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The Socio-Political Practice
of Human Rights
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This book examines discourses of rights and practices of resistance in post-con-
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2 flict societies, exploring the interaction between the international human rights
9 framework and different actors seeking political and social change. Presenting
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: detailed new case studies from Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Kosovo, it reveals the
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1 necessity of social scientific interventions in the field of human rights. The author
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] a shows how a shift away from the realm of normative political or legal theory
o towards a more sociological analysis promises a better understanding of both the
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e limits of current human rights approaches and possible sites of potential.
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Considering the diverse ways in which human rights are enacted and mobi-
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a lised, The Socio-Political Practice of Human Rights engages with major sites of
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a, tension and debate, examining the question of whether human rights are universal
ni or culturally relative; their relationship to forms of economic and political domi-
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o nation; the role of law as a mechanism for social change and the ways in which
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li the language of human rights facilitates or closes sites of radical resistance. By
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C situating these debates in specific contexts, this book concludes by proposing new
of ways of theorizing human rights.
y Empirically grounded and offering an alternate framework for understanding
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s the fluid and ambiguous operation of power within the theory and practice of
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v human rights, this volume will appeal to scholars of sociology, law and politics
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n with interests in gender, resistance, international law, human rights and socio-
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[ legal discourse.
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d Kiran Kaur Grewal is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Social Justice
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d at the Australian Catholic University, Australia.
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w ‘A ground-breaking book. Kiran Kaur Grewal’s original study, based on eth-
o nographic methods, enables her to show how individuals and groups make use
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of human rights to challenge practices in their everyday lives. The book is a
far-reaching contribution to key debates in the study of human rights over univer-
salism and cultural relativism, law and politics, empire and self-determination.’
Kate Nash, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
Global Connections
Series Editor: Robert Holton, Trinity College, Dublin
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Global Connections builds on the multi-dimensional and continuously expanding
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2 interest in globalization, focusing on ‘connectedness’ and providing accessible,
9 concrete studies across a broad range of areas such as social and cultural life, and
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: economic, political and technological activities. Interdisciplinary in approach,
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1 the series moves beyond abstract generalities and stereotypes: ‘Global’ is con-
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o ferent nations, regions and localities, including activities that are trans-national,
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e and trans-local in scope; ‘connections’ refers to movements of people, ideas,
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resources, and all forms of communication as well as the opportunities and con-
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a straints faced in making, engaging with, and sometimes resisting globalization.
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a, For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/series/
ni ASHSER1306
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li Titles in the series include:
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of Global Inequalities Beyond Eurocentrism at the Margins
y Occidentalism Encounters, Critics and Going Beyond
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n Global Exposure in East Asia Glocal Pharma
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b Microglobalization Imagination of Local Masculinity
d Ming-Chang Tsai Ericka Johnson and Ebba Sjögren
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o Violence and Gender in the The Socio-Political Practice of
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w Globalized World Human Rights
o The Intimate and the Extimate, 2nd Between the Universal and the
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Edition Particular
Sanja Bahun and V.G. Julie Rajan Kiran Kaur Grewal
Global Culture: Consciousness and The Global Repositioning of
Connectivity Japanese Religions
Roland Robertson and Didem An integrated approach
Buhari-Gulmez Ugo Dessì
The Socio-Political Practice
of Human Rights
Between the Universal and
the Particular
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Ma Kiran Kaur Grewal
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First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Kiran Kaur Grewal
7 The right of Kiran Kaur Grewal to be identified as author of this work
1 has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
0 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
2
h All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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r utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
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M known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
6 any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
2 from the publishers.
9
2 Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
: registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
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1 without intent to infringe.
