Sexual Minority Rights as Human Rights: Mapping the Evolution of LGBT Norms in Swedish and U.S. Foreign Policy

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

This dissertation examines why and how Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights became incorporated into the foreign policies of Sweden and the United States. Domestically, Sweden exhibits high acceptance rates of LGBT equality norms, whereas they remain a contested issue in the United States. Yet despite differences, Sweden and the United States both promote LGBT rights as part of their broader human rights foreign policy agenda in similar ways. What were the catalysts in each country for institutionalizing sexual minority rights into the respective foreign policies? Carlson-Rainer’s dissertation addresses differences in social mobilizations and in particular the role of NGOs, insider governmental allies, national interest, transnational activists, and sensitizing events for same sex relations globally, as central factors for developing respective foreign policy agendas.