Abstract
The issue of sexuality and human rights has generated increasing international attention in recent years. This is particularly the case in societies emerging from chronic ethnonationalist conflict, where scholarly debates over the impact of ethnonationalism on sexual rights, such as abortion and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people (LGBT), generate much controversy and division. It is with this disagreement in mind that this paper focuses on the influence of ethnonationalism on attitudes towards the legalisation of same-sex marriage and abortion. Using nationally representative data from Northern Ireland, the results suggest that while ethnonational identity is a significant positive determinant of attitudes towards same-sex marriage within both the Catholic population and among supporters of their main political party (Sinn Féin), it is also a key negative predictor of abortion, albeit solely among Sinn Féin supporters.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 455-469 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | International Political Science Review |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 5 Jul 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2019 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.
Funding
The 2015 Northern Ireland General Election Survey was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, UK (Award: ES/L0073220/1). The data is publicly available from the UK Data Service.
Keywords
- Ethnonationalism
- sexual rights
- abortion
- LGBT community
- Northern Ireland
- Sinn Féin
- Conflict
- same-sex marriage