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Textbook Cultural Influences On Public Private Partnerships in Global Governance Adam B Masters Ebook All Chapter PDF
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Cultural Influences on Public-Private Partnerships
in Global Governance
Adam B. Masters
Cultural Influences on
Public-Private
Partnerships in Global
Governance
Adam B. Masters
Centre for Social Research and Methods
The Australian National University
Acton, ACT, Australia
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
v
vi PREFACE
international liaison officer network. It was during this time that the nig-
gling questions over global public-private partnerships began to form in
my head. As Project Officer in the college’s Counter-Terrorism Training
Coordination Centre I was asked to comment about a potential global
public-private partnership between the Interpol and an American philan-
thropic organization. Interpol had applied for a million-dollar grant from
the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to fund a bio-terrorism training program.
The request arrived in an indirect fashion. The Sloan Foundation had
contacted the FBI asking for comment on the proposal. The FBI referred
them on to the AFP liaison officer in Washington as a more independent
source. The liaison officer, whom I knew well, asked me for a report based
on my experience with Interpol Canberra and counter-terrorism training.
I prepared a short report pointing out the strengths and the weaknesses of
the proposed program. Ultimately, Interpol was successful in its applica-
tion, and a training program sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,
ran for several years.
But here was the curious thing – why would an international govern-
ment organization seek non-public funding for a counter-terrorism pro-
gram? This question becomes more puzzling as the application was made
in the years immediately following the 9/11 terror attacks on the US. Law
enforcement in the developed world was awash with additional funding
for counter-terrorism. Unfortunately, in those busy days I had no time to
delve into this puzzle.
For me, the puzzle of why IGOs enter GPPPs remained unanswered.
Now, more than a decade later, I can contribute to an improved under-
standing of both why international government organizations enter global
public-private partnerships and how organisational cultures and profes-
sional cultures shape these partnerships
Adam B. Masters
Acknowledgements
As with all significant research projects there are too many people to prop-
erly acknowledge, so my apologies to those who have supported me
through this process that are not mentioned specifically below (you know
who you are).
This book could not have been completed without the support of my
wife (and part-time editor) Anne. She has indulged my efforts to change
career focus and spend time away from her so that I can teach, conduct
fieldwork, attend conferences, and other academic pursuits.
A key aspect of this research has been the fieldwork in both Europe and
Canberra. This book would not have been made possible without the offi-
cials from the International Telecommunication Union, the International
Criminal Police Organization and the International Centre for the Study
of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property who gave their
time to sit with a researcher from Australia. The dedication to their respec-
tive professions and organizations has informed my thinking on global
public-private partnerships. Those who wished to be named are listed in
the interviewee list, but no less thanks are passed to the officials wishing to
remain anonymous and those who I spoke with informally. Without the
support of officials in Canberra, I could not have gained access to their
international counterparts. My thanks also to Jason Ashurst at the
Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
and Rob Blount at the Australian Federal Police for his support.
Quite a few academic colleagues deserve special attention for their assis-
tance in reading and commenting on my chapters. At the Australian
National University – John Wanna, Carsten Daugbjerg and Fiona Allen
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Global public-private partnerships influence our daily lives. They are part
of the global governance framework – yet our understanding of them is
incomplete. Past research has attributed the existence of these partner-
ships between state, market and civil society actors variously to the influ-
ence of leaders, new management ideas, resource deficits and the
proliferation of issues beyond the ability of any single sector to manage.
Yet explorations of these themes primarily focused on the United Nations
core agencies, and overlooked the technical international government
organizations; organizations which facilitate a multitude of transactions in
various policy areas between nation-states, their agencies and administra-
tions. Personal experience with such an organization – Interpol – indi-
cated the answer to the puzzle was incomplete. Therefore, this study was
undertaken to further explore the question of why international govern-
ment organizations participate in global public-private partnerships.
Using case studies, this book provides a better explanation for the phe-
nomena of global public-private partnerships. Research was conducted
with the International Telecommunication Union, the International
Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and the International Centre for
the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.
Between them, they represented a diverse section of international policy
fields – communication; police cooperation and cultural conservation.
