The role of international institutions in promoting women's rights: A multilevel analysis of the politics of gender in the European Union

This dissertation examines the impact of international institutions on women's rights policies by focusing on the European Union (EU) as a case study in order to illustrate the influence and the ways in which international factors affect women's rights as a global policy concern. The principal proposition of this study is that beyond states, institutions are autonomous agents that influence policy outcomes often against member states' preferences.; My study combines the use of primary and secondary sources with open-ended interviews conducted in Belgium and Cyprus. I use EU documentation produced by all the institutions involved in policymaking substantiated by on-site interviews conducted with decisionmakers involved in gender policies in Brussels (Belgium) and Nicosia (Cyprus).; I propose a system where supranational institutions increasingly affect policy at the EU, national and international levels and promote social change in issues that have been traditionally reserved to nation states. The factors weakening member state control over supranational policy are institutional autonomy vis-a-vis states, the institutional ability to structure the policy process, the influence of past policies, the development of unintended consequences and the possibility of policy "spillover." Supranational institutions influence national policy through the use of EU financial instruments. The EU financing capability of national programs allows supranational institutions such as the European Commission to promote an agenda independent of that of some of the member states. Supranational institutions moreover can become external agents of change and play a progressive role in reshaping social policy in countries aspiring to EU membership, e.g., Cyprus. The examination of the long-term development of EU gender policy since 1958, and the impact of supranational institutions on national policy in member states and candidate countries questions the state centric assumption regarding the primacy of the state exercising control over institutions and policies.