Alternative Explanations from Feminist Theories: Towards a Feminist Framework for the Europeanisation Process

Drawing on the insights of key feminist philosophers (Carole Pateman, Onora O’Neill, Martha Nussbaum, Nancy Fraser and Anne Phillips), this chapter offers a feminist critique to the conditionality and social learning mechanisms which are subsequently conceptualised as interest-driven and norm-driven pathways of Europeanisation. In doing so, the chapter criticises the domestic variables of the models and the lack of gender lenses at the level of EU policymaking. Then, it offers a range of criteria regarding how Europeanisation should be informed by the feminist rationale and lenses and problematises the instrumental and rhetoric gender equality approaches employed by the EU. Hence, we propose an alternative perspective to study Europeanisation to better capture the EU’s impact on gender equality policies on third countries, bring a feminist agenda and perspective to the Europeanisation process and develop analytical tools to help contextualise EU strategies and policies within gender studies.