Unsettling the political: conceptualizing the political in feminist and LGBTI+ activism across Russia, the Scandinavian countries, and Turkey

Hülya Arik, Selin Çağatay, Mia Liinason, Olga Sasunkevich

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract (may include machine translation)

    This article aims to expand the ongoing theoretical debate on the broadened and context-specific notion of politics by offering an empirically nuanced conceptualization of the political based on the study of feminist and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI+) activism in Russia, Turkey, and the Scandinavian countries. We use a multi-scalar transnational approach to foreground connectivities across regions to challenge nation-bound and state-centric perspectives on politics and reveal the various formulations beyond the formal/informal divide. Case studies from feminist and LGBTI+ activists and minority organizations demonstrate context-specific ways of inhabiting or distancing from politics. Drawing on interdisciplinary feminist scholarship and a Gramscian approach to civil society, we challenge the narrow articulation of politics either as antagonism or contestation. In doing so, we highlight the political expressions that do not neatly fit into the expected forms of politics, yet are motivated by a commitment to shaping new ways of living together.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)687-710
    Number of pages24
    JournalInternational Feminist Journal of Politics
    Volume25
    Issue number4
    Early online date8 Aug 2023
    DOIs
    StatePublished - 2023

    Keywords

    • Transnational feminism
    • feminist and LGBTI+ activism
    • hegemony/counter-hegemony
    • state–civil-society relations
    • the political

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