Europa-Narrative in der Geschlechter-Politik
European Narratives of Gender Policy

Discourses around Gender in Croatia in the Framework of European Integration

Summary/Abstract: In recent years and decades, European institutions – above all the Council of Europe and the European Union – have undoubtedly played a central role in the process of establishing gender equality policies in Southeast Europe. For Croatia, the youngest EU member state since July 2013, the EU integration process first of all meant, just as for any other candidate state, the adoption of the Acquis Communautaire. This body of legislation and jurisprudence included fundamental rights such as gender equality and anti-discrimination. However, Croatia’s membership in the Council of Europe since 1996 also had a strongly polarizing influence on gender equality policy of the predominantly Catholic post-socialist state. The vibrant discussions surrounding the ratification of the so-called Istanbul Convention in recent years have underlined this polarization. The article examines different types of gender narratives in Croatia. Based on expert interviews, it specifically traces the importance of the EU pre-accession period as a time of empowerment for gender equality and antidiscrimination stakeholders in EU candidate countries.

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