While scholars have increasingly acknowledged the importance of transnational advocacy networks in promoting gender equality, the ways in which they impacts policy development is still underdeveloped. This paper identifies different patterns of policy reform arising from various constellations of domestic and international factors and theorizes the implications of such patterns on policy development. It then tests this theory by providing an empirical cross-national study of policy developments aimed at combating violence against women in the European Union member and candidate states. The findings demonstrate that while the EU has been a determining factor in the dissemination of anti-violence policy, there remain many domestic impediments to translating policy initiatives into meaningful reform. This is particularly true for many of the new member and candidate states where inaction is not only a matter of lacking political will, but also one of policy misfit and domestic capacity.
