This book offers a well-investigated and accessible picture of the current situation around the politics of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) rights and activism in Central Europe and the Western Balkans in the context of the enlargement of the European Union (EU). It provides not only thoughtful reflections on the topic but also a wealth of new empirical findings - arising from legal and policy analysis, large-scale sociological investigations and country case studies. Theoretical concepts come from institutional analysis, the study of social movements, law, and Europeanization literature. The authors discuss emerging Europe-wide activism for LGBT rights and analyze issues such as the tendency of nationalist movements to turn `sexual others' into `national others,' the actions and rhetoric of church actors as powerful counter-mobilizers against LGBT rights, and the role of the domestic state on the receiving end of EU pressure in the field of fundamental rights.

Author Biography

Koen Slootmaeckers is a researcher at the School of Politics and International Relations Queen Mary University of London, UK, and Free Research Associate at LINES (Leuven International and European Studies) at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium. Heleen Touquet is Part-Time Professor of International Relations at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium. Her work on social movements and mobilisation in the Western Balkans has been published in, among others, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Europa-Asia Studies, and Nationalities Papers. Peter Vermeersch is Professor of Politics at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium, where he is Research Co-ordinator at LINES (Leuven International and European Studies). Previously, he published among others The Romani Movement: Minority Politics and Ethnic Mobilization in Contemporary Central Europe (2006).