Associate Professor of Political Science and coordinator of International and Global Studies Safia Swimelar's recent research looks at the way that nationalism helps explain varying LGBT rights policies in two Southeast European states, Croatia and Serbia. Her article was published in the peer-reviewed journal East European Politics and Societies.
The article finds that in Croatia, national identity was constructed in terms of convergence with European norms and identity, homonationalism was used to distinguish themselves from a “Balkan” identity, and there was a lower threat perception of the LGBT community framed primarily as a “threat to the family.” In Serbia, state and national identity was constructed in opposition to Europe and homosexuality had stronger threat perception, framed primarily as “threat to the nation.”
The article, published in the peer-reviewed journal East European Politics and Societies, is part of a larger conversation among scholars, policymakers and activists about how LGBT rights change or are resisted in states that are aiming to become part of a larger community, such as the European Union. This research has relevance for other states where LGBT rights have become politicized by nationalist and/or authoritarian governments.