Global paths to LGB+ legal equality? The introduction of LGB+ rights in a longitudinal perspective using sequence analysis

Abstract Over the past decades, an increasing number of countries have decriminalized same-sex sexual acts and introduced legal protections and recognition for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB)+ people. In other countries, LGB+ rights remain absent, or adoption has stalled at decriminalization, without further progress. To uncover cross-national variation in timing, order, and duration of LGB+ rights adoption, we examine the introduction of nine distinct LGB+ rights across 193 countries from 1995 to 2023. Applying sequence analysis with an extended optimal matching algorithm, we identify six distinct clusters—Full Resisters, Partial Resisters, Late Adopters, Recognizers, Early Adopters, and Pioneers—each representing a unique path of LGB+ rights adoption. Finally, we discuss these paths in light of the timing of the first transition to democracy and identify an association between a country's first transition to democracy and our cluster assignment.