Abstract
AbstractAddressing the case of the UK's membership of the European Women's Lobby (EWL), this article explores the significance of European Union (EU) civil society organization (CSO) membership for domestic CSOs and, in turn, the impact of Brexit on (the nature of) that membership. Analysis adopts a territorial perspective to reflect the UK's ‘four nations’ approach to representation, which affords the constituent sub‐state CSOs notable access to this European network. Analysis of interview and text‐based data identified shared core beliefs and resource dependencies as binding the UK's sub‐state CSOs within the EWL, resulting in capacity building at the sub‐state level. These shared core beliefs can explain the EWL's decision to formally accommodate the UK coordination post‐Brexit, with resource dependencies acting as a further incentive for sub‐state actors. However, beyond the policy sub‐system, there are practical constraints placed on the UK's ability to collaborate and a diminished value of some resource.
Highlights
Feminist civil society organizations (CSOs) play an important role in the ‘velvet triangle’ (Woodward, 2004) of feminist activists, femocrats and experts that promotes gender equality in the European Union (EU)
Data from oral sources provides an important historical record of the UK Joint Committee on Women (UKJCW), with the analysis presented here beginning the process of recording the role of this unique organization
EU‐focused activity represents one element of the work of these CSOs, as they undertake a wide range of activity in their distinct territorial locations, with some UK‐wide work as well as engagement with international women’s rights and gender equality frameworks, the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action and the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence
Summary
Feminist civil society organizations (CSOs) play an important role in the ‘velvet triangle’ (Woodward, 2004) of feminist activists, femocrats and experts that promotes gender equality in the European Union (EU). Since the UK’s representation to the EWL is constituted as a ‘four‐nation’ coordination of sub‐state CSOs from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (UK Joint Committee on Women, 2013), the analysis adopts a territorial perspective It attends to the territorially distinct economic, political and financial implications of Brexit (for example, Minto et al, 2016). Analyses uses three main forms of data: from 13 semi‐structured interviews and ongoing dialogue with 11 civil society actors directly involved in the UK’s EWL activity, and policy texts (for the full methodology, see Online Appendix) These data sources capture interviewees’ experiences of participation within the EWL and organizational responses to Brexit, as well as information about the development, structure and functioning of the sub‐state CSOs and the UKJCW. Drivers for continued cooperation remain within this ‘sticky’ network, evidenced in no small part by the EWL’s accommodation of the UK’s coordination post‐Brexit
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