The Role of Networks in Advancing Human Rights: Making Human Connections

Networks play a central role in the human rights field. Expert contributors in this book explain how different types of networks form and shape outcomes globally. Together, they demonstrate how connections among scholars, practitioners and activists drive knowledge sharing and collaboration across disciplines, spurring innovation to address global challenges such as inequality and injustice. Each chapter offers insights from personal experiences of building and sustaining diverse networks across traditional academic boundaries. Contributors examine the role of technology (including digital platforms, social media and podcasts) in expanding a network. They offer practical advice for overcoming systemic challenges such as resource constraints and gender bias. Chapters highlight case studies of successful human rights networking projects, emphasising how academic research can influence real-world advocacy. Reflecting on the dynamism and resilience of the human rights field, the book ultimately sheds light on the transformative power and joy of community building among people working in this space. The Role of Networks in Advancing Human Rights is an essential read for academics and practitioners across human rights, international relations and law seeking effective strategies for collaboration, advocacy and innovation in their work.

Table of Contents:
Contents 1 Introduction: networking for human rights 1 Bonny Ibhawoh, Shareen Hertel and Mark Gibney PART I NETWORKING WITHIN ACADEMIA 2 Networking for academic freedom: issues and challenges 9 George Andreopoulos 3 Academic networking for human rights: research chairs as social capital 24 Alison Brysk 4 On (not) networking while female 37 Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann 5 An interview with Bert Lockwood 45 Bert Lockwood with Mark Gibney 6 Academic networks as research and learning communities 53 Francesca Parente and Kelebogile Zvobgo PART II BRIDGING THE ACADEMIC AND PRACTICE DIVIDES 7 Thinking about academic networks through social network analysis 63 Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen 8 Moving economic and social rights from the margins to the center through networking 73 Shareen Hertel 9 The Extraterritorial Obligations (ETO) Consortium 84 Mark Gibney 10 Participedia: networking for democratic innovations 95 Bonny Ibhawoh 11 Partnerships, networks, and eco-systems: the case of human rights cities 105 Morten Kjaerum 12 Human rights networks: from analogue to digital 115 Todd Landman 13 Paradigm shifts and the evolution of quantitative human rights cooperation 125 Skip Mark and Daniel Arnon 14 The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI): transforming accountability through collaboration 138 Pratibha Singh and K. Anne Watson PART III STUDYING THE PRACTICE WORLD 15 The complex of issue networks in transitional justice 151 Bo Won Kim and Sumin Lee 16 A Geneva perspective on human rights networking at the U.N.: schmoozing for human rights 167

About the Author :
Edited by Shareen Hertel, University of Connecticut, USA, Mark Gibney, University of North Carolina, Asheville, USA and Bonny Ibhawoh, McMaster University, Canada

Review :
‘At a time when human rights are under threat, this book offers accessible, first-hand insights from the worlds of practice and academia on the vital importance of forging relationships. It reminds us that “Networking is essential to sustaining human life”, and central to effective collaboration for a more equitable world.’ ‘This book reveals the often-invisible labour of weaving networks that anchor human rights in lived reality. It shows how scholars, practitioners, and activists collectively confront urgent problems, balancing joy and anxiety, energy and fatigue. The book is a powerful reminder that networks are not mere links but transformative engines safeguarding what protects our humanity from dehumanising systems.’