Beyond the Promise of EU Membership: Political Representation and Implementation of Gender Equality Policy in Albania and Montenegro

In the last two decades, the European Union (EU) has played a major role in the gender equality policy formulation and institutional structure of post-Communist countries. The EU incentive structure for membership has been even more pronounced as a major driver for change in the Western Balkan states, lagging behind in the membership process. However, in the recent years, with the rise of nativism, region-wide economic crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU has turned inwards and signaled the abandonment of its enlargement agenda. In this paper, I examine the progress of gender equality policy in Albania and Montenegro from 2010 to 2021, capturing the major legislative changes that took place at the beginning of the decade but also the stagnation and potentially backsliding that may have taken place in the recent few years. If accession is no longer a credible incentive, are the governments still supporting a gender equality agenda, rejecting it by creating a hostile environment and clearly backsliding, or are they simply maintaining the status quo with no progress in the horizon? I examine the implementation efforts of gender equality legislation adopted in the recent decade and look for signs of dismantling, erosion of funding, or a period of stasis, indicating lack of desire and political will to meaningfully engage with gender equality challenges. Furthermore, I examine the activity of gender equality policy supporters and their role in promoting policy changes and protections. Have women’s movements actors in Albania and Montenegro developed new strategies to deal with the states’ shifting priorities overt time?