Vol. 59 No. 1 (2025): The Rise of Anti-gender and Anti-feminist Discourses in International Politics

This special issue of Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science examines the complex interplay between rising anti-gender movements and feminist resistance strategies across diverse global contexts. Through six contributions, it explores how opposition to gender equality has emerged as a powerful unifying force for conservative actors while simultaneously creating new divisions within established feminist spaces.

The research reveals several critical developments in contemporary gender politics. Anti-gender movements have evolved significantly, shifting their focus from opposing same-sex marriage to targeting transgender rights, often deploying sophisticated digital strategies and "child protection" narratives. These movements demonstrate remarkable adaptability in building coalitions across religious, political, and ideological lines. Their influence runs deeper than their immediate targets, reaching into feminist spaces themselves. Even established feminist organizations have begun adopting gender-critical positions, creating internal rifts that threaten collective solidarity. This fragmentation is particularly visible in how feminist movements respond to opposition—while some maintain strong unified fronts, others struggle with competition for resources and institutional pressures, leading some to retreat from public advocacy altogether.

Through a rich mix of methods—from ethnographic studies of NGOs and feminist media to digital discourse analysis of social media platforms—these contributions examine how anti-gender movements and feminist responses operate across different cultural and political contexts. The research particularly highlights the crucial role of online spaces in shaping contemporary gender politics, serving both as tools for anti-gender mobilization and sites of feminist resistance.

How can movements foster solidarity while making space for internal differences? What does meaningful visibility look like in increasingly hostile environments? And as anti-gender campaigns grow more sophisticated, what strategies might prove most effective in building sustained resistance? These are not just tactical questions but fundamental ones that touch on the very nature of feminist organizing in a changing world.

The cover illustration for our special issue is designed by Utsa SARMIN, a journalist, researcher, and artist based in Kolkata, India: "The illustration depicts our tired angry embattled selves having to look back, and go back to the basics—bread and roses, equality and dignity—in an increasingly polarised world where anti-women and anti-feminist narratives dangerously start resembling a world without our rights."