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Inspired by Jodi Dean's understanding of the reflective solidarity of strangers, this contribution explores forms of migrant solidarity and resistance in Copenhagen and Berlin. It investigates how 'hybrid' forms of solidarity emerged out of different circumstances in Trampoline House and the Oranienplatz refugee protest camp. The two selected cases are particularly interesting for exploring how models of contentious and non-contentious civil society mobilisation and engagement cope with inequalities, disagreement and differences; how awareness of inequalities affects relations of solidarity between refugees and local activists as well as between groups of refugees. The analysis suggests that despite the substantial differences between the two cases, the groups involved in the research experienced similar challenges in overcoming inequalities and diversity. Arguably, the tensions and disagreements within groups can potentially develop into forms of reflective solidarity, aimed at reshaping the boundaries created by differences of race, class, ethnicity and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 afocus on inclusive intersectionality and transversal politics. The article asks if and how the intersectional repertoires of NGOs were able to create transversal politics and joint activities and explains why these NGOs were unable to counter right-wing hegemony. It uses the cases of Austria and Denmark to illustrate the diverse mobilizations of counter-forces against the attempts to forge an anti-migration and anti-Muslim consensus. The focus is on the mobilization of anti-racist and pro-migrant groups, comparing their strategies and inclusionary repertoires including feminist claims, the framing of activist citizenship, acts of citizenship and of solidarity. The article scrutinizes strategies of transversal politics against the exclusionary right in the two countries; shows the influence of the different contexts of civil society mobilization, political cultures, welfare and gender regimes as well as the differences between right-wing forces in the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the aspects of feminist activism and the challenges facing by feminist in reframing social justice and equality in the contemporary society. Topics discussed include the role of feminist theorists in reframing gender equality and social justice in the Nordic societies, the intersectional and multilevel approaches to politics of belonging, and the proposed transnational approach in meeting social justice.

This article analyses the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (2010) (EY 2010) with the aim of identifying the nature of gender diversities in European Union policies. We argue that the European Union handles issues related to gender and diversity in particular ways; this approach is characterised by non-citizen/ citizen and redistribution/recognition divisions. Employing intersectionality as the methodological approach to gender diversities, the article shows how gender and ethnicity are articulated in the policy-making process which led to the adoption of EY 2010, the activities undertaken during EY 2010 and the evaluation of EY 2010. The case study is suitable for developing a dynamic multi-level model for analysing gendered diversities at the transnational level: It illustrates how the EU policy framework interacts with particular national contexts in promoting or hindering the advancement of policy contents which pay attention to the intersection between gender and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) consists of 27 nation states, and its motto “united in diversity” refers to the right of EU citizens to cross borders and work and live legally in another EU country as well as to the accommodation of national minorities. In spite of this common fate, “diversity” issues have increasingly been associated with conflicts between citizens and noncitizens about integration of new migrant groups. At a time of rising populism in Europe, it is important to assess how major political actors of the European Public Sphere (EPS) articulate issues regarding the intersection of gender and ethnic diversity. To do so, this article draws on the findings from the Eurosphere project, which compares sixteen European countries to investigate the inclusion or exclusion of women and minority groups in the EPS (Siim & Mokre 2013). The Eurosphere project provides timely insight into how key actors representing selected political parties and social movements/NGOs across Europe perceive intersections of gender and ethnic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses conflicts and negotiations about gender equality and diversity within the European public sphere (EPS). It aims to explore the specific constraints and possibilities for realizing gender equality and justice from the transnational European context. Research illustrates that the European Union (EU) approach to gender equality has strengthened the transnational space of mobilization and given actors new possibilities to negotiate about multiple inequalities and direct their claims at different levels. This has at the same time led to a diversification of women's claims and conflicts about the meanings and framings of gender equality and diversity within the EPS. This is illustrated by case studies of the framing of gender equality and ethno-national diversity by political actors in the European Women's Lobby and the European Parliament. The article proposes that the multilevel EU polity can be interpreted as a unique case for reframing justice in a globalized world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The aim of the article is to discuss the challenges from immigration to Nordic (gender) politics, theories and research. The research question is to what extent Nordic welfare and gender equality politics is based on exclusive solidarity biased towards the native majorities. A key issue is how Nordic gender theory and research has addressed multiple inequalities. The article briefly revisits the academic debates about gender equality, diversity and multiculturalism, which arguably represent two different paradigms: multicultural approaches have addressed the accommodation of minorities with diversity as the key concept, while feminist approaches have focused on gender (in)equality with gender as the key concept. Design/methodology/approach – The intersectional approach suggests that increased migration and mobility present similar challenges for the two bodies of thought to address complex and multiple inequalities within and beyond the nation state. The main part explores "the multicultural dilemma" in greater detail focusing on the intersections between gender and etho-national minorities in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Findings – Perceptions of diversity and gender equality/women's rights are contextual and dynamic as intersecting diversities and inequalities are embedded in national histories, institutions and policies. Scholars have demonstrated that the discourse about women's rights and gender equality has become an intrinsic part of Nordic identities and belongings. The article suggests that the new forms of inequalities among women can be interpreted as a Nordic gender equality paradox between the relative inclusion of the native majority women and the relative marginalization of women from diverse ethnic minorities in society. Originality/value – The intersectionality approach to gender and ethnicity in Scandinavia is in this article combined with a transnational approach to gender, diversity and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses multicultural challenges to state feminism in Denmark and Norway, focusing both on similarities and differences in the two countries policy responses. In spite of important differences, we point towards similar problems and dilemmas in the public responses to multiculturalism and diversity among women connected to a state feminist agenda that in both countries has been rather one-sided in its conception of what women-friendliness may imply. The first part of the paper expands on institutional 'tracks': (Variations in) state feminist traditions, in religious traditions, and in the inclusion of organizations of civil society in political power. The second part explores the framing of the hijab as a political issue of 'intersections' of gender equality versus religious belongings. The third part investigates what we see as a 'dead end' in policy making to prevent violations of women's rights; that is the general, age based, restrictions on family unification as a means to combat forced marriages. Finally, we emphasise the importance of participatory women-friendly politics that include all who are affected by political decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to analyse the tension between diversity and gender equality, looking at problems and potentials for inclusion of minority women in the Danish citizenship model. It addresses the intersection of gender and ethnicity, focusing on two main themes. One is the gender-political challenge of combining the discourse and politics of gender equality with respect for diversity in cultural values, family forms and gender-equality norms. This theme explores the extent to which the dominant understanding of gender equality in public and private life is a potential or barrier for recognizing diversities among women, and it discusses how to empower minority women in their daily lives. The other is the democratic challenge of including the voices of minority women in politics and combine equal rights of ethnic minorities with respect for cultural diversity. This theme explores the extent to which the egalitarian political culture and democratic institutions represent a potential or a barrier for recognizing cultural differences and discusses how to empower minority women and give them a voice through democratic politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pursuit of equal citizenship has been complicated by two recent developments: the emergence of multi-level governance (and with it the growing importance of local, regional and global levels of citizenship practices) and the emergence of group recognition claims (which signal the growing importance of particularised experiences and multiple inequality agendas). These developments shape the way citizenship is both practiced and analysed. Mapping neat citizenship models onto distinct nation-states and evaluating these in relation to formal equality is no longer an adequate approach. Comparative citizenship analyses need to be considered in relation to multiple inequalities and their intersections, and to multi-level governance and trans-national organising. This, in turn, suggests that comparative citizenship analysis needs to consider new spaces in which struggles for equal citizenship occur and new dynamics interactions between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of the women-friendly welfare states, introduced by the Norwegian political scientist Helga Maria Hernes in 1987, has had a considerable influence on welfare theory and research. In this article the normative basis and the analytical potential of the concept are explored. The concept can be criticized for its bias towards social democratic welfare states, which has challenged its analytical potential. Instead of abandoning it altogether, the authors suggest that an alternative could be to reformulate and contextualize the concept with gender equality as the key notion. The reformulation would make it possible to distinguish analytically between women-friendliness and policies that promote gender equality between different dimensions of welfare, and between civil and political from social aspects of citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Editorial. Reflects on challenges to gender equality in the Nordic welfare states. Government effort to set up benchmarks for women's employment; Scandinavian welfare states conceptualized by Norwegian political scientist Helga Maria Hernes; Growth of feminist scholarship on the welfare state.