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] a British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
o A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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e Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
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D Names: Grewal, Kiran Kaur, author.
n Title: The socio-political practice of human rights : between the universal
Sa and the particular / by Kiran Kaur Grewal.
ia, DesScreirpiteiso:n G: lFoabranlh caomn,n Seuctriroenys, U| IKnc ;l uBduersl ibnigbtloiong, VraTph :i Acaslh rgeafeter,e n[2c0e1s 6a]n |d
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r index.
o Identifiers: LCCN 2015041447 (print) | LCCN 2015044987 (ebook) |
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li ISBN 9781472414892 (hardback)
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C Subjects: LCSH: Human rights—Social aspects.
f Classification: LCC JC571 .G78265 2016 (print) | LCC JC571 (ebook) |
o DDC 323.01—dc23
y LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015041447
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e ISBN: 978-1-472-41489-2 (hbk)
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i ISBN: 978-1-315-55262-0 (ebk)
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y [ Typeset in Times New Roman
b by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
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Contents
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Acknowledgements vii
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2 Introduction 1
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g The debates 15
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n 1 The universalism/cultural relativism debate 17
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PART 2
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o The case studies 53
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r 4 Kosovo: International humanitarianism and the
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b or further marginalisation? The example of the
d Special Court for Sierra Leone 91
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oa 6 From civil to political society: Human rights,
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n knowledge and power in post-war Sri Lanka 128
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PART 3
Retheorising human rights 163
7 Between the universal and the particular?
Reframing the rights versus culture debate 165
vi Contents
8 Law as tool for positive social change 176
Conclusion: Reinvigorating the radical potential
of human rights 185
Bibliography 195
Index 213
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Acknowledgements
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This book has only been possible thanks to the input and engagement of many
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2 people. First and foremost I would like to thank all of those who so generously
9 welcomed me, gave me their time, shared their opinions, allowed me a little insight
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: into their lives and worlds, and facilitated my conversations with others. At the
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1 risk of forgetting someone, I would also like to thank the following in particular:
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] a Vasuki Jeyasankar, Jeysankar Shivanangan, Jothirajah Suman Karunenthira,
o Cayathri Divakalala, Rajany Chandrasegaram, Darshan Ambalavanar, Kaushalya
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e Ariyaratne, Vidura Munasinghe, Gehan Gunatilleke, Waruni Chandrasena, mem-
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bers of Third Eye, Vallamai and the Batticaloa Feminist Forum, Ahmet Hasoli,
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a Driton Bajramaj, Amie Kandeh, Sian Jones, Lucy Fiske, Franklin Obeng-Odoom
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a, and Dinesh Wadiwel. My conversations with each of you inspired and challenged
ni me. It is thanks to you that I managed to finish this book.
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o I also want to acknowledge the endless support and encouragement of Ahmad
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li Khavafipour. Your infinite patience and unwavering confidence in me are appre-
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C ciated more than I can ever say.
of Finally, this book is dedicated to the two Bs in my life. To my father Balram
y Singh Grewal, who unfortunately didn’t live to see this book but who is in no
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s small part responsible for making it possible. And to Bahaar Kaur Mosavi, the
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Introduction
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Human rights have become a ubiquitous feature of contemporary social and
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2 political discourse. From the high-level world of international relations, through
9 national contexts of societies emerging from authoritarianism or war, to localised
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: communities struggling to meet basic needs, human rights play a part in framing
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1 debates about justice, equality and the meaning of a good life. At the same time,
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o continued geopolitical hierarchies, apparent selectivity, and new forms of oppres-
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e sion and inequality created by contemporary globalised capital. Even at a local
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level, the apparent ‘universality’ of human experience on which rights claims are
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a founded often ends up juxtaposed against particular communal demands for self-
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a, determination and fears about cultural survival.
ni So what is the future of human rights and the underlying demands for social
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o justice that apparently animate them? And perhaps more importantly for those of
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li us concerned with social justice, is the human rights framework one in which we
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of new emancipatory languages and practices?
y This book is an attempt to engage with these questions through both a theo-
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s retical and an empirical analysis. Starting with some of the most persistent and
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v challenging debates that continue to shape our understanding of human rights,
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n I will explore the operation of human rights in practice in three post-war sites:
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[ Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Sri Lanka. In doing this I both test the relevance of
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b different theoretical positions on the benefits and costs of human rights, and high-
d light potential sites, voices and actions that are often lost in (over)generalised
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Bridging the theoretical/empirical divide
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In choosing to write about these three case studies, I am seeking to move beyond
the abstract, theoretical debates that have raged – and continue to rage – within
scholarship in human rights. Not only do I believe that such debates cannot be
resolved, I also find them unhelpfully dichotomous in their articulation and too
ungrounded to tell us very much at all about whether or not human rights can in
fact be seen as a positive or negative feature of the contemporary political and
social landscape.
