Queering Repression: How the Global Crackdown on Civil Society Affects LGBT+ NGO Foundings

• In Event: 30603 - Global and Comparative Approaches to Activism

Abstract

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) became instrumental players in global civil society during the 20th century. Now, these organizations face significant political repression as over 100 countries have introduced policies restricting NGOs since the 1990s. We investigate the effects of these new policies through a two-part, mixed-methods study of LGBT+ NGO foundings in non-Western countries. First, we use quasi-Poisson, two-way fixed effects models to analyze foundings from 2000-2017, finding no significant association between repressive policies and overall NGO foundings. However, these overall trends mask important heterogeneity: repressive policies reduce service-oriented NGOs while increasing advocacy-oriented ones. Second, we draw on 43 interviews with LGBT+ NGO leaders and advocates from Ghana and Singapore to conduct a comparative case study to identify mechanisms. Lack of state exposure, countermobilization energy, and familiarity with navigating state repression help explain our quantitative findings. This study sheds important insights on how repression is reshaping global civil societies in the 21st century.

Authors

• Kristopher Velasco, Princeton University

• Siddhartha Baral, University of California-San Diego