Where is the party? Explaining positions on same-sex marriage in Europe among would-be members of parliament
Where is the party? Explaining positions on same-sex marriage in Europe among would-be members of parliament
The rapid adoption of marriage equality legislation for non-heterosexual individuals in Europe is attributed to many factors, including dramatic shifts in public opinion, the work of transnational activists and changing international norms. Usually, these factors must be filtered through the halls of parliaments where most policy change happens. Given the importance of parliamentarians’ attitudes, it is surprising that we know so little about how attitudes towards same-sex marriage are distributed across political candidates in Europe and what factors shape them. This article fills that gap by using an underutilised dataset on the political preferences of candidates for parliamentary office. We find that beyond attachment to party families, a candidate’s religiosity and practice has a greater effect on a would-be Member of Parliament’s attitudes towards same-sex marriage. The findings suggest that the success of parliamentary action on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights depends not on the partisan composition of the legislature, but rather on the representation of secular candidates.
Europe, Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender politics, Party candidates, Political parties, Same-sex marriage
83-108
Siegel, Scott N.
f6b1755e-332e-4691-a054-b959c2155b80
Turnbull-Dugarte, Stuart J.
e25c6280-842c-407f-a961-6472eea5d845
Olinger, Brian A.
22c8be1a-ee70-4c79-8401-aff829072725
February 2022
Siegel, Scott N.
f6b1755e-332e-4691-a054-b959c2155b80
Turnbull-Dugarte, Stuart J.
e25c6280-842c-407f-a961-6472eea5d845
Olinger, Brian A.
22c8be1a-ee70-4c79-8401-aff829072725
Siegel, Scott N., Turnbull-Dugarte, Stuart J. and Olinger, Brian A.
(2022)
Where is the party? Explaining positions on same-sex marriage in Europe among would-be members of parliament.
European Journal of Politics and Gender, 5 (1), .
(doi:10.1332/251510821X16267702086451).
Abstract
The rapid adoption of marriage equality legislation for non-heterosexual individuals in Europe is attributed to many factors, including dramatic shifts in public opinion, the work of transnational activists and changing international norms. Usually, these factors must be filtered through the halls of parliaments where most policy change happens. Given the importance of parliamentarians’ attitudes, it is surprising that we know so little about how attitudes towards same-sex marriage are distributed across political candidates in Europe and what factors shape them. This article fills that gap by using an underutilised dataset on the political preferences of candidates for parliamentary office. We find that beyond attachment to party families, a candidate’s religiosity and practice has a greater effect on a would-be Member of Parliament’s attitudes towards same-sex marriage. The findings suggest that the success of parliamentary action on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights depends not on the partisan composition of the legislature, but rather on the representation of secular candidates.
Text
Where is the Party (accepted)
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 14 July 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 24 August 2021
Published date: February 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was supported by an independent grant by the Office of the Dean of Liberal and Creative Arts at San Francisco State University. Brian Olinger was also a recipient of a Marcus Undergraduate Student Travel Grant in 2019.
Publisher Copyright:
© European Conference on Politics and Gender and Bristol University Press 2022.
Keywords:
Europe, Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender politics, Party candidates, Political parties, Same-sex marriage
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 450438
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/450438
ISSN: 2515-1088
PURE UUID: b04ba7b3-feda-4e51-bde5-c2438a5f8335
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Date deposited: 28 Jul 2021 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:01
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Author:
Scott N. Siegel
Author:
Brian A. Olinger
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