Transnational Networks against Equality: The Anti-Gender Mobilization in the European Parliament

Abstract The present study contributes to the burgeoning literature on opposition to gender and sexual equality in the European Parliament (EP). It demonstrates that to gain access and influence in the EP, this “anti-gender” mobilization has emulated the feminist and LGBTQ+ movements by adopting features of professional, policy-oriented organizations and building a transnational collaboration network with like-minded institutional allies. Using social network analysis, I provide a systematic overview of the actors opposing gender and sexual equality in the EP—thirty-six civil society organizations (CSOs) and sixty-three right-wing populist politicians or parties—and examine 176 collaborative activities between them, identified through web scraping. The findings show that CSOs play different roles within the network, with a subset functioning as “hubs” that bridge the civil society and institutional spheres, thereby shaping advocacy agendas and the flow of political information. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that shared characteristics facilitate cooperation, especially among institutional actors.