Global public-private partnerships are shaped by both the dominant pro-
fessional culture within each international government organization, and
their unique organizational culture. Furthermore, these cultural factors
also influence how the other factors are perceived and then acted upon.
ix
x ABSTRACT
The end results are partnerships that comfortably fit with the beliefs, val-
ues, norms and assumptions common to the respective professional and
organizational cultures. In turn, we can all communicate freely, have
greater confidence that borders will not prevent criminal investigations,
and continue to learn from the collective heritage of humanity.
Contents
4 Cultures 101
5 Leaders 131
xi
xii CONTENTS
Appendices 259
References 271
Index 299
List of Figures
xiii
List of Tables
xv
CHAPTER 1
The curiousity that sparked this book was my first experience of a global
public-private partnership. While working for the Australian Federal Police
(AFP) in 2003, I was asked to comment about a potential global public-
private partnership (GPPP) between the Interpol Secretariat General and
an American philanthropic organization. In essence, Interpol had applied
for a million dollar grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to fund a
bio-terrorism training program.
The request for comment had arrived in an indirect fashion. The foun-
dation had contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) asking for
comment on the proposal. The FBI referred them on to the AFP liaison
officer in Washington as a more independent source. The liaison officer, a
colleague of mine, asked me for a report based on my experience with the
Australian National Central Bureau of Interpol (Interpol Canberra) and
counter-terrorism training. I prepared a short report pointing out the
strengths and the weaknesses of the proposed programme. Ultimately, the
Interpol succeeded in its application, and a training programme sponsored
by the Sloan Foundation ran for several years.
Yet here was the thing – why would an international government orga-
nization (IGO) seek non-public funding for a counter-terrorism pro-
gramme? This question becomes more puzzling as the Interpol application
was made in the years immediately following the 9/11 terror attacks on
the United States. Law enforcement in the developed world was awash
1
The official name is The International Criminal Police Organization-INTERPOL. The
name “INTERPOL” originates from the telegraphic address of the organization and was
incorporated into the official name in 1956. For easier reading the telegraphic name is
omitted.
ACROSS THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE DIVIDE IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPHERE 3
Union (ITU)2 and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation
and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) – this book demon-
strates how police professionals formulate partnerships that conform with
the controlling aspects of police culture; engineers build elegantly struc-
tured partnerships; and conservators’ partnerships focus on whatever it
takes to save the cultural artefacts of humankind.
IGOs are a significant part of the policy environment – globally and
domestically. For example, the ITU provides a technical framework
enabling people to have telephone conversations between any two (or
more) points on the globe; Interpol facilitates police cooperation across
international borders; and ICCROM3 works to ensure the preservation of
cultural heritage. These are only a fraction of 250+ IGOs created over the
past two centuries as formalized mechanisms of cooperation between
nations.
European government’s created the first IGO at the Conference of
Vienna in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars – the Central Commission
for the Navigation on the Rhine (1815). There are now IGOs involved in
issues ranging from the most basic of human needs to the furthest reaches
of technology – from famine relief to satellite communications. Some
IGOs are tiny, with barely three member-states; whereas others are truly
global, with more than 100, and often close to 200, member-states. These
organizations are important parts of the machinery making the modern
world tick. Although they are not the only type of transnational actor –
multi-national corporations, international non-government organizations
and other actors also occupy the international sphere – they are the public
bodies representing a collective response by national governments to com-
mon problems and interests.
2
Telecommunication, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, was introduced to
English from the French at the 1932 International Telecommunication Union plenipoten-
tiary conference. It first appeared in the documents emanating from this meeting. To avoid
confusion it is the broad term employed for all communication technology from this point
on. Reference to the various media – telegraph, telephone, telex, radio, television etc. will be
made when contextually appropriate.
3
ICCROM is the acronym for the International Centre for Conservation, Rome. The
longer ‘International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural
Property’ has always been the official name, but employees there have always referred to it as
the Centre, the Rome Centre or ICCROM. The shorter forms – International Centre for
Conservation or Rome Centre – shall be used throughout this book.
4 A. B. MASTERS
This helps explain why IGOs enter into partnerships, when partner-
ships are formed, how they are formally or informally structured, and how
these cultural influences change or shape subsequent partnership behav-
iour and outcomes. Professional and organizational cultures provide the
Weltanschauung, or world-view, through which all other factors influenc-
ing partnerships are interpreted. In some cases, professional and organiza-
tional cultures themselves have changed to accommodate public-private
partnerships. Yet in other cases, public-private partnerships are long estab-
lished parts of both professional culture and organizational culture.
