Europeanization, Democratization, and Backsliding: Trajectories and Framings of Gender Equality Institutions in Poland

Abstract

Abstract This article investigates how democratic backsliding has affected Europeanizing gender equality institutions. It analyzes Polish public discourse on the Plenipotentiary for Equality, a policy agency that aims to promote gender equality and antidiscrimination. The article traces its framing and trajectories through European Union accession, until the ultraconservative and nationalist backlash in recent years. Post-2015, Polish governments have mainstreamed anti-gender equality rhetoric as a strategy to legitimize systemic changes and democratic backsliding. I demonstrate how discursive and institutional linkages between Europeanization, democratization, and gender equality allow not only progress, but can also lead to opportunity moments for democratic and equality backsliding.