Legislative and Judicial Politics of LGBT Rights in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uladzislau Belavusau
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Judicial Politics ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Lgbt Rights

Unpacking Normative Resonance: The Attitudinal Panopticon and the Implementation Gap of LGBT Rights in Serbia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koen Slootmaeckers
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Change ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Lgbt Rights ◽  
Implementation Gap ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender

Abstract Although equality policies have been promoted by the European Union in its enlargement process, their implementation often remains weak. While normative resonance is considered as a key factor for their proper implementation, why it matters remains theoretically underexplored. Addressing this gap, the article develops the notion of the attitudinal panopticon. Through the analysis of the implementation gap of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Serbia, I demonstrate how the lack of normative resonance and social change becomes a disciplining environment that prevents people from using equality measures out of fear of further and more severe violations of their rights.

The Benefits of Backlash

2018 ◽  
pp. xiv-32
Author(s):  
Conor O'Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Organizational Development ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Lgbt Rights ◽  
Lgbt Activism ◽  
Historical Comparative

This chapter presents an overview of the wide variation in the politics of homosexuality and the trajectories of LGBT activism in postcommunist Europe since 1989. Against the conventional wisdom that this region is noteworthy precisely for its lack of progress regarding sexuality, this chapter’s historical-comparative perspective reveals examples of surprisingly well-organized and politically mobilized social movements advocating LGBT rights, often in those countries associated with resurgent traditionalism and backlash against transnational rights norms. This variation is puzzling in terms of the predominant “grand narratives” of post-1989 political development, namely, that of weak civil society and that of transnational diffusion and Europeanization through accession to the European Union. A comparative analytical framework is presented to explain how and under what conditions transnational pressures may boost the organizational development of LGBT-rights activism in postcommunist societies.

scholarly journals THE REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY AND INSTRUMENTALISATION OF LGBT RIGHTS: HOW DID ATTITUDES TOWARDS LGBT PEOPLE CHANGE IN UKRAINE AFTER EUROMAIDAN?

2021 ◽  
pp. 127-150
Author(s):  
OLEKSII SHESTAKOVSKI ◽  
MAKSYM KASIANCZUK ◽  
OLESIA TROFYMENKO
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Lgbt Rights ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Lgbt Community ◽  
Lgbt People ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lgbt Individuals ◽  
The Revolution

The aftermath of Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity provoked a lot of criticism among the students of LGBT topics. The principles of non-discrimination and protection of LGBT rights are an exemplary manifestation of European values to which Euromaidan declared adherence. The Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, which was signed after the Revolution, as well as visa-free travel, which was granted to Ukrainian citizens, obliged this country to liberalise LGBT-related laws due to the EUʼs policy on the instrumentalisation of LGBT rights. However, there is a view that this step may cause conflicts in Ukrainian society, which is still predominantly homophobic, and only lead to a superficial change in the condition of LGBT people owing to pressure from the European Union. Some scholars (e.g. Shevtsova [2020], Wannebo [2017]) claim that the instrumentalisation policy has even resulted in a backlash against the LGBT community and worsened the overall situation for them. But has this backlash (if it really happened) entailed a corresponding change in public opinion on LGBT issues? Surprisingly, the dynamics of public attitudes towards the LGBT community and their rights remain unexplored. The paper proposes to fill this gap by a comparative analysis of two cross-sectional surveys on this topic, which were conducted before (in 2013) and after (in 2016) the Revolution of Dignity in several regions of Ukraine. Within the framework of the study, three research questions have been posed: 1. Have Ukrainians’ attitudes towards the LGBT community changed since Euromaidan? 2. How different (e. g. positive) were the attitudes towards LGBT people among Euromaidan supporters? 3. Have the events that happened after the Revolution of Dignity, such as Russia is hybrid war against Ukraine, been able to affect attitudes towards LGBT rights? The results show that there have been modest, albeit statistically significant positive changes in Ukrainians’ attitudes towards the LGBT community since Euromaidan. However, practically no change in terms of support for LGBT rights has been recorded. Our findings are consistent with other relevant nationally representative surveys according to which public perception of LGBT individuals has not worsened. This fact suggests that the instrumentalisation of LGBT rights has not faced any backlash, at least from the general population. Other data in our study indicate that not all proponents of the Revolution of Dignity displayed favourable attitudes towards LGBT people; nevertheless, they held more positive views on the LGBT community and same-sex marriage than those who did not take part in Euromaidan. The respondents who have experienced the impact of the Donbas conflict also demonstrated relatively better attitudes to LGBT individuals and expressed support for their rights. Still, this may be linked to a significant percentage of Euromaidan participants among them.

