2023/04/26 by Nicole McMahon · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Gender Politics and Representation #Policy Transfer and Learning
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/gove.12781
openalex publication_date 2023/04/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/04
Abstract Western democracies are experiencing a widespread shift towards greater recognition of transgender rights in public policy, yet the timing of change differs across states. To explain this variation, I present a novel theoretical framework called “policy momentum.” Unlike existing work on policy diffusion, which typically emphasizes domestic or international processes, I theorize how the combined pressure from each level creates the conditions for policy change to occur. Empirically, I contrast the creation of national human rights policies to protect transgender individuals in Canada (2017) and Australia (2013). Using process‐tracing and within‐case analyses, and drawing on elite interviews, primary documents, and Hansard records, I demonstrate the decisive interaction of subnational legislative changes with an emerging global norm to produce transgender policy change. This paper thus contributes to our understanding of LGBTQ+ public policy while also providing a framework for explaining the conditions for cross‐national policy change more broadly.