"This provocative book is the definitive treatment of state feminism. The authors offer systematic explorations of cutting-edge themes in comparative politics, policy, and gender and politics. Their scholarship here is exemplary. The Politics of State Feminism is a gold mine of insights into the relationships between women's movements and the state, and it will be the book that scholars consult to learn about the development and political significance of the proliferation of women's policy machineries in advanced industrialized countries."---Laurel Weldon, Professor of Political Science at Purdue University and author of Protest, Policy, and the Problem of Violence against Women: A Cross-National Comparison<BR><BR>"The Politics of State Feminism is a comprehensive book---the capstone of an ambitious, long-term, international, collaborative project. Feminist without reservation, the authors address a range of interconnected and interesting literatures, and their conclusions are thoughtful and timely. Very few comparative projects combine this breadth and depth."---Charles Ragin, Professor of Sociology and Political Science at the University of Arizona and author of Redesigning Social Inquiry: Fuzzy Sets and Beyond<BR><BR>The Politics of State Feminism addresses essential questions of women's movement activism and political change in Western democracies. The authors---top gender and politics scholars---provide a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of women's policy agencies and women's movements on a range of important issues to show whether, how, and why they form state feminism.<BR><BR>The central research questions are examined across five policy areas in thirteen postindustrial democracies in Europe and North America from the 1960s through the early 2000s. The authors explore topics drawn from contemporary theory on movements, representation, and the place of institutions in democratic change.<BR><BR>Beginning with the rich studies of policy debates by the Research Network on Gender Politics and the State, the authors use an innovative qualitative and quantitative strategy to develop a new body of theory about the role of state feminism and how it can help further women's rights.