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<p>This paper tests the endurance of the participation–representation paradox by examining whether increasing women’s electoral participation in South Asia translates into more political representation, particularly in the conflict-affected setting of Jammu and Kashmir. The study uses a longitudinal and comparative research design using gender-disaggregated electoral data from South Asia, India (1962–2024), Indian states and union territories, and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. Descriptive, correlational, and regression analyses are used to investigate the relationships between women’s participation, candidature, and representation. Women have come close to parity in voter registration and electoral participation across much of South Asia and Jammu and Kashmir. But increases in participation have not been accompanied by proportional increases in political representation. Results suggest that women’s candidature is more closely associated with representation than with voter participation, pointing to institutional recruitment processes as a critical bottleneck between electoral engagement and political office. Aggregate electoral data and candidature-based measures of recruitment are used, which prevents direct observation of party-level selection processes and causal mechanisms. Policies should target candidate recruitment, party nomination practices, leadership development, and institutional reforms that expand women’s access to elected office. Promoting women’s political inclusion can support gender equality, inclusive governance, and democratic legitimacy. This paper proposes a Conflict-Conditioned Political Recruitment Framework (CCPRF) that demonstrates how conflict conditions political opportunity structures and recruitment pathways linking participation to representation.</p>

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Participation, Recruitment, and Representation: Explaining Women’s Political Inclusion in South Asia, India, and Conflict-Affected Jammu and Kashmir

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月16日

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  • Kothapeta Lakshman,
  • Jainendra Kumar Verma

摘要

This paper tests the endurance of the participation–representation paradox by examining whether increasing women’s electoral participation in South Asia translates into more political representation, particularly in the conflict-affected setting of Jammu and Kashmir. The study uses a longitudinal and comparative research design using gender-disaggregated electoral data from South Asia, India (1962–2024), Indian states and union territories, and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. Descriptive, correlational, and regression analyses are used to investigate the relationships between women’s participation, candidature, and representation. Women have come close to parity in voter registration and electoral participation across much of South Asia and Jammu and Kashmir. But increases in participation have not been accompanied by proportional increases in political representation. Results suggest that women’s candidature is more closely associated with representation than with voter participation, pointing to institutional recruitment processes as a critical bottleneck between electoral engagement and political office. Aggregate electoral data and candidature-based measures of recruitment are used, which prevents direct observation of party-level selection processes and causal mechanisms. Policies should target candidate recruitment, party nomination practices, leadership development, and institutional reforms that expand women’s access to elected office. Promoting women’s political inclusion can support gender equality, inclusive governance, and democratic legitimacy. This paper proposes a Conflict-Conditioned Political Recruitment Framework (CCPRF) that demonstrates how conflict conditions political opportunity structures and recruitment pathways linking participation to representation.