Pluriverse of Human Rights: The Diversity of Struggles for Dignity: The Diversity of Struggles for Dignity

The impasse affecting human rights as a language of struggle for dignity is due to epistemological and political exhaustion in the global North. This book offers a conditional response to this question, suggesting that the prevailing notion of human rights can only be resignified through a radical transformation that reconciles it with the different languages and forms of knowledge born out of struggles for human dignity.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 258 pages
Publication date: 22 June 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The current stalemate in human rights as a language for expressing struggles for dignity is, to a significant extent, a reflection of the epistemological and political exhaustion that plagues the global North. Given the undeniable global dominance of human rights as a means of asserting human dignity, the question of whether it can be employed in a counter-hegemonic capacity remains unresolved. Drawing inspiration from diverse global struggles that unveil both the potential and limitations of human rights, this book presents a highly conditional response. The prevailing notion of human rights today, as the hegemonic language of human dignity, can only be re-defined based on answers to fundamental inquiries: why does so much unjust human suffering persist that is not recognized as a violation of human rights? Do other languages of human dignity exist in the world? Are these languages compatible with the language of human rights? It is evident that we can only attain satisfactory answers to these questions if we are capable of envisioning a radical transformation of what is currently known as human rights. This poses the critical challenge posed by the Epistemologies of the South: reconciling human rights with the diverse languages and forms of knowledge that emerge from struggles for human dignity.

The impasse currently affecting human rights as a language used to express struggles for dignity is, to a large extent, a reflection of the epistemological and political exhaustion which blights the global North.

Since the global hegemony of human rights as a language for human dignity is nowadays incontrovertible, the question of whether it can be used in a counter-hegemonic sense remains open. Inspired by struggles from all corners of the world that reveal the potential but, above all, the limitations of human rights, this book offers a highly conditional response.

The prevailing notion of human rights today, as the hegemonic language of human dignity, can only be resignified on the basis of answers to simple questions: why does so much unjust human suffering exist that is not considered a violation of human rights? Do other languages of human dignity exist in the world? Are these other languages compatible with the language of human rights? Obviously, we can only find satisfactory answers to these questions if we are able to envisage a radical transformation of what is nowadays known as human rights.

Herein lies the challenge posed by the Epistemologies of the South: reconciling human rights with the different languages and forms of knowledge born out of struggles for human dignity.

Weight: 408g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032012216