On February 20th, UC Berkeley’s Institute of European Studies (IES) welcomed Phillip M. Ayoub, Professor of International Relations at University College London, for a discussion on his latest book, The Global Fight Against LGBTI Rights: How Transnational Conservative Networks Target Sexual and Gender Minorities, co-authored with Professor Kristina Stöckl. This book, the outcome of seven years of research funded by the European Research Council, employs a mixed-method approach and includes semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and network analysis.
Ayoub began his lecture by examining the transnational diffusion of LGBT+ rights, which gained momentum in the mid-2000s. While wealthy, secular, and democratic countries provided particularly fertile ground for this shift, many other nations—despite lacking these domestic conditions—also saw advancements in queer rights. According to Ayoub, this phenomenon can be attributed to LGBT+ activists leveraging transnational networks such as media, political institutions, and advocacy organizations. Often, when faced with hostile governments, these activists turned to influential international actors—including international organizations or neighboring countries—for support. These external actors, in turn, exerted political pressure on governments, encouraging them to take action on queer rights. This dynamic aligns with international relations theories such as the “spiral” or “boomerang” model, where domestic rights claims are projected outward before returning as top-down political influence.
However, in recent years, conservative anti-LGBT+ movements have adopted these same transnational activism strategies. Viewing queer identities as “threats” to nationalist, religious, or family values, these movements have organised across borders, forging alliances among nationalist groups and religious organizations. To illustrate this counter-movement, Ayoub introduces the metaphor of a “double helix”: just as LGBT+ activists create a political “spiral”in favour of rights, conservative groups generate a parallel, opposing spiral aimed at resisting queer inclusion. This double helix dynamic fosters new spaces of confrontation, prompting strategic adaptations on both sides. While conservative groups increasingly use the language of human rights, citing religious liberty, children’s welfare, and cisgender women’s rights, LGBT+ activists have begun framing their advocacy around family, religion, and national identity to strengthen their messaging.
Who, then, are the key actors in anti-queer movements, and how do they operate? These actors often take the form of transnational advocacy groups, such as the International Organization for the Family, and receive support from (among others) Italy and Russia. Their primary target is what they call “gender ideology”—a concept they frame as an ideological matrix of unwanted social reforms, namely sexual and reproductive rights, same-sex marriage and adoption, new reproductive technologies, sex education, gender mainstreaming, protection against gender violence, and trans inclusion. In response to these evolving narratives, LGBT+ movements have also adapted, increasingly using nationally rooted, family-focused language to counter these claims.
Ayoub and Stöckl’s double-helix model offers a powerful framework for understanding how activism and opposition evolve through complex interactions, reshaping strategies on both sides of the global fight for LGBT+ rights.