Contesting Power-Sharing? LGBTQ+ Activism and the Sexual Citizenship of Consociationalism

Abstract

Notwithstanding valuable contributions, the relationship between power-sharing and sexuality remains undertheorized. This paper asks if consociationalism can be seen as a form of sexual citizenship, whereby rights are granted or denied based on sexuality. The question is applied to the case of Northern Ireland, through a review of the extant scholarship, analysis of the consociational institutions, and semi-structured interviews with LGBTQ+ activists and other relevant actors. The paper argues that power-sharing is not only exclusionary of LGBTQ+ rights, but fundamentally produces sexual citizenship, a system that demarcates the boundaries of inclusion into the state in terms of sexual orientation. Furthermore, its findings demonstrate creative, but also calculated agency by activists to navigate this ethnicized context in pursuit of rights.