No abstract

The rapid adoption of marriage equality legislation for non-heterosexual individuals in Europe is attributed to many factors, including dramatic shifts in public opinion, the work of transnational activists and changing international norms. Usually, these factors must be filtered through the halls of parliaments where most policy change happens. Given the importance of parliamentarians’ attitudes, it is surprising that we know so little about how attitudes towards same-sex marriage are distributed across political candidates in Europe and what factors shape them. This article fills that gap by using an underutilised dataset on the political preferences of candidates for parliamentary office. We find that beyond attachment to party families, a candidate’s religiosity and practice has a greater effect on a would-be Member of Parliament’s attitudes towards same-sex marriage. The findings suggest that the success of parliamentary action on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights depends not on the partisan composition of the legislature, but rather on the representation of secular candidates.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Support among parliamentary candidates aspiring to become legislators is an important prerequisite for the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in polities where institutional equality is brought about via legislative reforms.</li><br /><li>Over and above partisanship attachment and ideological positions, the religiosity of would-be Members of Parliament is important in establishing support for same-sex marriage.</li><br /><li>The secular composition of legislative chambers, rather than its partisan composition, is more likely to predict the success of the advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.</li></ul>

The Employment Equality Framework Directive (EED) is the first and still the only EU law that requires EU member states to combat sexual orientation discrimination. It requires states to change employment laws or draft news ones that prevent employers and coworkers from discriminating against gay and lesbian employees. Implementation of the EED was problematic, despite strong support for the law among many EU member states and their publics. An analysis of the EED’s provisions shows that in countries where religious organizations provide a substantial share of a country’s social services, governments are more likely to transpose the directive incorrectly. These findings are based on an innovative research design that addresses one legal subject matter within a directive. Contradicting earlier research showing it has little to no role, public opinion about an EU law can affect compliance. This article also sheds more light on how religious organizations and beliefs affect European integration, comparatively understudied in the literature. These findings also have important implications for the future of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights legislation at the EU level.

This article assesses the relative burden European members of NATO are bearing in the war in Afghanistan. Some argue that the current contribution of European forces is on par with the American contribution. However, current studies do not analyze Europe's ISAF contribution in comparison to some benchmark by which relative burden-sharing can be accurately determined. This article compares Europe's involvement in the war in Afghanistan to past missions, current contributions and in light of the benefits each country is likely to enjoy. The quantitative and qualitative findings show that there is an extensive amount of free-riding occurring both in terms of hard and soft power, although it varies across time and even within NATO Europe. Inadequate forces provided by European NATO countries jeopardize the likelihood of success in Afghanistan.

No abstract