This is an event co-hosted with the Centre for Gender in Politics and The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.

The event will be a presentation of the book by Douglas Janoff followed by a moderated a conversation between Jamie J. Hagen and Douglas Janoff, with time for questions from the audience.

Queer Diplomacy is the first study of multilateral LGBT human rights diplomacy viewed from the perspective of its practitioners: diplomats, LGBT activists, human rights experts and multilateral specialists. It demonstrates how diplomats and advocates work to promote LGBT rights on the world stage, often using Western constructs of sexual and gender identity. In turn, these efforts have triggered conflict and polarization: opposing states often deploy cultural, religious and moral discourses to minimize LGBT rights as a “legitimate” human right.

Douglas Janoff a seasoned Canadian foreign service officer, human rights negotiator and former community activist and researcher, uses insider perspectives to critically assess both bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagement on LGBT human rights issues. Janoff’s research involved participation in UN meetings in Geneva and New York and 29 interviews with diplomats, human rights advocates and experts, and representatives from the UN and other inter-governmental organizations. Although LGBT issues have been mainstreamed into many areas of bilateral and multilateral human rights policy, his doctoral research found a considerable gap: a coordinated diplomatic and civil society approach is needed to more effectively address ongoing human rights violations against LGBT people around the world.

Jamie J. Hagen is the Founding Co-Director of the Centre for Gender in Politics. Her research is at the intersection of gender, security studies and queer theory. She researches LGBTQ inclusion in Women, Peace and Security practices as well as queer analysis of security studies more broadly. Her recent publications include the co-edited book Queer Conflict Research and the Queering Women, Peace and Security: A Practice-Based toolkit (English/Spanish).

The Centre for Gender in Politics considers how gender impacts politics in Northern Ireland, foreign policy, peace and security, reproductive justice, responding to climate change and the day to day lives of students at Queen’s University Belfast. The Centre aims to promote interdisciplinary and cross-faculty dialogue at Queen’s. It seeks to engage with policymakers and sustain connections with the wider community of feminist and LGBTQ+ activists and cultural organisations in Belfast and beyond. The Centre therefore prioritizes initiatives that support collaborations between civil society, academics as well as students in the Queen’s University Belfast community. Given the growing interest in Gender and Politics and the long-standing history of feminist activism in Northern Ireland, the Centre offers a way to bring international scholars to the School Of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics (HAPP).