When the Progressives Fail to Progress
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When the progressives fail to progress The HeForShe campaign, international norm diffusion and national identity in the Netherlands Radboud University Nijmegen - Department of Political Science Master Thesis Political Science - International Relations Student: Ike Lieshout Student number: s4107594 Supervisor: dr. J. M. Joachim Date turned in: 09/08/2019 Words: 24.948 1 Abstract In this thesis, I set out to examine how the traditional spiral model of domestic norm diffusion can be expanded in view of the actual negotiation and contestation of the gender norms established by the United Nations HeForShe campaign in the Dutch context. The trajectory of the HeForShe campaign in the Netherlands was described by means of process tracing, based on interviews, government documents and media analysis. From my analysis, it becomes clear that the spiral model does not effectively describe or explain the limited norm diffusion of the HeForShe campaign in the Netherlands. In direct opposition to the underlying logic of the model, the Dutch national identity as progressive and liberal hindered the norm diffusion, because it resulted in little to no international and domestic pressure being established around the new norm. Particularly noteworthy is the contrast between the lip service paid by most political leaders, and the lack of genuine debate and policy changes. The analysis also showcases the spiral model’s limitations with regard to explaining diffusion failure, the effects of indifference and inaction on norm diffusion, and the Western bias of the model. These issues need to be considered to improve upon the spiral model. Keywords: norm diffusion, gender equality, spiral model, HeForShe, national identity 2 Acknowledgements One of the questions I got most often this last year was some variation of “so why exactly are you doing this again?”. Writing a second master thesis does not necessarily seem like the type of thing reasonable people do, and if I’m honest, it probably wasn’t a particularly reasonable thing to do. But here we are, and I did it anyway. First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to the staff at the Political Science department at Radboud University. I know everyone always says that and you’re sort of supposed to say that regardless of whether it’s true, but I truly grew up in this programme. Special thanks are (still) owed to Marcel Wissenburg, who almost never agrees with me but still taught me how to make better arguments, and, crucially, to let go of the argument that doesn’t really work no matter how much you want it to. Anya Topolski, who is fearless, always makes space for the radical argument, and taught me so much as both a teacher and a boss. Anna van der Vleuten, who was one of my first female academic role models, who has an uncanny ability to see through any well- told but ultimately nonsense story, and who probably deeply underestimates the impact she has had on both my academic and my personal development. Finally, Jutta Joachim, whose feedback was beyond valuable, who has been nothing but kind to me throughout the master programme, and who was consistently supportive of both me and this project throughout the writing process. Throughout my bachelor and both my master’s I have had amazing communities of fellow students. For this project specifically, I am deeply thankful to the support and friendship of three of them. Florian, thank you for drinking unacceptable amounts of coffee with me and talking to me both about my thesis and everything but my thesis. Lema and Louise: you’re both amazing, fierce, intelligent and kind in a way which is nothing short of miraculous. Thank you for all the support, understanding and unabashed feminism (and all the wine). Roelinde, Robin, Daan, Barbara, Simone and Midas: you’re my very favourite political bubble to be a part of, thank you for all the joy and support. Thijs, thank you for a lot of very dumb memes and a lot of very good conversations. 3 As always, Sophie, Lydia, Jelle, Sara, Jordi, Joyce, Koen, Stefan, David, Cedric: I am beyond grateful for your friendship, the sheer joy and the unending support you have given me over the years and specifically the last couple of months. Here’s to many more years of ridiculous jokes, too- enthusiastic dancing, and conversations that last well into the night. Bob - thank you so much for all your advice and guidance over the years. Thank you for your kindness as an uncle, and your relentless critical eye as a teacher. I checked, there is no ‘as such’ anywhere in the document! Mama - as promised, your belated Mother’s Day gift! Thank you for taking me back into your house for weeks at a time. Thank you for doing all of this again. And thank you for being my first teacher of critical thinking, the importance of fairness, justice and open conversations, and for everything else. I promise I won’t ever write one of these again. 4 Table of contents Abstract........................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 3 Table of contents ............................................................................................................................ 5 List of tables.................................................................................................................................... 8 List of Dutch political parties ......................................................................................................... 9 Timeline HeForShe campaign ...................................................................................................... 10 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 11 1.1 Gender equality, HeForShe and the Netherlands............................................................... 12 1.2 Research question ............................................................................................................... 14 1.3 Theoretical approach .......................................................................................................... 15 1.4 Methodology and data ....................................................................................................... 16 1.5 Academic and social relevance ........................................................................................... 17 2. Theoretical framework ............................................................................................................ 19 2.1 Constructivism and norms in International Relations ........................................................ 19 2.2 The spiral model of domestic change ................................................................................. 21 2.2.1 Phases in the spiral ...................................................................................................... 23 2.2.2 Benefits of the model .................................................................................................. 26 2.3 Western bias ....................................................................................................................... 27 2.4 A plurality of human rights norms ...................................................................................... 29 2.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 32 3. Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 34 3.1 The Case Study .................................................................................................................... 34 5 3.2 Case selection ..................................................................................................................... 35 3.2.1 The Netherlands ........................................................................................................... 35 3.2.2 The HeForShe campaign .............................................................................................. 36 3.2.3 The merit of the cases.................................................................................................. 37 3.3 Process tracing as a method ............................................................................................... 37 3.4 Process tracing in this thesis & hypotheses ........................................................................ 39 3.4.1 Mechanism following from the spiral model ............................................................... 40 3.4.2 Alternative mechanisms and hypotheses .................................................................... 42 3.5 Data selection ..................................................................................................................... 43 4. Analysis ..................................................................................................................................... 46 4.1 The HeForShe norm ............................................................................................................ 46 4.1.1 Norm negotiation ......................................................................................................... 50 4.2 2012: national elections .....................................................................................................