Representative Democracy and the Politics of Exclusion

Abstract

The position of women and their political roles in most third world countries have been described as a mixed bag since the turn of this century. Statistics shows a very low level of women's participation in politics because women have not been given the opportunity to feature well in politics. Contrastively, men have over the years monopolized and dominated the political scene. Is it part of the principles of representative democracy for almost half of the human race to be inadequately represented? What then is the character of representative democracy in Nigeria and the United States? Is it gender-sensitive or gender-insensitive? In an attempt to answer these questions, this paper examines the idea of representative democracy and the extent to which a particular section of the society, notably women, who constitutes more than fifty percent of the population have faired in the political dispensation of Nigeria vis-à-vis the United States. The paper argues that any form of government that does not adequately represent all presumed rational groups of people plays the politics of exclusion. It questions the public/private dichotomy because of its gendered nature stressing that this dichotomy has shaped the experiences of men and women both in and outside the family. The paper highlights other factors responsible for the inadequate representation of women in politics. It concludes by suggesting ways of ensuring a more inclusive politics. Here, politics is taken to go beyond including women or just giving them formal representation in the political scheme of things, but extends to recognizing their positive contribution in politics.