AbstractsWomens Studies

Examining state-civil society relationships within the context of social movements is vital for understanding the ways in which movements function at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels—both independently and in relation to the state. This thesis takes the case of the women's movement in Peru under the presidency of Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) to provide empirical evidence for the ways in which such relationships are established, function, and evolve over time. I argue that the opening of State institutions, when combined with non-violent state repression, served as political opportunities that allowed the women's movement to expand their repertoire of contention and to contest the clientelistic and corporatist aspects of the interdependent power relationship they had established with Fujimori and the State. Chapter One offers a portrait of the social, economic, and political context in the years leading up to Fujimori's election. Chapter Two constructs a theoretical framework for the case of the women's movement by interweaving theories of clientelism, corporatism, and political opportunities. I outline, in Chapter Three, the data and methods used to analyze the discursive and institutional activities of both the State (Chapter Four) and the women's movement (Chapter Five), while Chapter Six discusses these activities of the State and the women's movement both comparatively and longitudinally. Finally, the conclusion outlines the key contributions of this study to the fields of Latin American Studies, Social Movement Studies, and Political Sociology before offering avenues for potential future research.