The concept of a global public-private partnership is defined in this
research as a relatively institutionalized transboundary interaction, which
includes at least one global IGO and private actors. The term global is
emphasized in this definition to indicate a research focus on IGOs with
more than 100 member-states and no barriers4 to nation-state member-
ship. Chapter 2 details the development of this concept more fully.
This book only explores the reasons why IGOs enter public-private
partnerships to explain how they occur, not why or how business or civil
society actors do so. The motivations for private actors are covered by
extensive literatures on corporate social responsibility in the case of busi-
ness (Carroll and Shabana 2010; Frederick 2006; Frumkin 2003; Rumsey
and White 2009; Schwartz and Carroll 2003), and philanthropy in the
case of civil society (see Adam 2004; Berman 1983; Bolling and Smith
1982; Curti 1957, 1963; Moran 2009, 2010; Murphy 1976). A third
4
Barriers to membership are often based on factors of geo-politics (e.g. the European
Union), economics (e.g. the G20) or culture (e.g. Organization of the Islamic Culture).
These organizations are often referred to as universal international government organiza-
tions. However, for the purposes of this study organizations with 100+ member states have
a global characteristic. Universal international government organizations can be significantly
smaller (e.g. the International Cotton Advisory Committee).
ACROSS THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE DIVIDE IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPHERE 5
Source: Modified from the work of Bull et al. (2004), Bull and McNeill (2007, 2010), Buse and Walt
(2000a, b), Kaul (2006), Lee et al. (1997) and Tesner and Kell (2000)
motivator for private involvement is the desire for civil society organiza-
tions to have a voice in international forums (Nanz and Steffek 2004;
Smith and Moran 2000; Tallberg 2010; Weir 2007; Woods and Narlikar
2001). These private motivating factors are not the same as those motivat-
ing the public partners as can be seen on Table 1.1.
On the surface, the scenario I experienced with Interpol and the Sloan
Foundation rested uneasily with three of the factors above. There had
been no radical change in the leadership of the organization, public
finances were apparently available, and the organization could never have
been described as ideologically neo-Marxist. The sixth factor – a fast mov-
ing, emerging global issue, in this case transnational terrorism – was clearly
at play, and carried more weight than the other factors.
Furthermore, the framework in Table 1.1 relied almost exclusively on
analysis of the United Nations system with a focus on the policy fields of
health (Buse and Walt 2000a, b) and development (Kaul 2006). The
International Criminal Police Organization is independent of the United
Nations, thus a possibility existed that organizations outside the United
Nations system had different motivations behind their partnerships.
Therefore the question required another revisit.
Methodological Notes
This research develops a better understanding of why and how IGOs seek
and operate partnerships. The analysis primarily rests on comparative case
studies of three organizations – the ITU, Interpol and the ICCROM. The
comparative analysis is broken into five themes – cultures, leaders, ideas,
resources and global issues – to illustrate the different influences between
organizational approaches to the GPPPs. This section discusses the main
methods employed – case studies developed from documentary research
and semi-structured interviews.
These notes include the method for case selection, based on a broad
analysis of a defined population of IGOs and a new classification structure
for the scope of IGO activities. The selection process itself first revealed
the extent of the GPPP phenomena. Secondly, through a filtering process,
three organizations emerged as ideal choices for comparative analysis. The
section then outlines the thematic framework for analysing why IGOs
enter GPPPs. In closing, the chapter briefly explores the three chosen case
studies and how they fit in the analytical frame.
Case Studies
Comparative case studies present a method for both broad and deep inves-
tigation of IGOs and their partnerships. A case study approach is ‘the
detailed examination of an aspect of a historical episode to develop or test
8 A. B. MASTERS
Interviews
Interviews provide a key to discovering how practitioners and IGO elites
deal with PPPs. Heclo and Wildavsky (1974) explained that ‘the cure for
ignorance about how something gets done is to talk with those who do it’.
The interviews for this research reached beyond the public façade and the
documentary record of the case organizations and gave voice to the offi-
cials who managed or operated GPPPs. These officials were knowledge-
able about the philosophy and operation of these partnerships. Oftentimes,
the officials were long-serving international civil servants who had been
present when their organizations turned to GPPPs, thus the interviews
tapped deeply into institutional memory.
