Birgit Sauer

• University of Vienna

VORWORT: DREI KONJUNKTUREN DER RADIKALEN RECHTEN Die Entwicklung der radikalen Rechten folgt gewissen Konjunkturen, die der spezifischen gesellschaftlichen Situation entsprechen. Während die AfD in ihrer Gründungsphase ab 2013 noch einer rechtspopulistischen Revolte national-konservativer Professoren in Zeiten der Eurokrise glich, waren ihre ung...

Affects and emotions build modes of inclusion and exclusion; they define belonging and non-belonging and hence are important elements of citizenship practices. This chapter analyzes anti-gender mobilizations of the populist authoritarian right in Germany and Austria as forms of governing people through affects and implementing new forms of exclusio...

How are im/mobilities articulated, imagined and practiced in relation to multiple futures? A critical examination of im/mobilities raises questions as to how power relations and crisis-driven futures enable, inhibit or prevent mobility, what meanings are culturally constructed around im/mobilities and how they are experienced. The contributors to t...

Scholars have pointed out that the dominant discourse on integration in Austria is characterized by an assimilationist view. This is particularly evident in various education policy measures – e.g., German support classes (Deutschförderklassen) – which illustrate that the well-being of migrants is not sufficiently taken into account. Against this b...

Studies have highlighted differences between right-wing populism in Western and Central Eastern Europe but suggested that discourses have been converging since the so-called “refugee crisis” in 2015. This article examines this claim by focusing on right-wing populist frames and affective communication on migration in Austria and Slovenia. Taking a...

Asylum-seeking unaccompanied children and youngsters are situated at the crossroads between exclusionary and repressive asylum policies, on the one hand, and relatively inclusive and caring child welfare policies, on the other. This is the ‘asylum-child welfare paradox’ (Dursun and Sauer 2021). In this article, we explore the role of affect, feelin...

Across the globe, a growing number of social movements, such as demonstrations in support of equal civil status or reproductive freedom and against sexualized violence, show that women's and gender rights are highly contested. Against the backdrop of a long history of unequal rights implementation, the contributors to this volume deal with the ques...

The Austrian policy landscape with regard to the educational inte- gration measures directly or indirectly targeting migrant children is characterized by inconsistency and the concurrence of integrative and segregative measures. We ask how these discrepancies can be interpreted without being reduced to mere inconsistencies and why, in the context o...

100 years after the introduction of women’s suffrage in Austria the representation of women in the national parliament still exhibits a substantial gender gap, although it has certainly improved over the last decades. Three parties, the Greens, Social Democrats (SPÖ), and Christian conservatives (ÖVP) have instituted party quotas. However, the shar...

This volume addresses how parties across Europe put gender quotas in political representation into practice. The present chapter frames the main debates, advances, and challenges. It is situated within both the implementation turn of research on gender equality policies and the broader implementation focus in political research. By way of introduct...

Der Aufsatz macht einen staats- und gesellschaftstheoretischen Vorschlag zur Theoretisierung von Intersektionalitätspolitiken als neoliberale Regierungstechniken. Basierend auf einem feministisch-materialistischen Staatskonzept werden die materiellen und diskursiven theoretischen Grundlagen von Intersektionalität erarbeitet. Daran anknüpfend plädie...

This article sheds light on the waiting period experienced by asylum-seeking children in Austria. We argue that this period can be defined as a ‘phase of liminality’ in which ‘precarity’ of asylum seekers is produced. The article analyses how children experience institutional settings that produce precarity in relation to their well-being. The aim...

This chapter investigates the implementation of a progressive law in the context of the conservative gender regime in Austria. While the conservative regime makes equality policy more uncertain, a rather authoritative law on the Equal Treatment of Women and Men on Supervisory Boards was adopted in June 2017. As the chapter shows, once in place, the...

Gender Equality and Policy Implementation in the Corporate World takes a unique approach to the issue of gender equality in corporations in the 21st century. It examines the implementation of specific policies that seek to promote women’s presence on corporate boards in fifteen democracies in Western and Central Eastern Europe, North America and Au...

In the aftermath of the ‘summer of migration’ of 2015, right-wing populist discourses became increasingly commonplace. This article by Thiele, Sauer and Penz investigates the resurgence of nativist and anti-migration attitudes in Austria by focusing on parliamentary debates between 2015 and 2019 concerned with migration, asylum policies and integra...

The Austrian Parliament has passed three laws since 2018 that prohibit wearing Muslim body-coverings in public. This departure from a formerly tolerant approach is an outcome of ongoing anti-Muslim campaigns by the radical-right populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). The party has been mobilising since the mid-1980s through the creation of two an...

State budgets reflect political priorities, providing a measure of issue relevance over time and comparatively across states. This article offers the first analysis of Länder budgets for women’s policy agencies (WPA) in Germany and Austria between 1991 and 2018. Comparing Länder WPA budgets provides insights into material allocations to, and the co...

Across the globe, a growing number of social movements, such as demonstrations in support of equal civil status or reproductive freedom and against sexualized violence, show that women's and gender rights are highly contested. Against the backdrop of a long history of unequal rights implementation, the contributors to this volume deal with the ques...