Explores the debate on gendered citizenship developed within feminist scholarship in Scandinavia. Definition of social democratic citizenship; Consequences of social and political citizenship for women; Critique of the Nordic model of social democracy; Demands voiced by Scandinavian women for political representation; Strategies developed around political parties; Concept of active citizenship in Scandinavia.

The language of citizenship has not till recently been used explicitly in the political discourse or in the academic debate about the welfare state and democracy in Denmark. This article explores the connection between citizenship and the sub-vocabularies of social equality, universality and participation in the political discourse. It is suggested that during the 1990s new vocabularies of citizenship have been introduced, as well as a new framework of citizenship, in the academic debate. The changes are discussed on the basis of three different cases: (a) parent-citizens as users of service provision; (b) the temporary leave schemes for citizen workers; and (c) activation of workers. The new language is contradictory and con tested. And it is an open question whether in the future we shall see a break with the former discourse of social equality and universality and an expansion of a more work-oriented welfare state, or a move toward a more solidaristic discourse that expands the principles behind the leave schemes. The article concludes by speculating about the future chal lenges for citizenship and the need to develop a new vision of equality and solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper studies the debate about the Scandinavian welfare states from a feminist perspective, focusing on the differences between a feminist perspective and the dominant liberal and critical Marxist understanding of the welfare state, in particular it focuses on the argument that the Scandinavian welfare states are the most advanced in relation to women and discusses both the potentialities and dangers in the Scandinavian welfare states in relation to women. Feminists have pointed out that the concept of gender has been disregarded from a theoretical and methodological point of view in both liberal and Marxist analyses of the welfare state. The fundamental concepts have been either the individual or the class, and the determining forces of the development of the welfare state have been found in the political sphere or in the economy or in the interrelation between the two spheres. The paper points to the need to integrate gender relations in the theoretical model for an analysis of the welfare state and emphasizes the need to explore the relationship between the family and the state (and the family and the economy) in the different welfare states. The paper emphasizes that the qualitative differences in the organization of care work are important for understanding the institutional differences between the welfare states, and especially the Scandinavian welfare states, where motherhood and care work has today become a part of social citizenship. The author argues that even though women have in important ways become empowered in the Scandinavian welfare states as mothers, workers and citizens, they have at the same time become subsumed under a new kind of male domination in the public sphere. A further exploration of this new kind of male domination must transcend the theoretical framework of both Marxism and liberalism and must begin to rethink such central concepts as citizenship, power and interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]