The interviews elicited unwritten knowledge about how public-private
partnerships operate in practice. For example, some unsuccessful partner-
ships are not publicized because they fail. As time moves on, sensitivity to
such knowledge becoming public diminishes, and only interviews garner
opinions on what failed and why; particularly if such opinion is not in
accord with the official record. The negotiations, internal politics and
interactions between secretariat staff, partners, member-state representa-
tives and executive councils may never become subject to an official record.
Interviewees chose their own level of anonymity. Some elected to be
identified by their position or organization, but not by name, while others
did not want to be identified even by their organization. One official pro-
hibited recording of the interview. Interpol’s Office of Legal Affairs
imposed a strict condition of anonymity on their interviewees, even
10 A. B. MASTERS
though some officials openly expressed that they had no issue with being
identified. Those choosing to remain off the record still provided useful
background information, and leads for further investigation. Appendix 2
details the interviews. Interviews were semi-structured around the themes
identified in the literature, respondents were encouraged to provide their
own perspective. Triangulation using multiple respondents to provide dif-
ferent perspectives on the same issues strengthened the veracity of the
interviews.
Field Observations
Accessing documents, archives, libraries and interviewees required a
month at each organization. This was perhaps insufficient time to ‘sink-in’
to the organization and really understand it, creating a risk of cultural
relativism – that a culture can only be properly understood on its own
terms and by its own standards (Benedict 1946).5 Nevertheless, some
observations made at the time proved useful, but it cannot be said this was
close to a true application of the ethnographic methods outlined by Geertz
(1973), Rhodes et al. (2007) or Hendriks (2007).
Despite the risk of cultural relativism, Interpol welcomed me with open
arms, as ‘one of us’. I had full access to facilities, documents and staff, only
limited with interviewee anonymity. At ICCROM the welcome was
slightly cooler. As an academic I was welcomed. However, there was a
slight disciplinary disconnect for an international relations scholar – even
though international relations is part of ICCROM’s daily practice. Once
staff became aware of my experience in running an archive and small
museum the reception noticeably improved – not that it was poor. In both
organizations it was a distinct advantage to be able to speak the ‘profes-
sional language’.
Things were different at the ITU. While welcomed and given access,
the personal experience was slightly more isolated. Interviewees were open
in their discussions with me, however a significant proportion of the inter-
views was spent explaining technical matters. This is not a negative cri-
tique of the ITU, simply the organizational culture was the most alien to
me – nor did I speak the language of telecommunication engineering. The
experience in these organizations proved critical to forming the final thesis
of this research. However, my experiences in the field were preceded by
some careful case selection.
5
This danger is somewhat mitigated by the author’s experience in both museum and police
settings – see preface.
ACROSS THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE DIVIDE IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPHERE 11
Case Selection
Case selection began with a scan of the websites of the 265 formal IGOs
identified by Volgy et al. (2008a), which;
To narrow the field a series of filters were applied. The first filter deter-
mined an organization’s position on partnerships. The web scan discov-
ered whether IGOs received financial support for their operations from
the private or non-profit sectors. Indicators included: specific reference/s
on the website to partnership arrangements, data from annual and finan-
cial report, or policy directions in organizational statutes. The financial
support benchmark aligned with the analytic factor attributing GPPP
motivation to financial crises. Table 1.2 presents the results of the web
search categorized within seven broad policy arenas.
