Contesting Equality: LGBTIQ+ Rights, the State, and Democratic Decline

As democratic norms weaken and authoritarianism gains ground worldwide, LGBTIQ+ rights are increasingly under pressure. This event explores key trends in LGBTIQ+ politics across the Global North and South, examining how shifting political landscapes are reshaping the relationship between LGBTIQ+ movements and state actors. The discussion will also highlight the creativity and resilience of LGBTIQ+ activists, who continue to build powerful strategies of solidarity and resistance in challenging times.

Meet the speakers

Rahul Rao is a Reader in International Political Thought in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. Much of his work to date has explored the global politics of identity – gender, sexuality and, more recently, race and caste. He has published widely in leading journals and peer-reviewed presses, including recent works Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality (Oxford University Press, 2020)

Jamie Hagen is a Lecturer in Global Politics at the University of Manchester, working with the Critical Global Politics research cluster. She is also a founding co-convenor of the Queer Justice, Peace and Security Community of Practice. Her research, which has been published in several leading journals, is at the intersection of gender, security studies and queer theory and brings a feminist, anti-racist approach to these fields.

Anushka Gunawardena is a Senior Lawyer at the Human Dignity Trust, working across the Asia and Pacific regions. She specialises in international human rights law and has over a decade of experience instituting strategic litigation, implementing multi-country regional programmes, working for global human rights organisations, and advising government bodies device national policies.

Chair: Phillip Ayoub is Professor of International Relations in the UCL Department of Political Science, and a globally leading academic in the field of politics and gender.

Recording

This event will be recorded and the video will be uploaded to our YouTube channel.

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Seating and tickets

Seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis. We cannot guarantee you a seat, but it is very unusual that we have to turn someone away.

Accessibility

• The corridor outside the lecture theatre(s) is sufficiently wide enough (150cm+) to allow wheelchair users to pass.
• There is step free access into the lecture theatre(s).
• The door opening width(s) is/are 75cm+ for the lecture theatre(s).
• There are designated spaces for wheelchair users within the lecture theatre(s), located at the back.
• There is level access to the designated seating from an entrance.
• There is space for an assistance dog.
• There is a hearing assistance system for the lecture theatre(s).
• There is not a visual fire alarm beacon in the lecture theatre(s).

For more accessiblity info and an access guide please visit Accessable

If you have accessibility needs, please let us know and we will do our best to help. Contact spp@ucl.ac.uk

UCL200

2026 is the year in which we celebrate UCL’s Bicentenary, marking 200 years since UCL’s establishment as the first University in London.

UCL Political Science and School of Public Policy are celebrating with a programme of seminars that relate to one of UCL's core research themes: Fairer Futures