist narrative. The experience of RCW Marta affirms the continued relevance of the nation, though a redefined one, within transnationalism, which in turn contributes to a rethinking of post-socialism as a spatial and analytic category.

Donor-Funded Women’s Empowerment in Tajikistan: Trajectories of Women’s NGOs and Changing Attitudes to the International Agenda

“…These projects are aimed at facilitating postconflict peacebuilding and a simultaneous transition from a centralized, socialist government and command economy to democracy and capitalism. In accordance with international development trends worldwide as well as across the post-Soviet space (Sundstrom 2002;Ishkanian 2007;Pares Hoare 2016;Lazda 2018), women's empowerment was also high on donors' agenda in Tajikistan.…”

“…Arguably, the situation in Tajikistan was the exact opposite, as it was poverty which deepened gender inequality. Leaders of women's NGOs in Tajikistan did not question this and other assumptions underlying donor-funded women's empowerment initiatives in their country, even if the applicability of this normative framework in the post-socialist and Soviet space has been widely queried (Gal and Kligman 2000;Sundstrom 2002;Ghodsee 2004;Ishkanian 2007;Szikra and Szelewa 2010;Pares Hoare 2016;Lazda 2018).…”

“…Elsewhere, in the 1990s, an initial resistance on the part of the public and local NGOs to donor-funded women's empowerment could be observed, but over time, local reactions normalized and NGOs became more accommodating towards donor-promoted frameworks (see, e.g. Ishkanian 2007;Lazda 2018). In Tajikistan, a reverse trend took place.…”

Gaslighting and dispelling: Experiences of non-governmental organization workers in navigating gendered corruption

“…Assembling coalitions in this way is flagged as significant in post-communist contexts (Lazda, 2018;Tsetsura, 2013), where gender oppression is acute. This framing suggests that employing more discreet tactics in fighting inequality may be prudent -i.e.…”

“…This offers a basis to forge solidarity that is generated not through abstract commonality but bonds of affection (Vachhani and Pullen, 2019) as well as conflict and difference (Smolović-Jones et al, 2021). Assembling coalitions in this way is flagged as significant in post-communist contexts (Lazda, 2018; Tsetsura, 2013), where gender oppression is acute. This framing suggests that employing more discreet tactics in fighting inequality may be prudent – that is, exercising ‘infrapolitics’ – fighting and organizing under the radar to avoid direct confrontations with and exposure to masculine power (Vachhani and Pullen, 2019).…”