International Voluntary Associations, Local Social Movements and State Paths to the Abolition of Regulated Prostitution in Europe, 1875–1950

Abstract

The literature on globalization and social movements emphasizes the ability of international non-governmental organizations to influence states and foster domestic social change. This article examines the dynamics of this process in an early international movement to combat prostitution in the late 1800s. Why did reformers succeed in their goal of abolishing the state regulation of prostitution earlier in some countries compared to others? A qualitative comparativehistorical approach is used to outline local social movement dynamics and consequent paths to abolition in a subset of European countries (i.e. the Netherlands, France and Germany), as influenced by two international voluntary associations. The findings show that contestation between the associations – one more transnational than the other in practice – hampered abolitionist successes. International voluntary associations’ organization, alliances and cultural framings, as they operated in local settings, affected the form of local movements as well as their outcomes. Rather than challenging state interests, international associations sometimes help to reinforce them.