When Campaigners Tire: LGBTI+ Policy in the Dominican Republic

LGBTI+ public policy in the Dominican Republic has not moved forward. Many people say religious conservatism is to blame. Others point to institutions that shut out activists. Some say civil society lacks power. These are common explanations.

This piece offers a different idea. It focuses on activist exhaustion. The framework is called the political economy of attrition. It shows how state actions and international cooperation can create heavy burdens for campaigners. Those burdens spread unevenly. Over time, they wear down the ability to organize. That helps explain why policy stays stuck.

The text draws from many fields. Social movement theory matters here. So does research on burnout and emotional strain. Community resilience plays a role too. The work also talks with intersectional thought, travesti perspectives, and decolonial ideas. The pressure of long-term activism falls harder on some people. Gender, race, class, and access to resources all shape who carries the load.

The Dominican case is used to illustrate the concept. It does not prove that attrition causes the stalemate. Instead, it opens the door for testing. Researchers can check propositions, build a research agenda, and think about policy implications.