States of Democracy. Gender and Politics in the European Union

The multi-layered political system of the European Union offers a unique environment for the study of comparative democracy. Its policies seek to give effect to an agreed range of values, including that of gender equality.

This book explores gender equality and democratic politics in Europe. It discusses how democratic politics engages with gender equality in the European Union and examines what happens when a core democratic value of the European Union, equality between women and men, is given policy effect in supra-national and domestic level politics. It asks how embedded is this value in democratic politics and what degree of gender equality is expressed in this environment. The collection brings to light the gendered nature of democratic politics, offering a critical gaze on the workings of modern democracy in Europe.

This book will be of interest to scholars and students of democracy, European studies, gender, and key to courses seeking to incorporate a deeper gender perspective or evaluating democracy and democratic performance in institutions and decision-making.

Contents:
+ Acknowledgements
+ Abbreviations
+ Notes on Contributors
+Foreword
1. States of Democracy: An Overview - Yvonne Galligan
2. Formulating the Goods and Services Directive in the European Union: A lost opportunity for gender equality - Yvonne Galligan and Sara Clavero
3. Topographies of gender democracy in Austria - Nora Gresch and Birgit Sauer
4. States of gender democracy: Variation on a theme in Finland - Hanna Kaisa Hoppania and Anne Maria Holli
5. Gender expectations and state inertia: the case of Greece - Yota Papageorgiou
6. Making a sow's ear from a silk purse': gender democracy in Hungary - Roza Vajda
7. National and European gender equality legislation: a mismatch of agendas and hesitant feminism in Lithuania - Irmina Matonytė
8. Gender democracy in Poland: an empty shell? - Katarzyna Zielińska
9. Gender democracy in Spain: undemocratic compliance and the domestication of European law - Sara Clavero
10. Why democracy? On the relationship between gender democracy and gender equality in the European Union - Cathrine Holst
+ Bibliography
+ Glossary