Includes bibliographical references and index.

Setting the agenda -- The emergence of a global movement -- Queer rights as human rights -- The conservative backlash -- International polarization -- What is to be done?

The claim that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights are human rights encounters fierce opposition in many parts of the world, as governments and religious leaders have used resistance to LGBT rights to cast themselves as defenders of traditional values against neocolonial interference and moral corruption. Queer Wars explores the growing international polarisation over sexual rights, and the creative responses this is prompting among social movements and activists, some of whom face murder, imprisonment or rape because of their perceived sexuality or gender expression. Drawing on international relations, anthropology, cultural studies and the burgeoning literature of the global LGBT movement, this book asks why homosexuality has become so vexed an issue between and within nations, and how we can best advocate for change. It argues that western activists must listen carefully and support local movements, rather than trumpet a universal gay rights agenda that risks endangering those it seeks to empower.