The Urban Politics of Human Rights Practice. (18th August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fernandez-Wulff, Paula; Yap, Christopher
• Is Part Of: Journal of human rights practice. Volume 12:Number 2(2020:Jun.)
• Page Start: 409
• Page End: 427
• Publication Date: 2020-08-18
• Subjects: citizen mobilization -- human rights critiques -- municipal policy -- social rights -- urban politics; Human rights -- Periodicals; 341.4805
• DOI: 10.1093/jhuman/huaa019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1757-9619

Abstract

Abstract: Social movement organizations are increasingly developing human rights strategies at the municipal level, particularly in European urban contexts. Yet critical scholarly work on human rights has overlooked two related realities: non-state-centric, social movement use of the tools and discourses of rights, and the strategic participation of citizen groups in municipal urban policy spaces. This article builds on critical human rights theory through the experiences of three grassroots organizations claiming and exercising social rights in urban policy spaces of Barcelona, Valladolid, and London. It engages with a number of scholarly critiques of the state and human rights, particularly focusing on those critiques that question their compatibility with autonomy, democracy, and self-government at the local level. While the value of such critical literature is undeniable, we show how urban grassroots practices and experiences with social rights-based strategies in the context of housing, water, and participation can circumvent some of these critiques on the ground, pointing at new avenues for critical legal research when infused with other critical discourses, including urban politics.