European Sexual Dis/Integration : An Agonistic Paradox of Legitimacy in a Contested Union
(2025) In Lund Political Studies- Abstract
- This dissertation examines how the legitimacy of the European Union’s (EU) support for LGBTIQ equality should be assessed and asserted amid the far right’s promotion of a rival vision for European cooperation rooted in anti-gender politics. Drawing on agonistic and queer theory, the EU’s support for LGBTIQ equality is conceptualised as an effort to forge a European pro-LGBTIQ consensus, termed sexual integration. Sexual integration faces a paradox: when support for LGBTIQ equality is legitimised as an expression of the EU’s true nature, the far right responds by seeking to redefine what the Union is and should be. Sexual integration may thus function as a ‘constraining consensus’, entrenching polarisation between rival conceptions of the... (More)
- This dissertation examines how the legitimacy of the European Union’s (EU) support for LGBTIQ equality should be assessed and asserted amid the far right’s promotion of a rival vision for European cooperation rooted in anti-gender politics. Drawing on agonistic and queer theory, the EU’s support for LGBTIQ equality is conceptualised as an effort to forge a European pro-LGBTIQ consensus, termed sexual integration. Sexual integration faces a paradox: when support for LGBTIQ equality is legitimised as an expression of the EU’s true nature, the far right responds by seeking to redefine what the Union is and should be. Sexual integration may thus function as a ‘constraining consensus’, entrenching polarisation between rival conceptions of the Union’s nature. The legitimacy of sexual integration is therefore ‘im-possible’: possible insofar as it rests on a dominant LGBTIQ-friendly conception of the Union, yet impossible because the EU can always be imagined otherwise. The dissertation addresses this paradox in three steps. First, Richard Bellamy’s and Kalypso Nicolaïdis’ normative political theories on the EU are deconstructed, showing the limits of grounding legitimacy in contested conceptions of the Union. Second, an agonistic conception of European sexual citizenship and an analytical framework termed Global Queer Agonism are proposed to capture the contested nature of the EU’s support for LGBTIQ equality. Third, these tools are applied through discourse analysis, demonstrating how the EU’s legitimation of sexual integration shapes far-right efforts to advance a rival anti-gender EU conception in internal and external relations. To unsettle this state of polarisation, a post-foundational conception of the EU as ‘transitive’ and ‘vulnerable’ is proposed, affirming support for LGBTIQ equality while acknowledging the Union’s contested nature. The dissertation argues, first, that normative political theory on the EU should assess the legitimacy of sexual integration by attending to the polarising effects of forging consensus on the EU’s nature, while reconceiving how an LGBTIQ-friendly Union can be understood, justified, and pursued in ways that disturb such political divides; and, second, that the EU should assert the legitimacy of its support for LGBTIQ equality by affirming liveable lives for all across the pro-LGBTIQ and anti-gender divide, rather than seeking to master the Union’s nature beyond contestation. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Denna avhandling undersöker hur legitimiteten i Europeiska Unionens (EU) stöd för LGBTIQ-jämlikhet bör bedömas och hävdas mot bakgrund av ytterhögerns främjande av en konkurrerande vision för europeiskt samarbete som är rotad i anti-genderpolitik. Med utgångspunkt i agonistisk och queer-teori konceptualiseras EU:s stöd för LGBTIQ-jämlikhet som ett försök att skapa en europeisk pro-LGBTIQ-konsensus, benämnd sexuell integration. Sexuell integration står inför en paradox: när stödet för LGBTIQ-jämlikhet legitimeras som ett uttryck för EU:s sanna natur, svarar ytterhögern med att försöka omdefiniera vad unionen är och bör vara. Sexuell integration kan därmed fungera som en 'begränsande konsensus' som befäster polariseringen mellan... (More)
- Denna avhandling undersöker hur legitimiteten i Europeiska Unionens (EU) stöd för LGBTIQ-jämlikhet bör bedömas och hävdas mot bakgrund av ytterhögerns främjande av en konkurrerande vision för europeiskt samarbete som är rotad i anti-genderpolitik. Med utgångspunkt i agonistisk och queer-teori konceptualiseras EU:s stöd för LGBTIQ-jämlikhet som ett försök att skapa en europeisk pro-LGBTIQ-konsensus, benämnd sexuell integration. Sexuell integration står inför en paradox: när stödet för LGBTIQ-jämlikhet legitimeras som ett uttryck för EU:s sanna natur, svarar ytterhögern med att försöka omdefiniera vad unionen är och bör vara. Sexuell integration kan därmed fungera som en 'begränsande konsensus' som befäster polariseringen mellan rivaliserande uppfattningar om unionens natur. Legitimiteten för sexuell integration är därför ‘o-möjlig’: möjlig i den mån den vilar på en dominerande LGBTIQ-vänlig uppfattning om unionen, men omöjlig eftersom EU alltid kan föreställas på ett annat sätt. Avhandlingen behandlar denna paradox i tre steg. Först dekonstrueras Richard Bellamys och Kalypso Nicolaïdis normativa politiska teorier om EU, vilket visar begränsningarna med att grunda legitimitet i omtvistade uppfattningar om unionen. För det andra föreslås en agonistisk konceptualisering av europeiskt sexuellt medborgarskap och ett analytiskt ramverk som kallas Global Queer Agonism för att fånga den omtvistade karaktären av EU:s stöd för LGBTIQ-jämlikhet. Slutligen tillämpas dessa verktyg genom diskursanalys, vilket visar hur EU:s