Source: Author research on 265 IGO websites identified by Volgy et al. (2008b)
12 A. B. MASTERS
Political UN 1 4 25.0
Military/security INTERPOL, IOM 2 5 40.0
Economic BIE, CFC, FAO, IFAD, IFC, 6 15 40.0
UNIDO
Social/environment ICCROM, UNESCO, 4 12 33.3
UNWTO, WHO
Commodity based AVRDC, IRSG, IWC 3 17 17.6
Scientific/standards IIR, IMO, ISTC, WIPO, WMO 5 11 45.5
Communication/ IMSO, ITU, PIANC, 4 7 57.1
transport Intersputnik
Total 25 71 35.2
Source: Author research on 265 IGO websites identified by Volgy et al. (2008b)
ACROSS THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE DIVIDE IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPHERE 13
UN family Yes No No
Organization type Transport/ Security Social/
communication environmental
Partnership types Policy dialogue Yes No No
Advocacy No Yes Yes
Informational & Yes Yes Yes
learning
Mobilizing Yes Yes Yes
private funds
Operational Yes Yes Yes
Partners For profit Yes Yes Yes
corporations
Non-profit Yes Yes Yes
organizations
Individuals Yes Yes Yes
Academia Yes Yes Yes
Other public Yes Yes Yes
institutionsa
Drivers Financial stress No Yes Yes
Ideological No No No
change
Leadership No No No
change
Market Yes Yes Yes
efficiencies
Emerging issues Yes Yes Yes
Source: Author analysis of ICCROM (2011), Interpol (2010) and ITU (2010)
a
State bodies that do not represent the member-state in the organizations forum. They are included as
they are often part of the ‘public’ representation in the GPPPs
14 A. B. MASTERS
Interpol
Interpol was formed in 1923 by police and law enforcement officials, and
is one of the few IGOs not created by diplomatic processes; it exists with-
out a treaty to this day (Anderson 1989; Martha 2010; Masters 2011).
This lack of a governance document crafted by statesmen or diplomats has
a bearing on the research, particularly as the member-state forum is over-
whelmingly populated by law enforcement officials, not diplomats. The
choice of the police organization is further reinforced by the rapid increase
in reliance on private funding in recent years. Between 2007 and 2008,
their operational budget sourced from corporate or philanthropic organi-
zations increased from 7% to 15% (Interpol 2008, 2009). The rise in
Interpol’s reliance on non-member country contributions has continued
to the point where member country contributions now only represents
46% of the organization’s expenditure (Interpol 2017).
ITU
Although the main focus of this work is on organizations outside the UN,
the ITU provides its own reasons for inclusion. Firstly, it is the only global
IGO in the communication / transport category to receive more than
10% of its budget from non-state sources. Second, the organization is one
of the oldest IGOs and pre-dates the UN by 80 years. Thirdly, while it has
193 state-members, there are more than 700 telecommunication sector-
members. Finally, the nature of international telecommunication has
always had a public-private nature, unlike development or health related
organizations. Therefore a historical affinity and understanding exists
within the Union for working with private actors.
ACROSS THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE DIVIDE IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPHERE 15
Sources: Bull et al. (2004), Bull and McNeill (2007, 2010), Buse and Walt (2000a, b), Kaul (2006), Lee
et al. (1997) and Tesner and Kell (2000)
Excluding motivating factors of private partners
a
Thematic Analysis
This study is structured on a thematic analysis of the reasons why GPPPs
are formed. Five analytical themes are based upon 13 factors identified as
contributory to GPPPs. Singular analysis of each factor proved inappropri-
ate, particularly as some factors had little or no influence in the selected
cases. For example, the factor claiming IGOs changed from a neo-Marxist
to a neo-liberal outlook may have currency in development agencies, but
little or none for the cases explored herein. Furthermore, three factors
relate to the motivations of private actors, who are not the focus of this
research. Therefore factors are grouped into umbrella themes. While the
research focus is on the factors motivating public organizations, the the-
matic approach enables consideration of private-partner motivations
where necessary (Table 1.5).
Hubertine Auclert.
H. Auclert.
C’est la loi sur la tutelle[9] qui pour exclure les femmes—hormis les
mères et les ascendantes—de la tutelle et des conseils de famille, n’hésite
pas à les classer avec les repris de justice et les fous.
C’est la loi humiliante qui, pour attestation civile verbale ou écrite,
assimile les femmes aux hommes imbéciles et aux hommes déchus de
leurs droits. Les femmes ne seront reçues à témoigner, ni dans un acte de
naissance, ni dans un acte de mariage, ni dans un acte de vente. Que dis-
je? Une femme n’est pas même admise à certifier l’identité d’une autre
femme pour la légalisation d’une signature[10].
Si les femmes avaient été présentes dans les assemblées législatives,
elles ne se seraient pas vu attribuer, en même temps que la qualification
de mineures, le plus de charges, le moins de droits.
Par affranchissement civil de la femme, en un mot, on entend
l’abrogation de toutes les lois d’exception qui dégagent les hommes des
responsabilités et chargent les femmes des plus lourds fardeaux.
