In-between Translation, Transformation and Contestation: Studying Human Rights Activism as Politics-as-Ruptures in Violent Social Conflicts

How can we study the politics of human rights activism in violent social conflicts? International Relations scholarship has long neglected the ambiguous political relationships between human rights activism and violent social conflicts. Addressing this gap requires new research methodologies that pl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMillennium Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 3 - 24
Main Author Georgi, F. Richard
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.09.2019
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Activism
Ambiguity
Civil rights
Colombia
Conflict
Discourses
Human rights
International Relations
Laclau
Laclau, Ernesto (1935-2014)
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Political activism
Political power
Politics
post-foundationalism
Power
Research methodology
Resistance
Scholarship
subject
Transformation
Translation
Violence
Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap
Colombia
post-foundationalism
droits humains
conflit
conflicto
human rights
Laclau
activism
posfundacionalismo
activisme
activismo
derechos humanos
post-fondationnalisme
Colombie
conflict
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Summary:How can we study the politics of human rights activism in violent social conflicts? International Relations scholarship has long neglected the ambiguous political relationships between human rights activism and violent social conflicts. Addressing this gap requires new research methodologies that place the focus not on the normative or legal dimensions of human rights, but in how their usage constitutes the political. In this article I argue that using post-foundational discourse theory makes visible ‘politics-as-ruptures’ that locate the political function of human rights activism precisely in the resistance to representations of violence in conflict discourses. I analyse this political function by asking how activists translate human rights norms, transform conflict discourses, and thereby contest power relations. As examples, the article presents three types of discursive politics that I studied in Colombia. These examples point out further pathways to pose empirical questions about the roles of human rights activism in transforming social conflicts.
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ISSN:0305-8298
1477-9021
DOI:10.1177/0305829819858656