In a context of economic and budgetary crisis, this book presents a long-term analysis of the transformations of EU gender equality. It analyses the mechanisms of construction, consolidation and deconstruction of this policy and questions the effects of its current dismantling.

This book is an actor-centred sociological study of the EU-level processes that produce gender equality policy. Based on interviews and documentary analysis, the study unpacks the process of the “Roadmap for Equality between Women and Men 2006-2010” to explain the different roles of actors in the making of EU gender equality policies. By analysing policy processes inside institutions and among institutions, the study focuses on the internal working logics in and between EU-level institutions. It highlights the shifting spaces, openings, and constraints for the development of gender equality policies. Concentrating on EU policy programmes helps shed light on the invisible aspects of EU gender equality policy-making and how this process changed regarding actors, structure and content in the late 2000s. This book will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of EU politics, gender politics, and public policy, as well as to institutional and non-governmental actors in the area of gender politics in Europe and the working of EU politics.

‘Bridging European and gender studies, this volume deserves a great welcome to the literature. It not only offers a feminist reading of Europeanisation in general, but also discusses the process of Europeanisation and de-Europeanisation of Turkey with regard to changes in gender policy. The book demonstrates that the EU is the leading body to advocate gender equality, and also proves that it is a firm gender actor compared to other international organisations. However, as the volume also shows, the EU is not yet a normative gender actor due to the absence of a feminist rationale in promoting gender equality abroad. The contributions offer significant insights into EU-Turkey relations from a gender studies perspective.’ Ayhan Kaya, Professor of Politics and Jean Monnet Chair for European Politics of Interculturalism, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey ‘Süleymanoğlu-Kürüm and Cin have curated a timely volume that applies a feminist lens to the well-known Europeanisation framework. Using the case of Turkey, the book extends the focus of European studies scholarship that analyses the adaptation of non-member states to EU policies and practices to setting a new feminist agenda in the adaptation to the EU. Beyond the new insights offered on the Turkish case study, the volume provides a powerful critique, and highlights the limits of the EU’s reach outside of its current border.’ Toni Haastrup, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, University of Stirling, UK ‘This pioneering volume, which extends feminist perspectives to the study of EU toward candidate countries, is a must-read for scholars of EU integration and gender studies.’ Bahar Rumelili, Professor and Jean Monnet Chair at the Department of International Relations, Koc University, Turkey This book explores the Europeanisation of gender policies and addresses some of the challenges of the debates surrounding the EU’s impact on domestic politics. Using Turkey as a case study, it illustrates that Europeanisation needs a feminist agenda and perspective. The first part of the book critically engages with the literature on Europeanisation, the EU’s gender policies and gender policymaking, and the interaction between Europeanisation and gender policies to argue that the Europeanisation framework falls short in devising sustainable gender policies due to a lack of feminist rationale and theory. Subsequently, the book develops a feminist framework of Europeanisation by drawing on the work of key feminist philosophers (Carole Pateman, Onora O’Neill, Nancy Fraser, Anne Phillips, Iris Young) and uses this framework to offer a critique of the Europeanisation of gender policies in various areas where the EU has prompted changes to domestic policies, including in civil society, political representation, private sector, violence against women, education, and asylum policy.

In May 2004, after bringing their legislation into accordance with EU regulations, ten more countries joined the European Union. The contributors to this volume assess the impact of this historical development on gender relations in the new and old EU member states. Instead of focusing on either western or eastern Europe, this book investigates the similarities and differences in diverse parts of Europe. Although initially limited, gender equality was part of the original framework of the European Union, an organization often more open than national governments to feminist demands, as this volume illustrates with case studies from eastern and western Europe. The enlargement process thus provides some important policy instruments for increasing equality between men and women.

This thoroughly researched, well-documented book presents a theoretically guided empirical analysis of developing and implementing gender equality policies in the European Union (EU). In spite of a wealth of research, many questions have long remained unanswered and these are addressed here. The author developed an international relations theoretical framework in order to explain the changing fortunes of women's activism, the changing attitudes of European institutions and the behaviour of member states in a multi-level setting. The book traces the history and development of EU gender policy to the present day and will be inspirational reading for those interested in European governance and the European Union, as well as gender issues and political sociology.

Gender equality has been one of the defining projects of European welfarestates. It has proven an elusive goal, not just because of political opposition but also due to a lack of clarity in how to best frame equality and take account of family-related considerations. This wide-ranging book assembles the most pertinent literature and evidence to provide a critical understanding of how contemporary state policies engage with gender inequalities.

A discursive-sociological approach to the Europeanization of gender and other equality policies. Using largely unpublished empirical data covering twenty-nine European countries this book adopts a pluralistic perspective to explore the complex and often divergent gender and other equality policy outputs of Europeanization.