Withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention: a debate between “European” and “native” values

İrem Tuncer Ebetürk and Alexandros Tokhi

Chapter 13 in Institutions of Global Governance, 2025, pp 243-262 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter explores Türkiye's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention as a critical case study at the nexus of domestic political dynamics, international norm contestation, and the politicization of gender rights. The Istanbul Convention, a pivotal international treaty aimed at preventing and combating violence against women, has increasingly become a target of anti-gender movements worldwide. Türkiye's 2021 withdrawal, coupled with Poland's ongoing threats to exit, exemplifies a broader resistance to international human rights frameworks, often framed as external impositions on national sovereignty. Drawing upon scholarship on treaty withdrawal, populist politics, and de-Europeanization, the chapter examines Türkiye's motivations, including the deployment of nationalist discourses, strategic electoral calculations, and the securitization of gender equality policies. It situates this withdrawal within a broader narrative framing international norms as a conflict between “native” and “Western” values, instrumentalized to consolidate political power domestically. The chapter further evaluates the European Union's response, marked by denunciation and an emphasis on the defense of “European values,” which inadvertently reinforced the civilizational dichotomy employed by Türkiye's leadership. By critically assessing the EU's failure to utilize alternative diplomatic and legal strategies, the chapter illuminates the limitations of normative responses to treaty withdrawals. This analysis situates Türkiye's withdrawal within global trends of rising populism and resistance to gender equality norms, underscoring the implications for the durability of international human rights regimes and the potential roles of feminist civil society and transnational actors in countering these challenges.

Keywords: Unilateral withdrawal; Istanbul Convention; Anti-gender movements; Populism; Gender equality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035302574
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