Property, Power and Human Rights: Lived Universalism In and Through the Margins

Through deconstructing the right to property, this incisive book critically assesses the claim that international human rights law is universal. Laura Dehaibi presents an innovative bottom-up and dialogical approach to human rights, drawing on lived experience in the margins to give rights a subversive and emancipatory meaning.

Chapters analyse the sources of international human rights law, in particular examining the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and provide a thorough review of regional case law on the right to property. Dehaibi illustrates the inadequacy of the current liberal approach to human rights, showing that stories of belonging and human suffering matter greatly when interpreting and enforcing these rights. Ultimately, this book argues for a crucial realignment of the concept of universalism around social participation, contributing to a wider reconsideration of the sources of power in law.

Property, Power and Human Rights will be essential reading for students and scholars in human rights, social justice, property and international law. Taking a novel perspective on the interpretation and enforcement of human rights, it will also be invaluable for regional practitioners and activists seeking to strengthen human rights protections.