Feminist Politics for Democratizing EU Societies and Institutions

Abstract

In the global context where both democracy and equality are challenged, feminist politics stands out in the EU as a key democratizing force for both society and institutions. Regarding societal democratisation, feminist politics is concerned with intersectional inequalities and places new formerly excluded issues on the political agenda as democratic priorities. It seeks to democratize all areas of society, for instance, through policies aiming at an equal redistribution of care work or the construction of spaces free from gender-based violence. Regarding the democratisation of institutions, it establishes mechanisms to effectively include all minoritized groups in political institutions. The current context however calls for a deeper investigation of the relationship between feminism & intersectionality and democracy & democratisation, and invites political science debates to better understand its characteristics, potential, and challenges. The aim of this panel is to investigate this relationship and to explore feminist politics’ potential for and contribution to the democratization of EU society and institutions in the current political context of populist and radical right politics. The panel invites analyses including feminist movements and institutional practices that promote the inclusion and participation of intersectionally gendered, racialized, and LGBTIAQ* subjects in a variety of social and institutional processes, feminist experiments of democratic design, or feminist community practices to reappropriate the public space to make it more inclusive and capable to respond to the needs of citizens, especially from intersectionally marginalised groups.

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