Quels sont ceux qui peuvent abroger les lois iniques qui oppriment les
femmes dans la vie civile?
Ce sont les électeurs et les législateurs, c’est-à-dire, ceux-là seuls qui
font ou qui commandent de faire les lois. Voilà un point bien établi.
Maintenant, qu’est-ce que l’affranchissement politique de la femme?
C’est l’avènement de la femme au droit qui confère le pouvoir de faire
les lois, par soi-même si l’on est élu député, par délégation si l’on est
électeur.
Donc il est de toute évidence que le droit politique est pour la femme la
clef de voûte qui lui donnera tous les autres droits.
Quand les femmes pourront intervenir dans les affaires publiques, leur
premier soin sera de réprimer l’injuste législation. Leur premier acte sera
d’user du droit qu’elles auront de changer leur sort.
Mais tant que la femme n’a pas le pouvoir d’infirmer les lois qui
l’oppriment, sur qui compterait-elle pour le faire?
Sur l’homme?
Eh! c’est l’homme qui a établi les lois actuelles et ces lois ne le gênent
pas, bien au contraire. Elles lui donnent toutes facilités pour nous gêner.
Aussi, au lieu de supprimer ces lois qui rendent la femme esclave,
l’homme s’occupe d’en créer qui élargissent encore son horizon. Dans ce
pays où l’on compte dix-neuf millions de souverains—les hommes—et dix-
neuf millions et plus d’esclaves—les femmes—les réformes que les
hommes regardent comme essentielles sont des réformes qui leur
octroient de nouveaux privilèges.
Ceci fait, qu’il est hors de doute pour nous, que tant que la femme ne
possédera pas cette arme—le vote—elle subira le régime du droit
masculin. Tous ses efforts seront vains pour conquérir ses libertés civiles
et économiques.
Ce qu’il faut aux femmes pour s’affranchir de la tyrannie masculine—
faite loi—c’est la possession de leur part de souveraineté; c’est la qualité
de citoyenne française; c’est le bulletin de vote.
La femme citoyenne, c’est-à-dire la femme investie des plus hauts
droits sociaux, aura par la liberté, sa dignité rehaussée, par le sentiment
de sa responsabilité, son caractère augmenté.
La femme citoyenne se relèvera promptement de sa fâcheuse situation
économique. L’Etat et la législation ne l’inférioriseront plus. L’instruction de
la femme étant comme celle de l’homme essentiellement utilitaire, toutes
les carrières, toutes les professions lui seront accessibles, et, quelque soit
son travail, la femme ne le verra plus déprécié sous le prétexte ridicule
qu’il émane d’une femme.
La femme investie des plus hauts droits sociaux, la femme citoyenne
quintuplera l’efficacité de son influence maternelle; elle aura le pouvoir de
doter les générations d’une si grande hauteur de vues morales, que dans
les rapports humains, la fraternité se substituera à l’égoïsme, et dans la
société—l’harmonie—aux tiraillements actuels.
Tant que la femme n’aura pas le pouvoir d’intervenir partout où ses
intérêts sont en jeu pour les défendre, un changement dans la condition
politique ou économique de la société ne remédierait pas à son sort. Nous
pouvons appuyer cette allégation par des faits. Depuis un siècle, plusieurs
révolutions politiques ont eu lieu. Les femmes s’y sont plus ou moins
mêlées. Elles ont partagé les dangers de la bataille, mais elles n’ont eu de
la victoire ou de la défaite des opinions qui divisent les hommes, aucun
avantage.
Un changement de l’ordre social économique n’affranchirait pas la
femme, car bien que tous les jours la question économique soit résolue
pour un petit nombre de personnes, la condition de la femme est chez les
favorisés de la fortune, le lendemain, le même que la veille. Il y a en
France des femmes pauvres et des femmes millionnaires. Eh bien! les
femmes millionnaires sont soumises aux mêmes lois tyranniques que les
femmes pauvres. Toutes les femmes souffrent ou peuvent souffrir de la
législation actuelle.
Donc toutes les femmes de quelque opinion et de quelque condition
qu’elles soient, toutes les femmes sont intéressées à posséder le pouvoir
d’abroger les lois qui les infériorisent et les asservissent.
La puissance du vote
Cri d’alarme