Breiding explores a surprising twist: as the EU pushes for LGBT equality across Europe and beyond, it can actually influence resistance from far-right and anti-LGBT groups. This creates a kind of paradox—efforts to promote inclusion can also deepen divisions.
The article calls this the “paradox of sexual integration,” where the goal of building European support for LGBT rights can influence alternative political agendas. Even more, Breiding points out that the EU’s vision of LGBT equality may not fully reflect the diversity of sexual and gender identities.
To make sense of this, Breiding introduces a new approach called Global Queer Agonism that can be used to study the EU’s promotion of LGBT rights. This idea blends political theory with global perspectives on LGBT politics to help explain how conflict and disagreement is an unavoidable part of efforts to expand LGBT rights.
Breiding’s work encourages us to think more deeply about how equality is promoted—and reminds us that progress often comes with pushback.
Read the full study here: Global Queer Agonism: Normative Theory of the European Union in Times of Dissensus Over LGBT Equality - Breiding - JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies - Wiley Online Library