Research suggests that democracy and gender equality are linked to each other. This is not to state that democracy can miraculously eliminate the structural conditions of inequalities between men and women. It is rather to point to the types of opportunities and outcomes (such as higher levels of access to education and healthcare services provided by state institutions) democratic governance creates for women and girls. It is also widely recognised that the representation of the diverse needs, interests, views, preferences and capacities of the female members of a society at all levels of political decision-making, as emphasised in the United Nations-led legislative frameworks and policy documents is crucial for the attainment of domestic and global development, peace and security objectives (such as the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, the 2000 United Security Council Resolution 1325, and the 2015 Sustainable Development Agenda).
Yet, the idea of gender equality as a key pillar of democratic governance is currently under increasing attack across the globe. One of the clearest manifestations of this anti-gender equality politics in the European context is the efforts of the ruling governments in Turkiye, Croatia, Poland and Hungary to delegitimise and circumvent existing domestic and international gender equality laws and policies (such as the Istanbul Convention). What explains the rise of the current anti-feminist politics?
This panel aims to contribute to the theorisation of the current anti-feminist politics. It aims to facilitate discussion and exchange of research findings derived from different country settings to address its social, economic and political drivers at domestic and international politics, and the interconnections between them.
