Citizenship and Lisbon Treaty: A Sociological Institutionalist perspective on LGBT rights

It is assumed that the Lisbon Treaty will bring a new dimension to the understanding of citizenship both at practice and institutional level. Amsterdam Treaty has brought a new dimension onto the level of political and human rights onto the EU agenda and it has also raised the profile of Union as a new political reality which could engender a new form of allegiance in the form of citizenship. The case law of ECJ and legislative developments of the Union since inception of the EU citizenship has been instrumental in carving a political space for the development of the EU citizenship practice and a post-national model of citizenship which could transcend statist-notion of citizenship models. The paper aims to use the sociological institutionalism as a analytical framework to examine and map out how citizenship has developed within post-Maastricht period and how this new dynamic has developed a new space for groups like LGBT people to demand more rights. It also aims to examine how EU level institutional developments have coalesced to drive change in norms, perceptions at national level for LGBT community. UK will be used as a case study since it is easier to access to both legal and political materials as well as it presents a unique case for normative change due to its political and legal structure.