The following PhD thesis asks whether Brazilians, as actors of the Global South, contributed to our current human rights regime and the emergence of ‘third-generation’ rights. It begins by identifying a Brazilian theory of human rights, based on the ontologies of liberation theologians and theories of ‘oppression’, and argues that through the activity of liberationist clergymen and political exiles in Europe, these ideas came to form part of the global narrative and vision for the future of human rights. By employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse solidarity activism, campaign posters, petitions, and newspaper articles, this research reveals that human rights solidarity activism was a vital space of intellectual exchange and the source of various elements of our contemporary human rights norms. Over time, it was found that European coverage and promotion of human rights in Brazil expanded its focus on the ‘political prisoner’ and ‘violating state’ to also defend the struggles of workers, peasants, indigenous peoples, students and other minorities, as well as denouncing poverty, inequality, environmental damage, foreign national interests and the rise of multinational companies.
Brazil and the transnational human rights movement: 1964-1985
Grimaldi, A. I. (Author). 1 Nov 2019
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy