In Europe’s Closet: the rights of sexual minorities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Abstract

This article explores the mechanisms of accommodation and backlash against a new identity group in the Czech Republic and Slovakia—LGBT. Minority demands spark political backlash because societal consensus lags behind the actual accommodation of sexual minorities. The legal framework of the European Union and international pressure groups further accelerate the process of accommodation and polarisation. Yesterday’s accommodation in Western Europe is today’s demand in Eastern Europe. The common European framework erodes the grip of domestic elites on minority rights and contributes to backlash by social conservative forces.