Pushing Boundaries: Building a Community of Practice at the Intersection of Human Rights and Economics

ABSTRACT One criticism of the human rights framework is that it has not – and therefore, some argue, cannot – meaningfully contest the hegemony of neoliberal economic thinking. In this article, we argue that the manner in which the disciplines of human rights and economics ‘speak past each other’ is a critical factor in this perception. While there has been a notable push to strengthen interrelations between the two fields, for the most part this has primarily been through the application of human rights norms to specific economic issues, rather than as a challenge to the logic underpinning economics, as a discipline. The article draws from a year-long project to build a community of practice at the nexus of human rights and economic justice, primarily in South Africa. South Africa is an illustrative context in which to explore cross-disciplinary engagement. While it has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world and a vibrant human rights community, the government has neglected rights in economic policymaking. This article considers the theoretical, methodological, and strategic opportunities and challenges involved overcoming such contradictions. In particular, we argue for the usefulness of a law and political economy (LPE) approach to build out the interrelations between the two fields.