The Politics of Marriage: Private and Public

Abstract

Marriage is not only a private choice of two individuals. Defined and regulated by religious and political authorities, marriage is an institution that guarantees the right to a domain of privacy but this right itself defined by public policy. Regulation of marriage involves questions of religious and political authority; boundaries between classes, ethnic and religious groups; and gender. Consequently, the role played, first, by religious institutions and, second, by the modern state in regulating marriage is a prime mover for control and legitimization but also on occasions becomes an incentive for political debates and struggles within society and between the state and its citizens. Like other societal institutions marriage was also affected by changes in recent years, in some cases losing its mandatory status and becoming more flexible. The de-institutionalization of marriage, paradoxically, often implies politicization when demands for recognition and rights challenge existing rules. Papers in this panel should address – theoretically and/or empirically - different aspects of regulation and de-regulation of marriage, struggles to expand or maintain the traditional definition of family and challenges to existing institutions.

Title	Details
Catholicism, Political Tactics and the Recognition of Same-sex Marriage: Poland, Italy, and Spain in Comparison	View Paper Details
The Debate about Same-Sex Marriages/Unions in Italy’s 2006 and 2013 Electoral Campaigns	View Paper Details
Same Rights for Everybody? On Danish Secularism and Homosexual Marriage	View Paper Details
Regulating Marriage: Lessons from Israel	View Paper Details