Existing research shows that right-wing populist imaginaries and discourses on “bogus asylum seekers” mobilise feelings of fear and panic and serve to legitimise increasingly restrictive asylum policies in Europe. In light of this ongoing development, this paper addresses a more intrinsic and structural aspect of asylum, which requires balancing th...

This article offers a collectively developed analysis of the Covid-19 crisis as it relates to contemporary cultures of rejection, i.e. the socio-cultural conditions in which authoritarian and right-wing populist politics thrive, in Europe. We explore how the pandemic and its management reinforces, transforms and/or overrides existing antagonisms an...

Stefanie Mayer, Edma Ajanovic and Birgit Sauer explore how research from a gender perspective enriches our understanding of the contemporary far-right. They argue that the notions of right-wing extremism and right-wing populism can be used as analytical lenses that put attention on different levels of analyses, i.e. on the ideological level and the...

While research in right-wing populism has recently been blossoming, a systematic study of the intersection of right-wing populism and gender is still missing, even though gender issues are ubiquitous in discourses of the radical right ranging from »ethnosexism« against immigrants, to »anti-genderism.« This volume shows that the intersectionality of...

This article examines how school staff in two Austrian cities negotiates the intersecting structures of inequal- ity in which ‘migrant’ pupils are positioned in the context of Austrian education and integration policies. For our analysis, we choose an intersectional approach and conducted in-depth interviews and seven focus groups with school staff...

Der Wandel der staatlichen Arbeitsmarktverwaltung in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz impliziert zum einen die Aktivierung von Erwerbslosen und mehr affektive Arbeit, zum anderen die Einführung von New Public Management und Wettbewerb. Der Beitrag untersucht die geschlechtsspezifische Bedeutung, die diese Veränderungen für die Arbeit der in...

This chapter delineates the history of electoral gender quotas globally as well as with a. focus on Germany and Austria. We introduce and explain different quota designs (e.g., legislated quotas, reserved seats, voluntary party quotas) and take stock of central quota reforms in neighboring European countries that we consider instructive for our cas...

This chapter explains why, contrary to general assumptions, Germany’s mixed electoral system with strong majoritarian elements led to a higher percentage of women in federal parliament over the past 30 years than Austria’s proportional system. In Germany, the proportional element of the electoral system drives the increase in women’s mandates via p...

The concluding chapter summarizes the main findings by way of two levels of comparison: (1) between countries on the national level, and (2) between and within countries on subnational levels. We put these comparisons in the context of current debates on electoral system changes as well as more ‘radical’ propositions in both countries to switch fro...

Germany and Austria celebrated 100 years of women’s suffrage in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The promise of parity that came with the active and passive right to vote, however, remains elusive. This chapter introduces the main themes of the book, focusing on descriptive political representation of women and asking if voluntary party quotas are suff...

This chapter extends the comparison between Germany and Austria to the subnational level by comparing four states in the two federations that exhibit cross-national similarities as well as domestic differences. We assess two gender-progressive city-states, Berlin and Vienna, and two historically more gender-traditional and conservative territorial...

In this chapter, we outline the main political system features of Germany and Austria and explore their impact on gender equality and quota implementation on national and Länder levels. In both countries, the multi-party system invites the contagion of gender equality measures from the political left to the center. German party federalism allowed w...

This chapter reviews a number of factors that hamper the recruitment and advancement of women in politics as well as the implementation of quota regulations, more specifically the lack of social acceptance of quotas, influential male networks, persistent gender images and practices, lack of qualified women candidates, shortage of resources, and pro...

This book provides a timely and unique contribution to current debates on how effectively voluntary party quotas address the persistent underrepresentation of women in legislatures. Using a most similar case design and a mixed-methods approach, the authors draw attention to the ways in which electoral systems and party regulations interface with vo...

The article aims to integrate key concepts from social movement, citizenship and gender theories with afocus on (political) intersectionality at the interface of migration, race, gender and sexuality. It explores the responses from civil society groups to the exclusive intersections of right-wing politics and discourses in Austria and Denmark with...

The article aims to integrate key concepts from social movement, citizenship and gender theories with a focus on (political) intersectionality at the interface of migration, race, gender and sexuality. It explores the responses from civil society groups to the exclusive intersections of right-wing politics and discourses in Austria and Denmark with...

This article analyses anti-sex-work mobilization in Austria and Germany since 2014. An affective perspective on the websites of these groups shows how their framings run the risk of establishing a disciplinary regime of governing people, of a restrictive, heterosexist norm of sexuality, and of gender inequality. Abolitionist strategies in the two c...

Zusammenfassung In der vergangenen Dekade formierte sich in Europa, aber auch in den USA und in Russland, eine anti-feministische Bewegung, die unter der selbstgewählten Bezeichnung „Anti-Genderismus“ gegen Gleichstellungspolitik (Gender Mainstreaming), Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung (Gender Studies) sowie gegen sexuelle Differenz (z. B. Homo-Eh...

In the context of Polanyi’s ‘double movement’ of market forces and social protection this article explores the work of state agents and processes of subjectivation at the workplace according to the contemporary social policy paradigm of activation. We exemplify the transformation of welfare institutions and policies in the neoliberal period through...

