Feminist engagement with gender equality in regional governance

Abstract

This chapter looks at gender equality norms in regional governance, comparing two types of gender equality norms, i.e. on violence against women and gender mainstreaming, in four different regional organizations (EU, OAS, SADC and Mercosur). We argue that the existing governance landscape is an important explanatory factor for the unevenness in which gender equality norms diffuse. Core features of the existing governance landscapes are, firstly, their underlying logic, and secondly, the access and platform they offer to which types of actors. Our empirical findings call for an understanding of norm diffusion not only as multidirectional, but also as an on-going and continuous constitutive interplay between norms and governance landscapes.