Author's Keywords: civil society organizations, transnationalization, non-discrimination, gay and lesbian, coalitions, modes of interaction, European Union, Netherlands, Italy, UK, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic	Convention All Academic Convention is the premier solution for your association's abstract management solutions needs. Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! Click here for more information.
Association: Name: APSA 2008 Annual Meeting URL: http://www.apsanet.org
Citation: URL: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p280460_index.html Direct Link: HTML Code:

Holzhacker, Ronald. "National and Transnational Strategies of Civil Society Organizations: Modes of Interaction and the Political Environment in Western and Eastern Europe for Equality and Non-Discrimination" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the APSA 2008 Annual Meeting, Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, Aug 28, 2008 <Not Available>. 2009-05-23 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p280460_index.html>

Holzhacker, R. L. , 2008-08-28 "National and Transnational Strategies of Civil Society Organizations: Modes of Interaction and the Political Environment in Western and Eastern Europe for Equality and Non-Discrimination" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the APSA 2008 Annual Meeting, Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts Online <PDF>. 2009-05-23 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p280460_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript Abstract: The European Union since the Treaty of Amsterdam has embarked on a new agenda to assure equality and non-discrimination for citizens of Europe. A wide variety of civil society organization (CSOs), including women’s, anti-racist, disability, and gay and lesbian groups came together to press for the inclusion of Article 13 to the European Community Treaty, as amended at Amsterdam. After the adoption of two directives by the Council of Ministers in 2000, the focal point for civil society organizations turned to the national stage for the careful transposition and effective implementation of these measures. In 2008, attention will again turn to the European level and transnational strategies of CSOs, as the European Commission attempts to extend the full protection given for gender and race to the remaining four grounds found in the Treaty – religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation – which are currently limited to protection against discrimination in employment. This article focuses on the national and transnational strategies of gay and lesbian CSOs to press for equality and anti-discrimination in the multi-level political system. The article presents an empirical investigation of the contemporary goals and strategies pursued by six national CSOs from across Europe, East and West. We present three modes of interaction between CSOs and their political environment. One mode between the CSO and their political environment is labeled ‘morality politics.’ Arcigay in Italy and the Campaign against Homophobia in Poland are locked in this mode because they are confronted with a hostile and organized opposition. A second mode of interaction we label ‘incremental interest group’ mode and is the strategy pursued by Stonewall in the U.K. and the Hatter Society in Hungary, marked by discreet elite level lobbying. Finally, we introduce a third mode of interaction we label ‘high profile politics.’ This mode is marked by coalition seeking, highly visible public events, government support, and transnational activity at the European level and abroad. This is a strategy possible where there is a high degree of public support for equality and minimal partisan or religious opposition to the goals of the movement. While the Dutch COC has been pursuing this ‘high-profile’ mode of interaction in their political environment consistently over the past few years, some elements of this strategy are also apparent in the Czech Republic by the Gay Initiative during their campaign to end discrimination in family law, with their successful effort to extend partnership rights to same sex couples. While Article 13 itself does not mention family law, the general debate which emerged around equality and non-discrimination in the member states and resolutions in the European Parliament, have moved the debate to include discussion around same-sex partnership or marriage.

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