Transnational LGBT Activism and UK-Based NGOs

This book contributes an analysis of UK-based non-governmental organisations engaged in transnational lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) activism, within a broader recognition of the complexities that British colonial legacies perpetuate in contemporary international relations. From this analysis, the book suggests that greater engagement with intersectional and decolonial approaches to transnational activism would allow for a more transformative solidarity that challenges the broader impacts of coloniality on LGBT people’s lives globally. Case studies are used to explore UK actors’ participation in the complexities of contemporary transnational LGBT activism, including activist responses to developments in Brunei between 2014 and 2019, and the use of LGBT aid conditionality by Western governments. Activist engagements with legacies of British colonialism are also explored, including a focus on ‘sodomy laws’ and the Commonwealth, as well as the challenges faced by LGBT people seeking asylum in the UK.

Matthew Farmer is an Independent Researcher based in Lancaster, UK. He received his PhD in International Relations from Lancaster University analysing the role of UK-based NGOs in transnational LGBT activism and solidarity.

“Transnational LGBT Activism and UK-Based NGOs: Colonialism and Power is an important book for the analysis of international LGBT politics and the role played by non-governmental organisations in that sphere. The book analyses the role of UK-Based NGOs within transnational LGBT activism by closely examining the UK Government’s interactions with UK-based NGOs. This focus is an original and significant contribution in its dynamic analysis of the relationship between NGOs, LGBT activists and donor governments. This book relies on interviews with influential actors in this area working within the field. Furthermore, the book’s critical analysis of international LGBT politics in the intersection of growing voices of NGOs, governmental interests and the context created by the legacies of British colonialism provides an exceptional focus. This book is a timely and valuable contribution which will be of great interest for researchers and students interested in international politics of LGBT issues, politics of NGOs and policy studies’.” (Hakan Seckinelgin, Associate Professor of International Social Policy, Department of Social Policy, The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK)
“Matthew Farmer’s book is the first to offer a comprehensive analysis of LGBT non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working transnationally from the UK – such as the Human Dignity Trust, Kaleidoscope Trust and Stonewall. Interviews with many key LGBT activists such as Jonathan Cooper, Paul Dillane, Bisi Alimi and Peter Tatchell reveal priorities and strategies. The research centres colonialism’s legacies for contemporary power relations; it deserves engagement from critical analysts, LGBT movements and wider publics internationally’.” (Matthew Waites, Reader in Sociology at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Glasgow, UK)