A growing body of work examines the role of social movements for and in democratization processes. However, LGBTIQ+ movements have received limited attention within this scholarship, and much of this work is rooted in a state- or institution-centered concept of democratization. Simultaneously, existing research on LGBTIQ+ movements and activism has largely disregarded issues of democratization and democratic innovation. The most relevant studies in this field focus either on sexual citizenship and the exclusion of LGBTIQ+ people from full citizenship rights or on the diffusion of (democratic) norms regarding LGBTIQ+ rights.
This paper seeks to bridge these gaps by critically interlinking perspectives and concepts from social movement studies with LGBTIQ+ studies, (radical) democratic theory and theories of democratization. By doing so it aims to provide a preliminary analytical framework and systematization for understanding the democratizing implications and effects of LGBTIQ+ movements . Key questions addressed include: In which contexts can the democratizing implications and effects of LGBTIQ+ movements be located? In which arenas and through which practices is democratic innovation occurring? Which concepts of democracy and democratization are vital for understanding the democratizing impact of LGBTIQ+ movements, particularly in light of growing attacks by anti-gender campaigns, far-right mobilizations and autocratic governments? Focusing on the German case, this paper proposes various conceptual and theoretical perspectives on democratization in relation to LGBTIQ+ movements. It explores different dimensions of democratization and democratic innovation, such as extending civic space, producing counter-hegemonic knowledge, triggering norm diffusion, practicing new forms of democratic decision-making, stimulating new democratic imaginaries.
