International Journal of Sociology 2007/2008

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In 2004 the American Political Science Association Task Force on Inequality and American Democracy concluded that “[America’s] ideals of equal citizenship and responsive government may be under growing threat in an era of persistent and rising inequalities” (APSA 2004).  The central idea of “Causes and Consequences of Political Inequality in Cross-National Perspective” is to explore the issues raised by the Task Force concerning political inequality – citizen voice, government responsiveness, and patterns of public policymaking – as they exist outside of the United States.  The main question is, do the Task Force findings hold in a cross-national and comparative context?  In addressing the question, papers were organized into causes of political inequality, and consequences of it.   The four papers included in this volume from sociologists and political scientists empirically examine disadvantaged groups’ political participation in contemporary Europe (Aina Gallego), regime change and women’s political representation across the world, 1950 – 2000 (Melanie M. Hughes), the interaction of gender quotas and women’s descriptive and substantive representation in Germany (Christina V. Xydias), and the influence of unequal political knowledge on electoral outcomes in Romania and Moldova (Gabor Toka and Marina Popescu).  Taken together, and in light of the Task Force’s framework for analyzing political inequality, these articles provide directions for building theoretical models that explain the causes and consequences of political inequality in cross-national perspective.