Date of Award
Spring 2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Submission Date
May 2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Comparative Studies Program
Abstract
The political geography of America is relatively unique in the world: the United States is a powerful and wealthy country, but also consists of sub-national actors that retain significant legal powers within their own borders. The political actors in America, at both this smaller level and at the larger Federal level, have uniquely strong institutional power to shape the social and civic life of their citizens. Despite their absolute significance to the survival of their societies, mothers and mothers’ rights have largely been ignored or taken second place to other political issues. As many countries in Europe and other regions in the world have advanced the most basic protections for mothers’ rights, such as paid maternity leave, America has lagged behind. Motherhood, as an institution, has become the orphan of American politics. This dissertation study attempts to understand why, by analyzing and comparing those state-level factors that most affect the power and agency of motherhood.
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Renat Shaykhutdinov
Recommended Citation
Ramskyte-Juszczak, Kristina, "MOTHERHOOD: AN ORPHAN OF AMERICAN POLITICS A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF STATE ACTORS AS INSTITUTIONS" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 34.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general/34