Stručni rad
Europeanization: Friend or Foe? Development of the LGBT Movement in Croatia
Sara Ana Čemažar
; Fakultet političkih znanosti, Sveučilište u Zagrebu
Tomislav Mikulin
; Fakultet političkih znanosti, Sveučilište u Zagrebu
Sažetak
This paper examines how Croatia’s path towards joining the European Union affected the LGBT movement. Due to Central and Eastern European countries sharing similar characteristics regarding the development of the LGBT movement after the abandonment of communism and during the Europeanization process, this paper follows two hypotheses formed through a case study of Poland: (1) the process of European integration in post-socialist Europe promotes the formal legal status of LGBT people and improves the visibility of the LGBT activist network (2) since the country’s accession to the EU the formerly repressed conservative movements against the LGBT community have become stronger. The paper examines the development of the LGBT movement over three time periods. The first period covers the time between Croatia gaining independence and starting its Europeanization process in 2000; the second period lies between the start of the Europeanization process and Croatia’s accession to the EU; the third phase covers the time after the accession. For every phase the following parts of the political process model are examined: the political opportunity structure, the activist network and the discursive framing of topics important for the LGBT movement. Analysis confirms that the implementation of the requirements for becoming a member country improved the legal status of LGBT people and increased their visibility during that time. This manifested primarily as the founding of various associations, organizing pride parades, passing the Same-Sex Union Act and introducing sexual orientation anti-discrimination norms. A discourse analysis of 328 articles unveiled the 90’s silence on homosexuality and revealed that in the next two phases discursive ideas have been present in three key areas: social acceptance, Europeanization and the "less important question”. Even though the period after Croatia's accession is not long enough to definitively confirm the second hypothesis, the referendum on the constitutional definition of marriage and the lobbying for rejecting the Same-Sex Life Partnership Act are good indicators that the conservative movement against the LGBT community in Croatia consolidated its position.
Ključne riječi
Europeanization; Croatia; European Union; LGBT movement; conservative movement
Hrčak ID:
187009
URI
Datum izdavanja:
2.10.2017.
Posjeta: 3.473 *