Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-20-2017
Publication Source
OpenGlobalRights Perspectives
Abstract
We know what it means to practice a skill such as juggling or dancing, but what does it mean to "practice" human rights?
Contributions to OpenGlobalRights (OGR), since its inception, have gravitated around critique of human rights practices by focusing on advocacy and activism, cultivating debates that address the contemporary dilemmas facing human rights movements worldwide. The launch of OGR four years ago is a symptom of what I’ve referred to elsewhere as a “practice turn” in the scholarly field of human rights—one that takes human rights practice as its subject, forges space for scholar-practitioner collaboration and communication, and focuses on strategies and tactics utilized to advance human rights norms.
Yet, considering the ubiquity of the term “human rights practice,” conceptually it remains unexplored. As other academic areas have done recently, I propose an attempt to define what it means to practice human rights. Then, we (as scholars and practitioners) need to outline the social nature of human rights practice and, finally, suggest how the practice turn permits critical investigation of human rights in an effort to strengthen advocacy and improve outcomes.
Document Version
Other
Copyright
This OpenGlobalRights Perspectives article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Photos, images, and logos are excepted from this license, except where noted.
Publisher
OpenGlobalRights
eCommons Citation
Pruce, Joel, "Research Offers Tough Love to Improve Human Rights Practices" (2017). Political Science Faculty Publications. 103.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/pol_fac_pub/103
Included in
Human Rights Law Commons, Political Theory Commons, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons
Comments
Article was originally published on OpenGlobalRights’ Perspectives website, an op-ed page for the global human rights community. View the article online here.
Document is made available for download in compliance with the publisher's policy (CC-BY-NC). Permission documentation is on file.