Presenting a profound and far-reaching analysis of economic, ecological, social, cultural and political developments of contemporary capitalism, this book draws on the work of Karl Polanyi, and re-reads it for our times. The renowned authors offer key insights to current changes in the relations between the economy, politics and society, and their...

The Austrian chapter by Birgit Sauer emphasizes the electoral successes of the radical right, which since the 1990s have triggered the formation of civil society organizations that oppose the mobilization of hate against immigrants. It shows the weakness of Austrian civil society organizations in forging alliances and shifting their activities towa...

Der Dualismus zwischen national und international entstand mit dem maskulinistischen Territorialstaat seit dem 17. Jahrhundert. Das zentrale Merkmal des Staates ist seine Souveränität auf einem begrenzten Territorium („innere Souveränität“) sowie seine Autonomie gegenüber anderen Staaten („äußere Souveränität“). Diese Trennungen sind geschlechtlich...

Representation is one of the controversial concepts in politics and is therefore hotly debated in political science, philosophy, sociology, historiography and constitutional law. The question ‘What is representation, how should it take place and what should it bring about?’ is therefore still relevant. One of the central questions in democracy theo...

The article explores notions of gender in right-wing populist discourses from a comparative perspective. Our analysis shows the important role intersections of discursive strands, most notably the interlinkage of sexism, homophobia and (gendered) racism, play in European right-wing populism. We show how two assumingly contradicting strands of disco...

This article analyses right-wing populist constructions of ‘the people’ emerging at the intersections of ethnicized ‘othering’ and gendered differences within groups. We argue that these constructions are in stark contrast to the liberal notion of citizenship, which we understand to be the basis for the demos . Right-wing populism constructs its po...

Zusammenfassung Aktuell wird europaweit das gleichstellungspolitisch Erreichte – sei es die (relative) Öffnung der Ehe für gleichgeschlechtliche Paare, der Anspruch von Frauen auf autonome Lebensentscheidungen, die Möglichkeit der Integration von Geschlecht und Sexualität in wissenschaftliche Paradigmen oder die Inklusion von Frauen in patriarchal...

Feministische Staatstheorie entwickelte seit den 1970er-Jahren – nicht zuletzt im Kontext von Frauenbewegungen – eine geschlechtersensible Perspektive auf moderne Staatlichkeit. Der Text systematisiert die Debatten um Feminismus und Staat zum ersten anhand der Felder feministischer Staatskritik und zum zweiten anhand der theoretischen Anknüpfungspu...

Staatliche Gleichstellungspolitik entstand in der Folge der Mobilisierung der zweiten Frauenbewegungen zunächst in westlich-liberalen Demokratien seit den 1970er-Jahren. Anfangs umkämpft, blieb ihre Institutionalisierung stets prekär, und der neoliberale Sozialstaatsabbau verschonte auch gleichstellungspolitische Institutionen, in der Bundesrepubli...

The restructuring of state bureaucracies into service organizations and the new welfare state paradigm of activation have changed the work requirements of front‐line workers in public employment agencies across Europe. Public employment agents are less engaged in bureaucratic labour, but have to perform service work. They use affective means to mot...

The chapter analysis the self-styled 'anti-Gender movement' in Austria. After discussing uses and abuses of the notion of 'gender' in German-speaking contexts, it moves to an analysis of the most relevant actors fostering the anti-Gender discourse. The main part of the analysis is dedicated to frames and argumentative patterns that structure this d...

The Web plays an increasingly important role in the communication strategies of political parties and movements, which increasingly utilize it for promoting ideas and ideologies as well as mobilization and campaigning strategies. This book explores the role of the Web for right-wing populist political parties and movements across Europe. Analyzing...

Since the turn of the millennium the term “gender-ideology” has become a political catch phrase, which unites different conservative, Christian, right-wing populist and right-wing extremist actors in Austria. This notion provides the discursive nod that allows to create a chain of equivalence between positions directed against legal equality for LG...

IF INTERESTED SEND ME A REQUEST FOR PRIVATE TEXT The book tackles the interpretation of the rights of the child and the best interests principle in the case of unaccompanied minor migrants in Europe at political, legal and practical levels. In its first part the book considers theoretical aspects of children’s rights and the best interests of the...

The article deals with the question how organised labour in Austria has to change in order to successfully address migrant workers. To answer this research question we focus on supportive practices developed by Austrian trade unions and chambers of labour with respect to the specific needs and interests of migrants. The article argues that these su...

Aufbauend auf Ergebnissen einer diskursanalytischen Untersuchung von 'anti-genderistischen' Texten österreichischer Akteur_innen analysiert der Artikel das Phänomen des 'Anti-Genderismus' als neues Gesicht des Antifeminismus. 'Antigenderismus' entpuppt sich als eine strategische (Miss-)Interpretation dekonstruktivistisch-feministischer und queerer...

This article explores the activation regime in three European countries – Austria, Germany, and Switzerland – and the related transformation of state bureaucracies into customer-oriented service providers. In the case of employment services affective labour tends to characterise the work process, in which public employees seek to guide, motivate, a...