Pioneering marriage for same-sex couples in the Netherlands

Kollman, K. (2017) Pioneering marriage for same-sex couples in the Netherlands. Journal of European Public Policy, 24(1), pp. 100-118. (doi: 10.1080/13501763.2016.1147057)

Abstract

Why did the Netherlands become the first country to allow same-sex couples to marry? I argue that in addition to social and political factors that have been well-highlighted in the literature, the desire of Dutch activists and policy élites to burnish their international reputation as a social policy and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights pioneer played a critical role in motivating the government to adopt this controversial policy. In making this argument, the article addresses the often neglected topic of policy invention. I utilize the concept of regional policy community drawn from federalism studies to illustrate that such communities do not just facilitate the diffusion of new innovations across its constituent states, but they can also inspire pioneering states to experiment with new policy models in the first place.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Laboratory federalism; morality politics; Netherlands; policy invention; policy pioneers; same-sex marriage.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kollman, Professor Kelly
• Authors: Kollman, K.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Journal of European Public Policy
• Publisher: Routledge
• ISSN: 1350-1763
• ISSN (Online): 1466-4429
• Published Online: 23 March 2016
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 Taylor and Francis
• First Published: First published in Journal of European Public Policy 24(1):100-118
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher