Selective equality: social democratic parties and the referendums on same-sex marriage in Eastern Europe

Gherghina, S. and Silagadze, N. (2022) Selective equality: social democratic parties and the referendums on same-sex marriage in Eastern Europe. Europe-Asia Studies, 74(1), pp. 140-158. (doi: 10.1080/09668136.2021.1902481)

Abstract

One of the core principles of social democracy is equality between citizens. However, in Europe, several social democratic parties have recently supported referendums against same-sex marriage. This article aims to examine the factors which drove left-wing parties to disregard the principle of equality by comparing the four most recent same-sex marriage referendums—in Croatia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia—between 2013 and 2018. The results of the qualitative analysis indicate that this behaviour can be explained by a combination of electoral decisions, government strategies and other ideological components.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gherghina, Dr Sergiu
• Authors: Gherghina, S., and Silagadze, N.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Journal Name: Europe-Asia Studies
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 0966-8136
• ISSN (Online): 1465-3427
• Published Online: 01 April 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
• First Published: First published in Europe-Asia Studies 74(1): 140-158
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher