Fighting for Rights: Ukraine's Rainbow Soldiers and the Politics of Citizenship

Under what conditions can marginalized minorities effectively invoke their military service record to gain civil rights? Soldiering has long been tied to the notion of citizenship because duties and rights are intertwined. Ukraine’s “Rainbow Soldiers” have leaned into this historical link, when demanding civil rights in return for their spilled blood. In this pioneering project, we turn to their experience to investigate if the invocation of wartime sacrifice can bring sexual (LGB) and gender (T) minorities closer to first-class citizenship. Our international research team will employ a mix of methods to explore the efficacy of this rhetorical strategy. We will conduct a content analysis of print and digital media to track the claims made and norms invoked; hold interviews with LGBT activists and state officials; and estimate the impact of their arguments on public opinion in wartime Ukraine using an original survey experiment. Our project extends the horizon of existing research. We deliver a novel account of how LGBT soldiers are “Fighting for Rights” and whether or not their appeals grounded in the “blood debt” have gained traction in Ukraine. Our findings can bring tangible benefits to societies, within Eastern Europe and beyond, where marginalized minorities are campaigning for equal rights.