So close yet so far - LGBTQ+ politics in Czechia and Slovakia

Czechia and Slovakia have been together in one state for 75 years. They are culturally and linguistically very close, yet they are very different in terms of the conditions for LGBTQ+ rights and the development thereof. LGBTQ+ civil society organisations in the early 1990s were linked by a common umbrella organisation, and even after the division of the states in 1993, the organisations have remained in quite close contact up to the present day. However, the conditions in both states have differentiated quite profoundly. While the more liberal Czechia pushed for registered partnerships in 2006, Slovakia has recatholized and in 2015, following the example of Russia or Hungary, attempted to pass a constitutional marriage reservation for male-female couples in a referendum. Yet with the slow rise of populism in the region the situation in Czechia has stalled, and in Slovakia perpetuated (Guasti, Bustikova, 2020). While in Czechia the relative partial successes of LGBTQ+ activism have led to multiple restarts (Sloboda, 2022) of the LGBTQ+ movement and its organisations, in Slovakia the structure of LGBTQ+ organisations is less volatile but without significant successes, leading to tensions within the LGBTQ+ movement itself. In our paper, we will look at the development of LGBTQ+ activism and the political context and explain the differences and similarities between these countries and other Central European countries (esp. Poland and Hungary). Our analysis is based on multiple waves of in-depth interviews with past and current members of the LGBTQ+ advocacy and cultural organisations, as well as on the analysis of relevant (mainly internal) documents, public discussions and media representations.