Between March of 2009 and September of 2011, Sexuality Policy Watch (SPW) organized a series of three regional Dialogues in Asia, Latin America and Africa and one inter-regional meeting to critically reflect on Sexuality and (Geo) Politics.  These conversations revolved around four sets of intersections: (1) sexuality, the state and political processes; (2) sexuality and economics; (3) sexuality, science and technology; and (4) sexuality, religion and politics.  They involved 85 researchers and activists from 25 countries and discussed thirty-seven background papers on these topics.

It is our great pleasure to share with you the final outcomes of these rich and diverse exercises:  a two-volume publication in e-book format, that we have edited together with our collaborator and colleague, Rafael de la Dehesa.  The first volume brings together six papers selected from those presented at the Dialogues, while the second offers a more comprehensive and expanded overview that pulls together major threads of discussion raised at these regional exchanges and connects them with the wider field of theorizing and research on the various subjects they have addressed.

Together, the two volumes that comprise Sexuality and Politics: Regional Dialogues from the Global South constitute yet another installment in SPW’s ongoing attempt to both monitor and contribute to what might be described as the state-of-the-art in contemporary research and analysis on the relationship between sexuality and politics in the 21st century, with a special focus on perspectives from the global south.  We welcome you all to join the conversation. 

Sonia Corrêa and Richard Parker