Policy as Violence: Exploring Alternative Pathways to Accountability

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Description

Law & Society Association (LSA) Annual Conference (2021) (online)

This paper explores alternative pathways to accountability which may be brought about through framing the harms of government policies as a violation of Economic and Social Rights (ESRs) and as such form of structural violence. This Galtung-ian analysis will serve as a framework for contending that rights-based analyses of the harms of social policies (for example in the UK, austerity or more recently – and topically – herd immunity) can serve as a gateway through which to consider these harms in the fields of peacebuilding and international criminal law. Building on a paper co-authored with Cahill-Ripley (accepted: Journal of Human Rights Practice - JHRP) the extent to which a society containing widespread poverty and destitution can be said to be at peace is challenged. This analysis serves as a bridge with which to – building on a previous publication - further consider the relationship between policy decisions and Crimes Against Humanity.

At the root of this paper is a focus on harm more broadly understood. It is contended that those responsible for the policies which cause such harm must face accountability. The contentions presented in this paper may allow for alternative (and radical) pathways to securing such accountability.
PeriodJun 2021
Event typeConference
LocationOnlineShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

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