News
31.01.2021

How does LGBT+ activism impact perceptions in a socially conservative society?

Phillip M. Ayoub’s article, coauthored with Douglas Page and Sam Whitt and published in the American Political Science Review, found that LGBT+ advocacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina generated positive support, particularly at a local level.

In an article published by the American Political Science ReviewPhillip M. Ayoub, Associate Professor of Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College and Fellow at the Centre for International Security, and his coauthors Douglas Page and Sam Whitt, employed a variety of research methodologies to study the influence of LGBT+ activism on local attitudes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ayoub, Page and Whitt observed that local support for LGBT+ activism increased following the first-ever LGBT+ Pride in Sarajevo, though these positive views did not diffuse nationwide.  

Additionally, Pride had a favorable effect on the shifting of financial resources towards pro-LGBT+ advocates and away from opposition groups. Both mobilization (in favor of a cause) and counter-mobilization (against a cause) appeals by advocacy groups generated affirmative responses from the public. 

The paper, titled “Pride amid Prejudice: The Influence of LGBT+ Rights Activism in a Socially Conservative Society”, found that there exists “challenges facing LGBT+ activism in socially conservative societies but also… substantial possibilities of collective action on behalf of minorities at risk”. 

The whole article is available here.