scholarly journals Mechanisms of Europeanisation and Compliance in Judicial Politics: Understanding the Past and Anticipating the Future

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramona Coman
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Judicial Politics ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Area ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future ◽  
Recent Developments

Abstract Recent developments in Hungarian constitutional and judicial politics have given impetus to question not only the outcomes of democratisation and Europeanisation, but also the efficacy of the European Union’s compliance mechanisms. In 2010, Hungary, one of the forerunners in building democracy made the headlines with Fidesz’s attempts at adopting a new Constitution and implementing cardinal laws along with controversial institutional, cultural, religious, moral and socio-economic policies. This article attempts to depict the transformative power of the European Union within a sensitive policy area which touches upon States’ pouvoris régaliens: the independence of the judiciary.

A Community of Law? ‘European’ Law and Judicial Politics: The Court of Justice and Beyond

2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Wincott
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Judicial Politics ◽  
European Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Strategic Context ◽  
European Community Law

OVER THE LAST DECADE AND A HALF THE PART PLAYED BY THE European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the construction and operation of the European Union has become controversial. Relatively unnoticed beyond specialist legal circles in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, the role of the Court featured prominently in the debates occasioned by the Treaty of Maastricht. In this article I consider the use of heroic and villainous imagery to describe the Court. After arguing that such imagery now conceals more than it reveals, I suggest that if its role is to be understood properly, the Court needs to be placed in strategic context. For convenience, the discussion of strategic context, which makes up the largest part of this article, is divided into five sections. In turn these sections consider member state executives, other European Union institutions, ‘European’ law(s), European Community law and actors in civil society (particularly litigants).

scholarly journals Neoliberal governmentality and the (de)politicisation of LGBT rights: The case of the European Union in Turkey

Politics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna L Muehlenhoff
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
External Funding ◽  
Lgbt Rights ◽  
Neoliberal Governmentality ◽  
Political Struggles ◽  
The World ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
Lgbt Movement ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) praises itself for being a promoter of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the world. It supports LGBT organisations abroad with the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). Yet, the EIDHR has come under scrutiny by scholars arguing that it is based on neoliberal rationalities and depoliticises civil society. The literature analyses the EU’s documents but does not study funding in practice. Moreover, it has a narrow understanding of politicisation failing to include insights from feminist and queer literature. To problematize the EU’s policy, we need to analyse it in the sites it intervenes in. It is unclear whether and how the EIDHR depoliticises LGBT organisations and issues. Studying the case of Turkey, I argue that the EU’s support of LGBT organisations had ambiguous effects which are not necessarily the ones intended by the EU nor the ones expected by the governmentality literature. The EU’s funding depoliticised the organisations in the sense that they looked less political and more transparent. Yet, this helped making LGBT rights’ claims more legitimate within Turkey’s political struggles. At the same time, EU funding created conflicts within the LGBT movement about the question of Western external funding and neoliberal co-optation.

scholarly journals KLAUDIJUS MANIOKAS, ED., LITHUANIA'S FIRST DECADE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: TRANSFORMATION OR IMITATION?

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Ainius Lašas
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Lgbt Rights ◽  
The Eu

For those who want to better grasp the political and socio-economic trajectory of Lithuania since its accession to the EU, this edited volume provides a wealth of information and insights. It touches upon a variety of themes ranging from the politicization of LGBT rights to Lithuania’s bumpy road to the eurozone. While this constitutes an interesting and informative read, the book sometimes struggles to maintain theoretical and conceptual cohesion throughout all chapters.[...]

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