The February program brought together scholars from Europe and the United States to discuss the state of LGBT rights in both regions.
Safia Swimelar, an associate professor of political science and policy studies, and coordinator of international studies, presented in February 2015 at a conference in Belgium on “Enlargement, Democracy, and the Politics of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.”
Hosted by the European Union Parliament and the University of Leuven, Belgium, the conference brought together scholars from Europe and the United States to discuss the state of LGBT rights in Central/East Europe and the Balkans and the role played by the European Union enlargement process.
Swimelar presented a paper on “Europeanization and nationalism: comparing LGBT rights and politics in Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia” where she examined the process and dynamics of LGBT rights advancement and anti-gay resistance in the three Balkan countries.
She argued that the concepts and discourses of nationalism and Europeanization have worked differently in these cases to affect, and primarily restrict, the promotion and protection of LGBT rights.
Link to conference: http://www.lgbt-conference.net/