More rights, more participation? The rights of gays, lesbians and bisexuals and their political engagement in Sweden

The enactment of LGBTQ+ rights has been linked to better health- and labor-market outcomes among non-straight citizens. This project aims to study the potential impact of LGBTQ+ rights reforms on political inclusion and participation of sexual minorities.

This will be done by analyzing long-term trends in political participation among LGBTQ+ persons in Sweden where the community enjoys extensive rights. The project asks whether there has been an increase in voter turnout among LGBTQ+ persons during and/or after the enactment of key pro-LGBTQ+ reforms and whether the proliferation of LGBTQ+ rights could have boosted the number of LGBTQ+ candidates/officeholders. The project also inquires whether the purported associated between LGBTQ+ rights protection and political participation applies to the entire LGBTQ+ group or a specific subset, like middle-aged, ethnically Swedish, urban-dwelling men. The Swedish population register will be used to shed light on these questions. The project will introduce a unique method for identifying LGBTQ+ observations in a population register, using civil-status- and cohabitation registries. This is a major contribution in its own right that can facilitate future research on LGBTQ persons’ wellbeing across disciplines. Political participation of minorities is deemed crucial for the legitimacy and stability of the democratic system. The project adds to our understanding of political citizenship, inclusion and empowerment among marginalized groups in modern societies.

Principal Investigator: Michal Grahn (Department of Government)

Period: 2023–2026

Funding: SEK 4 024 000 from the Swedish Research Council