Resisting Change: Same-sex Partnership Policy Debates in Croatia and Slovenia
Resisting Change: Same-sex Partnership Policy Debates in Croatia and Slovenia

Summary/Abstract: Abstract. This article explores similarities and differences in the emergence, content, and effects of the policy debates on same-sex partnerships in Slovenia and Croatia. Using the Critical Frame Analysis, the article discusses how bills concerning same-sex unions were framed in parliamentary debates in both countries. Despite the different histories of the gay and lesbian movements and the somewhat different political/cultural backgrounds of both countries, no major differences were found in the discourses employed in the parliamentary debates on same-sex partnerships. Generally, five major themes have been defined in these debates in both Slovenia and Croatia: the human rights/equality frame is typically used by the proponents of the bill, often accompanied by the Europeanization frame. An understanding of such legislation as a threat to the family and nation is reflected in the frame of nature and the nationalist frame, whereas the exercise of power of the majority over the minority is reflected in the public opinion frame.

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