Research Handbook on the Politics of Human Rights Law

Edited by Bård A. Andreassen, Professor, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, Norway

‘Shall politics follow the law, or shall the law follow politics? This Research Handbook, edited and written by some of the world’s leading scholars of law, political science and other disciplines, provides an excellent analysis of the interdependence of law and politics in the field of human rights. International human rights treaties are drafted and adopted by diplomats and politicians and are implemented in a highly politicized process. Nevertheless, international human rights law develops an independent meaning that strongly impacts politics.’

• Contents:Introductory essay: the politics of international human rights law 1Bård A. AndreassenPART I GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONS1 The closing and resilience of civic space from a human rights perspective: scope, causes, responses 29Antoine Buyse2 Governance and human rights: African challenges 47Göran Hydén3 Writing political histories of international human rights law 61Steven L. B. Jensen4 Power and civic action: mobilisation for human rights in developing societies 79Gordon Crawford5 Freedom of peaceful assembly and of association – practices and obstacles 99Maina Kiai and Waruguru Kaguongo6 The role of national human rights systems in the implementation ofinternational human rights law 115Domenico Zipoli7 The relevance of governance and multi-level governance to the study ofhuman rights: insights from business and human rights 145Claire Methven O’Brien8 The politics of torture: legal, social and political dynamics 166Nora Sveaass9 Rooting rights in local spaces? Transformations in gender relations andcitizen engagement 194Celestine Nyamu MusembiPART II DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE AND PUBLIC POLICIES10 The SDG agenda and human rights 215Markus Kaltenborn and Wouter Vandenhole11 Poverty and civil and political rights 236Philip Alston12 Politics of resources allocation: tax, expenditure and inequality in thehuman rights supervisory bodies 255Hans-Otto Sano and Carlos VillalobosPART III INTERNATIONAL POLITICS13 Globalization and human rights 280Siddiqur R. Osmani14 The influence of politics on the work of the UN human rights treaty bodies 310Gentian Zyberi and Ibrahim Salama15 International human rights law, politics and international financialinstitutions: the case of the World Bank 338Siobhán McInerney-Lankford16 The African human rights system: a critical appraisal 364Victor Oluwasina Ayeni17 The quest for an (effective) Southeast Asian human right system 389Sriprapha Petcharamesree18 The EU human rights regime: development, actors, policy frameworkand effectiveness 409Gabriel N. Toggenburg19 Citizenship and international human rights law – enduring enigma ofthe Middle East 440Nils A. Butenschøn20 The politics of international human rights and development aid 458Arne TostensenIndex