"Rights, Politics, Engagement"

2009

Marshall College of Law. I would like to thank Jonathan Klaaren for first bringing the Mamba litigation to my attention, and to Jonathan, Stephen Ellmann, and other members of the South Africa Reading Group for raising important questions about the limits of engagement. Amy Burchfield and Jessica Mathewson provided excellent research and editing assistance. 1. Occupiers of 51 Olivia Road, Berea Township v. City of Johannesburg (Olivia Road) 2008 (5) BCLR 475 (CC) (S. Afr.). 2. Id. 3. Id. 4. Mamba v. Minister ofSoc. Dev. 2008, Case No. CCT 65/08 (CC) (S. Aft.); Residents ofJoe Slovo Community Western Cape v. Thubelisha Homes (Joe Slovo) 2009 (9) BCLR 847 (CC) (S. Aft.). As this Article goes to press, the Court recently discussed, but did not use the remedy in one other case, Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement S. Aft. v. Premier ofKwaZulu-Natal 2010 (2) BCLR 99 (CC) (S. Aft.). A recently published report on engagement contains a useful overview and discussion of many of the issues this Article raises. See Lauren Royston & Kate Tissington, Workshop Report: Meaningful Engagement (Dec. 2009), available at http://web.wits.ac.za/NR/rdonlyres/ D1176AF9-340B-413B-AF79-2F1152BEOCDA/0/Meaningfulengagementreport Dec09.pdf.

On CITIZEN by Claudia Rankine

National Civic Review, 1989

7hk lntervlew with an exper;lencedpoMcal campaign fleldorgan&er andmanager suggests that altitudes toward the cwentpracfice of electoralpolltics overlook the connectlon between clf&enship and empowerment. Setf government cannot be passive, and actlve cltlzenship requires both knowledge of issues and personal political Involvement. conducted by HARRY C. BOYTE NCR: Electoral politics is where most people get their definition of politics. What do you think they learn? Michels: There are really two questions: what the electorate leams, and what those active in the political process learn. Most of the electorate today has disgust Peg Michels has sewed asficld organizer and campoign mruroger in a nwnber of political races, and was Director of the Governor's Rural Developtent Council in Minnesota. Currently, Michcls is curriculum and fwld director for the Commonwealth ProjectlProject Public Life at the Humphrey Instilute, universiry of Minnesola at MiMeapolb.

2011

European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology, 2018

Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 2004

Wilkinson's argument for the use of human rights discourse rather than a discourse of mental health when arguing for the legalization of same-sex marriage. Without disagreeing with their basic argument, I "problematize" it, showing that legal and human rights discourses also have a history of reinforcing power dynamics and operating to the disadvantage of marginalized groups such as lesbians and gay men. First, equality rights discourse can force lesbians and gay men into a conservative mode of argument, for instance, having to show how similar they are to traditionalist opposite-sex couples, rather than emphasizing potentially significant differences. Second, the increasing use of rights discourse has arguably narrowed the scope of the lesbian/gay social movement and rendered its political strategies more conservative, rather than aiming for the elimination of heterosexism and patriarchy. Third, the focus on marriage as a human right tends to render invisible, and to reinscribe, the extent to which marriage as a socio-legal institution has operated in oppressive ways. Modern marriage is not innocent of oppression, tied as it is to the increasing privatization of social and economic responsibilities. While human rights discourse offers an important avenue for lesbians and gay men, the perils of its use should not be overlooked.

Res Publica, 2018

Much discussion of the ethics of participation focuses on electoral participation and whether citizens are obligated or can be coerced to vote. Yet these debates have ignored that citizens must first pay attention to politics and make up their minds about where they stand before they can engage in any form of participation. This article considers the importance for liberal democracy of citizens paying attention to politics, or attentive citizenship. It argues that the democratic state has an obligation to cultivate interest in politics and that this obligation authorizes means up to and including some forms of coercion. The argument is that when citizens are inattentive to politics, it undermines political equality and social justice because it undermines what John Rawls called the fair value of the political liberties. The importance of these ends for liberal democratic states requires them to take steps to promote attentive citizenship.

2010

This Article first analyzes the Constitutional Court of South Africa\u27s three engagement decisions. It then divides engagement into two different categories--litigation engagement and political engagement--and offers suggestions for transforming the process into a more effective remedy in each category. Drawing on the work of Charles Epp, this Article argues that political engagement, if structured correctly, offers the greatest potential as an effective mechanism for enforcing socioeconomic rights. Realization of that potential will require a sustained commitment by civil society organizations active in socioeconomic rights issues and a shift from using engagement as a litigation tactic to using it as a tool for political advocacy

2011

Perspectives on Politics, 2009