Bystanders in its neighbourhood? The European Union's involvement in protracted conflicts in the Post-Soviet space

"Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there remains a number of protracted conflicts, within and between the successor states, concerning irredentist entities. This article examines four cases of such de facto states, the self-proclaimed republics of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria. After reviewing the genesis and geopolitical significance of these conflicts, the article focuses on the role of the European Union in conflict resolution. We argue that the EU plays a marginal role in all the protracted conflicts. Based on an analysis of its recent policies, we claim that the Union will maintain a low profile in the foreseeable future." (author's abstract

The Gendered Discourses of Illiberal Demographic Policy in Poland and in Russia

Despite being dissimilar cases, both Poland and Russia exhibit strong anti‐liberal and democratic backsliding tendencies. Concomitantly, politicians are spreading a demographic moral panic, employing the argument that both nations are in danger of demise. There is scaremongering concerning below‐replacement population growth rates and, in parallel, a tightening grasp on reproductive health rights and a growing fear of non‐binary gender identities, people of color, and homosexuality. The political anti‐gender mobilization in Poland in the 2010s and the gendered anti‐Western and anti‐gay conspiracy narratives in Russia are examples of this phenomenon. How are the policy responses to “demographic crises” constructed and gendered in political discourses today? What lies behind it and what is its role in illiberal politics? In this article, I discuss the current demographic discourses in Poland and in Russia. I argue that the politics of rallying against “demographic crises” surfaced on the wave of growing dominance of ultraconservative and nationalist discourses in East‐ Central Europe in response to perceived socio‐economic pressures. I demonstrate how Polish and Russian politicians have been utilizing nativism, familialism, and “tradition” discourses for reasons of political legitimacy and expediency. Looking at political debates and concrete demographic strategies, I trace how the rhetoric of “democratic crises” is deployed to shore up illiberalism in both countries.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

No country for losers? Gender, (in)equality, and the discursive construction of subjects and values in Polish politics

Mainstream scholarly literature has examined the post-1989 transformations in Eastern Europe without sufficient attention to gendered perspectives. Most feminist scholars and mainstream political scientists expected that the processes of democratization and Europeanization would be harbingers of positive change, and have not fully succeeded in explaining the current lack of gender equality in the region. This dissertation attempts to fill the gap by combining the insights from ‘Western’ theoretical contributions with empirical research of the Polish case. By drawing on multiple theoretical angles (post-colonialism, nationalism and gender, feminist institutionalism, feminist political economy, Europeanization), I aim to rethink the complex position of Poland in the processes of Europeanization and soft norm diffusion. The recent ‘war on gender’, which took the form of a virulent anti-equality and anti-minorities discursive campaign, has demonstrated that, despite the political and economic changes after 1989, gender inequality and social exclusion persist, and indeed may have intensified. My research explores the current discursive products and legacies (construction of subjects and values) of transformation and Europeanization as observed in mainstream political debates. This dissertation focuses on debates in the Polish parliament, the Sejm, because it is the main site of political discourse in Poland and thus influences also broader societal debates. My main argument is that gendered discourses in the Polish parliament reproduce patterns of domination and inequality, thereby creating discursive categories and subjects that are excluded and marginalized. Dominant discourses on masculinity, femininity, and sexuality prescribe a conservative set of social relations in the family and the nation. This implies that anyone who does not fulfil these discursive standards gets symbolically stigmatized and emerges from the political process as a discursive ‘loser’. Furthermore, the dissertation argues that the ways in which Europeanization and democratization were implemented in Poland, focusing primarily on neoliberal economic reforms, have left free rein to right-wing forces and the catholic church to define values and subjects. I specifically address the influential role of the catholic church in the Polish political context and argue that the anti-gender equality and anti-diversity mobilizations are cyphers for a broader backlash led by nationalist conservative actors against Europeanization and globalization processes. My contributions lie in the theoretical and conceptual bridging of various literatures (i.e. on transformation and gender) and the application of critical discourse analysis to the study of Polish parliamentary debates. Moreover, the thesis exposes invisible and ‘gender neutral’ norms about subjects and gender roles as constructed in Polish politics, with particular focus on welfare and family models and the construction of the nation. I highlight hegemonic masculinities and the marginalization or silencing of alternative discourses. The analysis provides insights into the mechanisms of gender power that construct some groups as the norm and others as problematic or deviant

How political groups frame gender equality and human rights in the European Parliament

The European Parliament has passed a number of resolutions that support gender equality and LGBTQI rights. Yet among MEPs, there remain sharp differences in opinion over these issues. Drawing on a new study, Petra Ahrens, Barbara Gaweda and Johanna Kantola identify how these debates are structured between political groups in the Parliament

What’s in a name? Gender equality and the European Conservatives and Reformists’ group in the European Parliament

Far-right and populist right-wing political parties have garnered significant scholarly attention in recent years. They have acquired importance also in European political institutions such as the European Parliament (EP). We explore this issue by focusing on the European Conservatives and Reformists’ (ECR) group in the EP. We analyse its current and former main national party delegations – the British Conservative Party, the Polish Law and Justice Party, and the Brothers of Italy – and unpack the ideological underpinnings of ‘conservative’ positions of the ECR group. How is ‘conservatism’ constructed in the EP? What role does gender play in these constructions? Significantly, we locate gender equality as a key area, crucial to the identity of what it means to be a conservative party in Europe today. We combine the analysis of ECR political programs with interview and ethnographic data. The article contributes to both the study of European Union (EU) politics and to research on national conservative parties.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Democratic Practices and Political Dynamics of Intra-Group Policy Formation in the European Parliament

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Filtering politicisation towards a more social Europe? The European Parliament and EU social legislation

The European Parliament (EP) has historically positioned itself as an advocate of social Europe. Although the EP has been repositioned from an agenda-setter to a co-legislator, increasing polarisation and politicisation have potentially made agreements on social issues more challenging. This article contributes to the debate on increased politicisation within the EP and its consequences for social Europe, as well as literature on politicisation management, by analysing how politicisation manifests itself and is managed during the committee stage of the EP legislative process. The article asks, to what extent is social Europe politicised within the EP during the committee amendment phase, and how is such politicisation managed at the committee level? Empirically, it analyses three recent directives: the Work-Life Balance Directive (2019), the Minimum Wage Directive (2022) and the Pay Transparency Directive (2023). It finds that the considerable politicisation during the amendment phase is managed by separate, yet simultaneously occurring mechanisms of technocratic filtering and normative filtering. This filtering steers the EP towards a stronger position of social Europe than the initial political division and opposition would suggest while aligning this position to the logic and framing of the Commission’s proposal rather than aiming for a radical expansion of the scope of social Europe.Peer reviewe

Friends, experts or witches: doing feminist research in challenging political contexts

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