legitimering av sexuell integration formar ytterhögerns ansträngningar att främja en rivaliserande anti-gender-uppfattning om EU i interna och externa relationer. För att bryta denna polarisering föreslås en uppfattning om EU som 'transitivt' och 'sårbart', som bekräftar stödet för LGBTIQ-jämlikhet samtidigt som unionens omtvistade natur erkänns. Avhandlingen argumenterar för det första att normativ politisk teori om EU bör bedöma legitimiteten i sexuell integration genom att beakta de polariserande effekterna av att skapa konsensus om EU:s natur, samtidigt som man omprövar hur en LGBTIQ-vänlig union kan förstås, motiveras och eftersträvas på sätt som stör sådana politiska skiljelinjer. För det andra att EU bör hävda legitimiteten i sitt stöd för LGBTIQ-jämlikhet genom att bekräfta livsvärdiga liv för alla över den pro-LGBTIQ- och anti-gender-klyftan, snarare än att försöka behärska unionens natur bortom konflikt. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/dffc24ef-6360-429a-a708-effb1a85ee49
- author
- Breiding, Malte LU
- supervisor
-
- Ian Manners LU
- Niklas Altermark LU
- opponent
-
- Professor Ayoub, Phillip, University College London
- organization
- alternative title
- Europeisk Sexuell Des/integration : En Agonistisk Paradox av Legitimitet i en Omstridd Union
- publishing date
- 2025-10
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Normative political theory, Agonism, Queer theory, European Union, Queer International Relations, LGBTIQ equality, Legitimacy, Postfunctionalism, Norm polarisation, Normativ politisk teori, Agonism, Queer-teori, Europeiska unionen, Queer Internationella Relationer, LGBTIQ-jämlikhet, Legitimitet, Postfunktionalism, Normpolarisering
- in
- Lund Political Studies
- issue
- 228
- pages
- 328 pages
- publisher
- Lund University (Media-Tryck)
- defense location
- Edens Hörsal, Allhelgona kyrkogata 14, Lund
- defense date
- 2025-11-13 13:00:00
- ISSN
- 0460-0037
- ISBN
- 978-91-8104-708-0
- 978-91-8104-707-3
- project
- European Sexual Dis/Integration: An Agonistic Paradox of Legitimacy in a Contested Union
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- dffc24ef-6360-429a-a708-effb1a85ee49
- date added to LUP
- 2025-10-13 12:10:51
- date last changed
- 2025-10-16 08:27:56
@phdthesis{dffc24ef-6360-429a-a708-effb1a85ee49,
abstract = {{This dissertation examines how the legitimacy of the European Union’s (EU) support for LGBTIQ equality should be assessed and asserted amid the far right’s promotion of a rival vision for European cooperation rooted in anti-gender politics. Drawing on agonistic and queer theory, the EU’s support for LGBTIQ equality is conceptualised as an effort to forge a European pro-LGBTIQ consensus, termed sexual integration. Sexual integration faces a paradox: when support for LGBTIQ equality is legitimised as an expression of the EU’s true nature, the far right responds by seeking to redefine what the Union is and should be. Sexual integration may thus function as a ‘constraining consensus’, entrenching polarisation between rival conceptions of the Union’s nature. The legitimacy of sexual integration is therefore ‘im-possible’: possible insofar as it rests on a dominant LGBTIQ-friendly conception of the Union, yet impossible because the EU can always be imagined otherwise. The dissertation addresses this paradox in three steps. First, Richard Bellamy’s and Kalypso Nicolaïdis’ normative political theories on the EU are deconstructed, showing the limits of grounding legitimacy in contested conceptions of the Union. Second, an agonistic conception of European sexual citizenship and an analytical framework termed Global Queer Agonism are proposed to capture the contested nature of the EU’s support for LGBTIQ equality. Third, these tools are applied through discourse analysis, demonstrating how the EU’s legitimation of sexual integration shapes far-right efforts to advance a rival anti-gender EU conception in internal and external relations. To unsettle this state of polarisation, a post-foundational conception of the EU as ‘transitive’ and ‘vulnerable’ is proposed, affirming support for LGBTIQ equality while acknowledging the Union’s contested nature. The dissertation argues, first, that normative political theory on the EU should assess the legitimacy of sexual integration by attending to the polarising effects of forging consensus on the EU’s nature, while reconceiving how an LGBTIQ-friendly Union can be understood, justified, and pursued in ways that disturb such political divides; and, second, that the EU should assert the legitimacy of its support for LGBTIQ equality by affirming liveable lives for all across the pro-LGBTIQ and anti-gender divide, rather than seeking to master the Union’s nature beyond contestation.}},
author = {{Breiding, Malte}},
isbn = {{978-91-8104-708-0}},
issn = {{0460-0037}},
keywords = {{Normative political theory; Agonism; Queer theory; European Union; Queer International Relations; LGBTIQ equality; Legitimacy; Postfunctionalism; Norm polarisation; Normativ politisk teori; Agonism; Queer-teori; Europeiska unionen; Queer Internationella Relationer; LGBTIQ-jämlikhet; Legitimitet; Postfunktionalism; Normpolarisering}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{228}},
publisher = {{Lund University (Media-Tryck)}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Political Studies}},
title = {{European Sexual Dis/Integration : An Agonistic Paradox of Legitimacy in a Contested Union}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/229556712/Breiding_2025_European_Sexual_Dis_Integration-An_Agonistic_Paradox_of_Legitimacy_in_a_Contested_Union.pdf}},
year = {{2025}},
}