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The Emergence of Powerful Anti-Gender Movements in Europe and the Crisis of Liberal Democracy

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Gender and Far Right Politics in Europe

Part of the book series: Gender and Politics ((GAP))

Abstract

The paper briefly presents the genesis and discourse of anti-gender movements in Europe and the challenge they pose to liberal democracy. Then it critically analyses the interpretative frameworks elaborated so far for understanding these movements. The major conclusions of the paper are twofold: (1) Anti-gender movements confront us with the analytical limits of country case studies, which cannot be understood only on the basis of local national characteristics and political developments, but need to be studied in a broader framework. Nor are conceptualizations of these as backlash, homophobia, anti-feminism or a strategy of the Catholic Church sufficient. (2) Anti-gender fundamentalism points to societal crisis phenomena going beyond gender equality and LGBTQ rights. These movements and their success are symptoms and consequences of deeper socio-economic, political and cultural crises of liberal democracy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Budapest, Hungary

    Eszter Kováts

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  1. Eszter Kováts
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Correspondence to Eszter Kováts .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt, Germany

    Michaela Köttig

  2. Technische Hochschule Nuremberg, Nuremberg, Germany

    Renate Bitzan

  3. Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

    Andrea Petö

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Kováts, E. (2017). The Emergence of Powerful Anti-Gender Movements in Europe and the Crisis of Liberal Democracy. In: Köttig, M., Bitzan, R., Petö, A. (eds) Gender and Far Right Politics in Europe. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43533-6_12

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