The Populist Backlash to Gender Equality in International Fora: Analyzing Resistance and Response at the United Nations

This symposium article examines the growing populist backlash to gender equality as a part of populist leaders’ broader backlash to the global legal order. While both the populist backlash to the international legal order and the backlash to gender equality are framed as efforts to “reclaim sovereignty” and reject cosmopolitan and liberal values, the battle over gender equality taking place in international legal fora is marked by populist engagement and transnational alliances rather than retreat. In this light, this article untangles one of the “puzzles” of nationalism, showing how a movement focused on domestic grievances has become a transnational movement, with deepening cross-border alliances that mobilize around traditional views of the family and utilize illiberal and authoritarian approaches to their goals. It concludes by calling for deeper examination of the implications of the populist backlash to gender equality, as well as response and resistance, for the global legal order.