Social Movement Organizations and Changing State Architectures: Comparing Women’s Movement Organizing in Flanders and Scotland

This article analyzes the impact of restructuring processes on the organizational structure and lobbying strategies of women’s movement organizations (WMOs) in Belgium (Flanders) and the UK (Scotland). We argue that devolution/federalization and the resultant creation of new, intermediary levels of governance offers a devolution/federalism advantage to WMOs. Multilevel governance multiplies access points, allowing for accumulation of funds, limited forms of venue shopping, and avoidance of veto players. Nevertheless, a set of push and pull factors draws WMOs towards the regional level thereby “abandoning the center.” These changes are driven by centrifugal dynamics that characterize the processes of devolution and federalization in these cases. In the long run, these may erase the devolution/federalism advantage, and also pose questions about state-wide women’s citizenship and gender solidarity.