Author: UCL European Institute

Migration & Identity

‘They explode with gayness’: Polish queer migration and self-realisation

This LGBT+ History Month, Richard C.M. Mole, Professor of Political Sociology (UCL SSEES), researches identity, sexuality, and migration, particularly of queer individuals in Eastern Europe. In this piece, he looks at the experiences of queer Poles leaving their home towns and migrating to Warsaw or elsewhere in Europe, where they can more freely explore or express their sexuality. Richard Mole’s new Open Access edited volume … Continue reading ‘They explode with gayness’: Polish queer migration and self-realisation

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Migration & Identity

Gayropa: Russia, Europe and Queer Life

This LGBT+ History Month, Ada Wordsworth, Final Year Russian Studies Student at UCL SSEES, explores how queerness and ideas of European values intersect in Russia. Contrary to Western perceptions, queer culture in Moscow and St Petersburg is thriving. There are gay clubs open around the cities, people feel more confident than ever to hold hands with their partners, and attitudes, particularly amongst the younger generation, … Continue reading Gayropa: Russia, Europe and Queer Life

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Politics & Governance

Why we must go beyond the “backsliding paradigm”

Seán Hanley, Associate Professor in Comparative Central and East European Politics, UCL SSEES and Licia Cianetti, Research Fellow at the Royal Holloway University of London, argue why we must move beyond the “backsliding paradigm” by demonstrating how it can lead to reproducing, in reverse, the transition paradigm. They draw on lessons from East-Central Europe to propose a broader focus. Continue reading Why we must go beyond the “backsliding paradigm”

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