Freedom from Poverty: NGOs and Human Rights Praxis

by Daniel P.L. Chong

Overview

Human rights advocacy in the West is changing. Before the turn of the century, access to goods such as food, housing, and health care—while essential to human survival—were deemed outside of the human rights sphere. Traditional human rights institutions focused on rights in the political arena that could be defended through legal systems.

In Freedom from Poverty, Daniel P. L. Chong examines how today's nongovernmental organizations are modifying human rights practices and reshaping the political landscape by taking up the cause of subsistence rights. This book outlines how three types of NGOs—human rights, social justice, and humanitarian organizations—are breaking down barriers by incorporating access to economic and social goods into national laws and advancing subsistence rights through nonjuridical means. These NGOs are using rights not only as legal instruments but as moral and rhetorical implements to build social movements, shape political culture, and guide development work. Rights language is now invoked in churches, political campaigns, rock concerts, and organizational mission statements. Chong presents a social theory of human rights to provide a framework for understanding these changes and defending the legitimacy of these rights.

Freedom from Poverty analyzes new trends in the evolution of human rights by combining constructivist and postpositivist legal approaches. This book provides valuable concepts to human rights practitioners, political scientists, antipoverty advocates, and leaders who are serious about ending widespread privation and disease.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780812242522
Publisher:	University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Publication date:	07/08/2010
Series:	Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Daniel P. L. Chong teaches political science at Rollins College, Florida.

Table of Contents

Preface

1. NGOs and Freedom from Poverty
2. A Social Theory of Human Rights
3. Human Rights Organizations
4. Social Justice Organizations
5. Humanitarian Organizations
6. Using a Social Theory to Interpret NGO Efforts

Appendix: NGOs Working for Freedom from Poverty
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments

Editorial Reviews

"Chong makes a provocative argument. He creatively synthesizes a range of literatures-international relations theory, human rights and legal theory, social movement theory, and development studies-and will add to all of them in unique ways. The book is well researched and extremely timely. This is a much needed book."

University of Connecticut Shareen Hertel

"Chong makes a provocative argument. He creatively synthesizes a range of literatures-international relations theory, human rights and legal theory, social movement theory, and development studies-and will add to all of them in unique ways. The book is well researched and extremely timely. This is a much needed book."

Universityof Connecticut Shareen Hertel

"Chong makes a provocative argument. He creatively synthesizes a range of literatures—international relations theory, human rights and legal theory, social movement theory, and development studies—and will add to all of them in unique ways. The book is well researched and extremely timely. This is a much needed book."—Shareen Hertel, University of Connecticut

From the Publisher