Corruption as a gendered barrier: Informal institutions and the limits of democratization in North Macedonia

Abstract

This article examines how corruption operates as a gendered informal institution that restricts women's substantive political empowerment in post-socialist democracies. Focusing on North Macedonia, we argue that clientelism and male-dominated party networks function as gatekeeping mechanisms that limit women's access to decision-making despite the presence of gender quotas. Drawing on a sequential mixed-methods study-including an online survey and in-depth interviews with women politicians-we show how informal party practices, electoral manipulation, and the co-optation of quotas create symbolic rather than substantive inclusion. By reframing corruption as a structural and gendered mechanism of exclusion, this study explains why formal democratization and numerical representation fail to dismantle entrenched patriarchal networks. These findings underscore the need for anti-corruption and democratization reforms that confront informal institutions, offering insights for other transitional and hybrid regimes where gendered exclusion persists beneath democratic façades.