When States Come Out: new questions about political interests, identities and institutions in LGBT politics in Europe (original) (raw)

2019, Politics, Groups, and Identities

When States Come Out offers new insight into processes of social and political change, not only into the issues of LGBT rights, but in the area of progressive politics more readily, especially when it is read in the broader context of current work on gender, sexuality and policy change. The book is particularly valuable in its holistic analytic approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, and examining not just policy change but also the attitudinal change that accompanies it. The book grapples with the breathtaking changes that have taken place in LGBT politics over the last few decades, offering new explanations for both the pace of change and the uneven outcomes across EU states. The book contributes to work on social change, human rights, international norms, transnational politics and social movements. Ayoub's identification of the "politics of visibility" as a central them has much to offer both political science and progressive politics. Contemporary political debates in the US in the aftermath of the 2016 electionespecially in the popular realmhave focused on the distinction between "identity politics" and economic issuesbut this work adds to other current work in demonstrating the indivisibility of the material and the ideal Violence and privilege related to "coming out" is not merely about cultural politicsit's a matter of life and death-but the ideational elements of this issue cannot be denied. This book joins a growing body of work in showing the impact of social movements as sources of progressive change, sometimes even more important than left parties or descriptive representation of marginalized groups (Weldon 2002a, 2012b; Strolovich 2007; Beer 2018; Htun and Weldon 2018), especially adding to the understanding of the transnational and regional dimensions of this phenomenon. Ayoub shows that social Movements and transnational solidarity can be powerful forces. Especially powerful is the evidence that Ayoub gives for the way international activist networks rally to overcome domestic opposition. This could be seen as pointing to an additional pathway to progressive change-though Brexit, the election of 2016 and its aftermath may be shattering any complacency about the liberal International order that scholars may have taken for granted as background to studies of international norms and human rights. Extant research shows that this social movement impact, especially its connection to international norms, is more powerful for some kinds of issues than others (Htun and