Democratization at stake? Comparing Anti-Gender Politics in CEE and NME countries

In the era of globalization after the 1990s, the states of Eastern Europe (EE) as well as the close European neighbours in the Near and Middle East (NME) underwent significant social changes and political developments, especially with regard to democratization. Political consensus on norms such as “women’s rights are human rights” and/or on measures against sexual discrimination appeared as a central component and symbol of democratization and democratic societies. Although these transformation processes had different and unequal impacts within and between the EE and NME states, these states shared some commonalities in their approach to transnational gender equality norms and policies. These commonalities have been contested for about 15 years. In the EE and NME states, current conflicts have focused on so-called “European values,” which include, in particular, gender equality and sexual equality, but which are opposed by religious fundamentalism, homophobia, and a neo-traditionalist ideology. Not only democratic values, but also gender and sexual identity equality norms and policies appear to be seriously at stake. The network aims to comparatively research and discuss anti-gender politics in Eastern Europe and neighbouring countries through its academic events and to disseminate these findings, because a systematic uncovering of how the rise of anti-gender and anti-feminist mobilizations is linked to the decline of democratic norms and structures has yet to be done. A total of four working groups will be established, including colleagues from EE and NME countries, as well as early-career researchers, innovators, and NGOs.

The project focuses on research on anti-gender politics and how it impacts democracies in Europe