Description
What does a queerer sense of international solidarity look like? In this paper I will examine interactions between queer theory and solidarity to produce a framework for a queerer sense of international solidarity. The Anti-Homosexuality Acts in 2014 and 2023 in Uganda massively ramped up the criminalisation and securitisation of Uganda’s queer population, resulting in international condemnation, including from the British state. Whilst this was an unprecedented reaction by the British state in terms of international queerphobia, it is also did not address the colonial history that led to this modern queerphobic legislation. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how a queer British response to this queerphobia in Uganda may manifest.
The findings in this presentation speaks to relevant literature, Queer International Relations theory and findings of focus groups conducted with British queer people surrounding international queer solidarity. This examines both how a British queer response interacts with the British state, and how this solidarity can occupy spaces outside of the state. I then relate this to other work, such as the work of NGOs and solidarity with LGBT+ asylum seekers. Therefore, the overall approach I take to formulate a queer British response to Ugandan queerphobia is to both examine the British state response through the theoretical lens of Queer International Relations, and to examine the response of queer British NGOs and the opinions of the queer British community. This all helps to formulate what a queerer international solidarity may look like, and what the results of applying queer theory to performances of solidarity may be.
Keywords: Queer Theory, Development, Queering, Solidarity, Decolonialising, Uganda, NGOs.
