ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the interaction of feminist and gender scholarship with the Europeanization literature and its different streams. Europeanization does not rely upon a fully-fledged, empirically tested theory, but rather derives from the analysis of top-down implications of what have long been framed as only bottom-up processes. Liberal intergovernmentalism underlined how member states shape the integration process through pursuing their own interests, whereas neo-functionalism highlighted the largely market- and policy-driven dynamics by which integration happened, such as the spill-over effect as driver for the expansion of European Union (EU) institutions, capacities and competences. Times have changed in addressing the Europeanization of domestic policies, politics and polities. The gender and EU literature reflects these trends to a different extent. Gender scholars interested in the impact of EU norms, policies and soft instruments appear to be especially well-equipped to make sense of the unexpected impacts of Europeanization dynamics.
