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Europeanizing vs. Nationalizing the Issue of Same-Sex Marriage in Central Europe: A Comparative Analysis of Framing Processes in Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia

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Global Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage

Part of the book series: Global Queer Politics ((GQP))

Abstract

This chapter addresses policy debates around the regulation of same-sex partnerships in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). Theoretically grounded in sociological and discursive institutionalisms, it draws upon the comparative analysis carried out by the team of the EU-funded Quality in Gender + Equality Policies (QUING) project, complemented by the author’s own legislative tracking of debates on this issue. The chapter first places recent developments against the background of institutional legacies from state socialism as regards the regulation of homosexuality. After a brief account of the debates on the recognition of same-sex partnerships held in the region in the context of EU accession, it further explores the role of Europeanization-driven versus domestic variables by focusing on four specific countries: Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Croatia.

Although comparisons and analyses of the role of the EU variable developed in this paper are my own, I wish to acknowledge the work and inputs from QUING teams at the Central European University Budapest and the Peace Institute, Ljubljana.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Unregistere d cohabitation, opened to both heterosexual and homosexual couples, entails automatic accrual of cohabitation rights upon the parties moving in together, without requiring registration before a notary.

  2. 2.

    The ruling coalition led by the Social Democrats includes the far-right Slovak National Party.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sciences Po Paris, Paris, France

    Maxime Forest

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  1. Maxime Forest
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. European Studies, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Bronwyn Winter

  2. Sciences Po - OFCE, Center for Political Research CEVIPOF, Paris, France

    Maxime Forest

  3. Sciences Po - CNRS, Center for Political Research CEVIPOF, Paris, France

    Réjane Sénac

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Forest, M. (2018). Europeanizing vs. Nationalizing the Issue of Same-Sex Marriage in Central Europe: A Comparative Analysis of Framing Processes in Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia. In: Winter, B., Forest, M., Sénac, R. (eds) Global Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage. Global Queer Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62764-9_7

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