Gendered nationalism and constitutionalism

Abstract

Abstract Modern constitutions play, to a larger or lesser extent, several simultaneous political functions, including the definition of a rights-based political order, the organization of state powers, and the crafting of the nation. Feminist analysis of constitutional law has so far primarily focused on the denial or limitation of an equal rights status to women since the inception of constitutions. More recently, it has also challenged the gender composition of state institutions as well as the gendered implications of the various forms of government and power structures. In times of worldwide expanding nationalism, serious reflection on the many ways in which nationalism has always been, and still is, a gendered enterprise is called for. Relying on the categories identified in the work of Yuval-Davis, this article distinguishes between nationalist ideologies that focus on the definition of citizenship in specific states and territories (the “Staatnation”), those that place an emphasis on specific cultures or religions (the “Kulturnation”), and those that are constructed around the specific origin of the people and its continuation into the future (the “Volknation”). This article also shows, relying on the example of several contemporary constitutional struggles across the world, how these three dimensions of nationalism often continue to deny equal constitutional citizenship to women and sexual minorities.