Coming in: Sexual Politics and Eu Accession in Serbia

LGBT rights have become increasingly salient within the EU enlargement process as a litmus test for Europeanness. Yet, the promotion of these norms has provided a fulcrum for political contestation. Based on this observation, this book interrogates the normative dimensions of the EU enlargement process, with special reference to LGBT politics. Reconceptualising Europeanisation, Coming in argues that the EU enlargement is a process of negotiated transformation in which EU policies and norms are (re)defined, translated, and transformed. Empirically, it analyses the promotion of and resistance to LGBT equality norms in Serbia’s EU integration process, but moves beyond policies to also inquire the impact of the negotiated transitions on lived experiences. Overall, the book raises important questions about the politics of Europeanisation, its political and social consequences, as well as to what we consider as progress. – .