"Historicizing EU equality policy: Is hindsight 20/20?"

Elman, R. Amy. (2003) "Historicizing EU equality policy: Is hindsight 20/20?". In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2003 (8th), March 27-29, 2003, pages 22, Nashville, TN.

Abstract

This conference paper offers details that undermine the common assumption that EU policies emanate from enlightened foresight and/or coherent planning. To this end, it explores the relatively recent interest in Eurocrats in violence against women, an issue that few previously expected the EU to address. This paper suggests that while European Commissioners, judges, activists and others are important political actors, they are hardly fundamental architects (or obstructionists) of sexual equality. This distinction, though modest, recommends that we see a more tenuous relationship between the past and present. In short, for all of our efforts to comprehend social change, a brief look at the issue of male violence underscores the way in which policy development is a serendipitous process with unintended and often misunderstood consequences.