Human Rights and Development in the new Millennium: Towards a Theory of Change

In recent years human rights have assumed a central position in the discourse surrounding international development, while human rights agencies have begun to more systematically address economic and social rights. This edited volume brings together distinguished scholars to explore the merging of human rights and development agendas at local, national and international levels. They examine how the expansion of human rights into development affects organisational change, operational change and the role of relevant actors in bringing about change. With a focus on practice and policy rather than pure theory, the volumes also addresses broader questions such as what human rights has contributed to the field of development, and whether its influence is increasing or declining. The book is structured in three sections: Part I looks human rights based approaches in action, including chapters on EU support for human rights and legal empowerment for the poor. Part II focuses on organisational contexts and includes chapters on UN and EU reforms; development cooperation in the context of a developing framework for foreign policy, diplomacy, security and defence policy; children's rights; and ActionAid's human rights-based approach Part III examines country contexts, including chapters on UN field operations; the Congo; Ethiopia; and Sweden. This book will be of strong interest to students and scholars of human rights, development studies, political science and economics.