Queer Activism after Conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Northern Ireland

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Abstract

The relationship between sexuality and ethno-national conflict is a critical one. That LGBTQ+ rights are particularly vulnerable in the context of ethno-national violence is well established (Hayes & Nagle, 2016; Curtis, 2013). Yet, how do these rights fare in the ‘post-conflict’ phase, in the context of new governing institutions designed to accommodate the main groups to the conflict? Research shows a dearth of recognition and provisions for LGBTQ+ rights in peace agreements (Bell & McNicholl, 2019). However, notwithstanding valuable contributions (see for example: Mikdashi, 2022; Nagle, 2018; Nagle & Fakhoury, 2021; Swimelar, 2020), our knowledge of the impact of post-conflict institutions, such as consociational power-sharing, on queer rights is limited. How are claims for LGBTQ+ equality affected in systems constructed on the basis of a different form of group rights: ethno-national? Moreover, how do activists navigate this system?
This paper examines queer activism in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Ireland, contexts in which consociational power-sharing was implemented as part of peace agreements in 1995 and 1998 respectively. Drawing together the conceptual frameworks of intersectionality and consociationalism, the paper considers a number of questions: a) what political opportunity structure do movements for LGBTQ+ rights face in these environments? b) how do these movements mobilize under such conditions? (what strategies do they use, particularly with regard to engagement with political institutions and actors?) and, c) to what extent does this activism mount a broader challenge to the system of ethno-national power-sharing and bear the capacity to contribute towards wider debates about citizenship and moves towards democratic reform? The paper draws on evidence from fieldwork conducted in Northern Ireland in 2018 and 2021 and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023, including ethnographic research and semi-structured interviews with civil society actors and activists.
The comparative analysis of these two cases seeks to provide insights into the impact of post-conflict institutions on LGBTQ+ rights movements and, by extension, other movements for human rights and equality. The paper also explores the agency used by such movements to mobilize in this context and their potential to contribute to broader democratic reform and even transformation.

Authors

• Cera Murtagh, Villanova University

• Runa Annasdotter Neely, Villanova University