THE RATIFICATION OF THE IC, A REFLECTION OF A (EUROPEAN) IDENTITY CRISIS?

Abstract

The transformative approach of the Istanbul Convention (IC) raised both opposition and support within EU member countries. Opposition, (mostly within Central East European countries), perceived the Convention as threatening toward national culture and family traditions. Others, (mostly West and Nordic countries), supported the Convention and described it as progressive. Previous research has thoroughly analysed opposition and support in national political discourses. How the discourse of a European identity is intertwined within these national discourses, is however less known. The aim of this thesis is therefore to examine how and if the IC is linked to a European identity, by answering the research question; “In what ways is the Istanbul Convention linked to European identity in national political discourses?”. Three country cases were included in the analysis, where Poland represent a CEE country, Germany a West European country, and Sweden a Nordic European country. I expected that the overlapping European identity in Germany and Poland would highlight a link between the IC and a European identity. While the established gender equality discourse and national identity in Sweden, would contribute to a discursive link between the IC and a national identity. With a frame analysis as method, national news articles from respective country were analysed. Unexpectedly, no discursive link between the IC and a European identity was found within Germany. Neither was a link between the IC, and a national identity discovered in Sweden. However, a link between the IC and a European identity was visible within Poland.