Human Rights, Power and Civic Action

Bård A. Andreassen is Professor of Human Rights at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo. he is currently Research Director of the Research Group on Human Rights and Development at the Law Faculty, University of Oslo.Gordon Crawford is Professor of Development Politics in the School of Politics and International Studies and Director of the Centre for Global Development at the University of Leeds, UK.

• 1. Human Rights, Power and Civic Action: Theoretical Considerations Gordon Crawford and Bård A. Andreassen 2. Rights Claiming and Rights Making in Zimbabwe: A Study of Three Human Rights NGOs Anne Hellum, Bill Derman, Geoff Feltoe, Ellen Sithole, Julie Stewart and Amy Tsanga 3. Kenya: Civic action from confrontation to collaboration? Bård A. Andreassen and Tiberius Barasa 4. Ghana: Struggles for rights in a democratizing context Gordon Crawford and Nana Akua Anyidoho 5. South Africa: From Struggle to Idealism and Back Again Malcolm Langford, Bill Derman, Tshebo Madlingozi, Khulekani Moyo, Jackie Dugard, Anne Hellum and Shirhami Shirinda 6. China: NGOs & Human Rights in Action Tang Lay Lee 7. Cambodia: Civil Society, Power and Stalled Democracy Stephen P. Marks and Ramya Naraharisetti 8. Power, Human Rights and Civic Action: Conclusions Gordon Crawford and Bård A. Andreassen

This is an important book for at least two main reasons. First, it is important because it departs from the conventional human rights discourse that has dominated the legal profession since the establishment of the international human rights regime…Second, the book is important because it is empirical in orientation, based on a common theoretical foundation: the power cube (Figure 1).The rich empirical detail based on fieldwork is illuminating. -- Arne Tostensen, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway