The embrace of socio-economic rights in South Africa has featured prominently in scholarship on constitution making, legal jurisprudence and social mobilisation. But the development has attracted critics who claim that this turn to rights has not generated social transformation in practice. This book sets out to assess one part of the puzzle and asks what has been the role and impact of socio-economic strategies used by civil society actors. Focusing on a range of socio-economic rights and national trends in law and political economy, the book's authors show how socio-economic rights have influenced the development of civil society discourse and action. The evidence suggests that some strategies have achieved material and political impact but this is conditional on the nature of the claim, degree of mobilisation and alliance building, and underlying constraints.
• First comprehensive study of the effects of socio-economic strategies in South Africa • Gives a diverse picture of post-apartheid social mobilisation • Provides numerous case studies and new evidence on impact and strategies
Contents
1. Introduction: civil society and rights Malcolm Langford; Part I. Context and Contestation: 2. Constitutional jurisprudence: the first and second waves Stuart Wilson and Jackie Dugard; 3. Socio-economic rights beyond the public/private law divide Sandra Liebenberg; 4. Post-apartheid social movements and legal mobilisation Tshepo Madlingozi; 5. Political power: social pacting, human rights and the development agenda Adam Habib; Part II. Thematic Areas: 6. Rural land tenure: the potential and limits of rights-based approaches Ben Cousins and Ruth Hall; 7. Housing rights litigation: Grootboom and beyond Malcolm Langford; 8. Health rights: politics, places and the need for 'sites for rights' Peris Jones and Nyasha Chingore; 9. Social security rights: campaigns and courts Beth Goldblatt and Solange Rosa; 10. Urban basic services: rights, reality and resistance Jackie Dugard; 11. Realising environmental rights: civic action, leverage, and litigation Rachel Wynberg and David Fig; 12. Access to information and socio-economic rights: a theory of change in practice Kristina Bentley and Richard Calland; 13. Gender and socio-economic rights: the case of gender-based violence and health Liesl Gerntholtz and Jennifer MacLeod; 14. Migrants and mobilisation around socio-economic rights Tara Polzer Ngwato and Zaheera Jinnah; 15. Concluding perspectives Malcolm Langford, Jackie Dugard, Tshepo Madlingozi and Ben Cousins.
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