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  • © 2014

LGBT Activism and the Making of Europe

A Rainbow Europe?

Palgrave Macmillan

Part of the book series: Gender and Politics (GAP)

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
  2. Introduction

    1. Introduction

      • Phillip M. Ayoub, David Paternotte
      Pages 1-25
  3. Practicing Europe in LGBTQ Activism

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 95-95
    2. Queer Activism and the Idea of “Practicing Europe”

      • Konstantinos Eleftheriadis
      Pages 145-167
  4. Becoming European

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 169-169
    2. Transnational Solidarities and LGBTQ Politics in Poland

      • Jon Binnie, Christian Klesse
      Pages 193-211
    3. Conclusion

      • Phillip M. Ayoub, David Paternotte
      Pages 233-240
  5. Back Matter

    Pages 241-245

About this book

This book explores the alleged uniqueness of the European experience, and investigates its ties to a long history of LGBT and queer movements in the region. These movements, the book argues, were inspired by specific ideas about Europe, which they sought to realize on the ground through activism.

Reviews

"The LGTBQ movement is not very much studied in social movement research. This very interesting collection contributes to fill this gap, which is all the more puzzling given the relevance of this movement in the struggle for civil rights and the deepening of democracy at different territorial levels. The contributions address an interesting variety of countries, geographical levels, but also areas of LGTBQ's activities - from legal practices to Queer festivals". Professor Donatella della Porta, European University Institute, Florence, Italy

"Is Europe gay? Ayoub and Paternotte offer exceptional insights into how gay rights came to be defined as a particularly European commitment. The articles in this well designed collection show LGBT recognition politics acquired such surprising symbolic weight, as bottom up claims-making and organizing from social movements and civil society organizations are met with top-down practical policies and international political posturing by both opponents and advocates. The overall argument is compelling, as the authors show how specific meaning-making practices drew the boundaries of modern and enlightened "Europe" around support for human rights for LGBT people. The cases chosen are excellent illustrations of how such a criterion of belonging to Europe then resonates at every level from foreign policy to personal identities". Myra Marx Ferree, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

"How did 'Europe' come to be seen as anadvocate of LGBT rights, in both global debates and the self-understanding of many Europeans? These wide-ranging essays illuminate how LGBT activists advanced this unlikely idea in the very process of mobilizing around it, and were in turn both deeply shaped by their association with the idea of Europe and implicated in the exclusions that idea fostered. An innovative and invaluable intervention". George Chauncey, Samuel Knight Professor of History, Yale University, USA

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Political Science, Drexel University, USA

    Phillip M. Ayoub

  • Department of Sociology, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

    David Paternotte

About the editors

Carsten Balzer (aka Carla LaGata), Free University of Berlin, Germany Jon Binnie, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK Gianmaria Colpani, University of Verona, Italy and Utrecht University, the Netherlands Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, Italy Adriano José Habed, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands Jan Simon Hutta, University of Bayreuth, Germany Christian Klesse, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK Kelly Kollman, University of Glasgow, UK Kevin Moss, Middlebury College, USA Leila J. Rupp, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA Anna van der Vleuten, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and Associate Fellow of the Potsdam Centrum für Politik und Management, Germany Cai Wilkinson, Deakin University, Australia

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access