Gendering European Integration Theory: Engaging New Dialogues

Abstract

The process of European integration has always been accompanied by theory-building. A wide range of integration theories, from classical theories such as federalism, neofunctionalism, and intergovernmentalisms to more recent approaches such as multi-level governance, critical theory, new institutionalim, and Europeanization, as well as sociological, legal and social constructivist perspectives, continues to define the theoretical landscape. Despite their diversity, these theories share a basic neglect, i.e. the theoretical implications of the relationship between European integration and the restructuring of gender relations in European member states. At the same time, a rich body of gender studies on the EU and European integration has evolved which has addresses – in many different forms – the “gender democratic deficit” of the EU; yet, this gender literature has generally neglected to engage with theorizing integration itself. This panel is conceptualized as a book panel (Abels/Macrae, eds., Gendering European Integration Theory, Opladen 2016). The book takes the blind spots as a starting point and initiates a dialogue between main-/malestream European integration theories and gender studies. Investigating several integration theories with a gender lens, the contributions illustrate if and how gender scholarship has made or can make creative use of integration theories. They foster the ongoing theoretical debate on European integration – also in times of crisis – by enriching it with a comprehensive gender perspective.

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