The European Democracy Shield and the EU Strategy for Civil Society: Gendering EU’s Approach to Societal Resilience

The rise of populism, authoritarianism, and right-wing parties are eroding the democratic values, rule of law, and human rights principles within the European Union (EU). This has led to the polarisation of societies and the erosion of public trust in institutions, which has opened space for foreign interference including in the electoral process. Against this background, the European Commission has launched an ambitious programme to fight democratic erosion: European Democracy Shield alongside the EU Strategy for Civil Society to strengthen the societal resilience of EU member states. Despite the ongoing backlash against gender equality, the rise in online gendered disinformation/misinformation, and the weaponisation of gendered narratives, women, gender or sexual minorities are hardly mentioned in these strategies. This paper genders the European Democracy Shield and the EU Strategy for Civil Society to assess EU’s opportunities and challenges in developing an inclusive and comprehensive approach on societal resilience. Drawing on feminist critiques of resilience and normative power Europe alongside social justice feminism, this paper argues that EU’s approach to resilience is undermined by a universal understanding of European subjectivity that weakens rather than reinforces its aim to develop resilient societies in Europe. In so doing, the paper contributes to the scholarship on European studies, societal resilience, and (anti-)gender and politics.