Sirvi Autor "Urban, Frederik" järgi

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Beyond Europeanisation: contestation and localisation of gender equality and LGBT norms in Georgia
(Tartu Ülikool, 2025) Urban, Frederik; Gavashelishvili, Elene, juhendaja; Linsenmaier, Thomas, juhendaja; Tartu Ülikool. Sotsiaalteaduste valdkond; Tartu Ülikool. Johan Skytte poliitikauuringute instituut
This thesis looks at the puzzling implementation of European Union-promoted gender equality and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans norms in Georgia in the period from 2014 to 2024. The research is set out to explain the puzzle of Georgia’s strong societal European Union support and political commitment towards the European Union, on the one hand, and contradictory legislation and anti-European Union rhetoric on the other hand. By investigating domestic dynamics and local actors, the thesis explains this puzzling behaviour of hybrid implementation of externally promoted norms concerning gender-based violence, women's economic empowerment, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans rights. To answer the puzzle, the analysis adopts a framework based on Europeanisation theory but improved by incorporating literature on norm contestation and localisation. The advantage of this created framework is to bring domestic actors and their actions of localising or contesting norms to the centre of attention. Accordingly, the domestic agency is seen as more than passive norm recipients. In this way it becomes possible to see how external norms are shaped by local agents, which explains the outcomes observable in Georgia. The qualitative data was collected from semi-structured interviews with local experts from civil society, academia, and international organisations. The findings of the thesis show that the main driver of the observed outcomes is the strategic agency of domestic actors. On the one hand, state and religious actors engage in “validity contestation”, framing gender equality norms, and especially those related to sexual minorities, as a threat to Georgia’s identity and sovereignty. As a result, the government engages in legislative “decoupling”, formally complying with European Union-promoted norms while restricting the actual legislative impact. On the other hand, civil society actors use the public space they have, to use localisation strategies to create norms based on European Union norms but adapted to the local context. Ultimately, the study shows that external incentives can influence the direction of a country. However, without strong societal and political support behind adopted changes, it is an easy task for political actors to revert once introduced changes.