A special episode coinciding with this week’s International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

It’s easy to assume that LGBTQ rights are more likely to advance in democracies than in non-democracies. Democracies are generally more open to diversity, and the countries with the strongest LGBTQ rights protection are democracies.

But new work by Dr Samer Anabtawi, Lecturer in Comparative Politics here in the UCL Department of Political Science, suggests that we shouldn’t be so sure. Through detailed research in Lebanon and Tunisia, this work finds that democracy is neither a sufficient condition for rights advancement, nor – perhaps more surprisingly – a necessary one. 

Mentioned in this episode:

• ‘Snatching Legal Victory: LGBTQ Rights Activism and Contestation in the Arab World’ Arab Law Quarterly

UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.