Human rights hackers: crafting advocacy in Accra, Ghana

Abstract This article explores how groups of human rights activists in one of Ghana’s largest informal settlements craft innovative advocacy strategies, drawing on their experience with and knowledge of multiple legal regimes. In doing so, these activists “hack” the code of what has come to be understood by the global community as “acceptable” behavior in human rights campaigns, challenging the divisions between legal categories. By employing the concept of “hacking,” this article explores how activists mobilize outside of formal legal settings, attempting to build flexible advocacy campaigns, with some success and some fallout.