Denise Walsh (PhD New School for Social Research) is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Politics and Women, Gender & Sexuality at the University of Virginia. Her research investigates how democracies can be made more inclusive and just. ​Walsh's current book project, Culture and Women's Rights Don't Clash, focuses on the so-called "burka ban" in France, the legalization of polygyny in South Africa, and the marrying out rule for Indigenous women in Canada. By comparing these three issues Walsh explains why a clash between culture and women's rights is never really necessary and how to advance justice for the women these controversies are about. Walsh's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, USAID, Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Studies, the Institute for Women's Studies at the University of Michigan, the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Italy, the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College, and many organizations at the University of Virginia.

Selected Publications:

“Backlash and the Future of Feminism,” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Introduction and special symposium, (forthcoming January 2020). Co-authored with Jennifer Piscopo.

“Multiculturalism and Women’s Rights,” The Oxford Handbook of International Political Theory, edited by Chris Brown and Robyn Eckersley (Oxford University Press: 2018).

“Diversity in Political Science: Why it Matters and How to Get It,” introduction to multi-article symposium for Politics, Groups and Identities (4)3, 2016: 462-466. Co-authored with Carol Mershon.

“Organizing Women: Diversifying Leadership and Addressing Discrimination in Political Science Departments,” PS: Political Science & Politics (3) 2015: 459-463.Co-authored with Carol Mershon.

 “How Political Science Can Become More Diverse,” Introduction to symposium for PS: Political Science & Politics (3) 2015: 441-444.Co-authored with Carol Mershon.

"Political Science, Heal Thyself." Introduction to Critical Perspectives on "Advocating for Change in the Discipline" Politics & Gender 10 (3) 2014: 432-437.Co-authored with Carol Mershon.

“A Feminist Approach to Quotas and Comparative Politics,” Critical Perspectives on Gender and Politics: Gender Quotas and Comparative Politics, Politics & Gender 9 (3) 2013: 322-328.

“Party Centralization and Debate Conditions in South Africa,” in The Impact of Gender Quotas: Women's Descriptive, Substantive, and Symbolic Representation, edited by Susan Franceschet, Mona Lena Krook and Jennifer Piscopo, (Oxford University Press, 2012: 113-135).

“Does the Quality of Democracy Matter for Women’s Rights? The Public Sphere and Democratic Transition in Chile and South Africa,” Comparative Political Studies, 45 (11) 2012: 1323-1350 (lead article, Online First, March 2012).

Women’s Rights in Democratizing States: Just Debate and Gender Justice in the Public Sphere (Cambridge University Press, 2010)