TY - JOUR
T1 - Scalar Properties of the Transnational Field of Human Rights
T2 - Field Effects and Human Rights in Bahrain
AU - Bhatia, Luke G.G.
N1 - Funding Information:
I would like to thank Dr. Veronique Pin-Fat and Prof. James Pattison for their comments on early draughts of this article, and Dr. Emmanuel Pierre-Guittet for his reflections and support whilst writing the paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. The British Journal of Sociology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of London School of Economics and Political Science.
PY - 2023/3/1
Y1 - 2023/3/1
N2 - Whilst a body of work exists that has engaged with and conceptualised transnational fields, and in particular for this paper, the transnational field of human rights, more work needs to be done to elaborate on the effects of transnational fields, at the national level. Using Bourdieu’s field theory, and more recent scholarship that focuses on scalar aspects of fields, this research focuses on a human rights field at the national level in Bahrain. The paper addresses two levels/dimensions of the transnational field of human rights: the transnational level and the national level, focusing on the field’s vertical autonomy. Based upon nineteen in-depth interviews, the research retrieves the biographical trajectories of Bahraini human rights activists and activists from iNGOs with a specific remit that includes Bahrain. The paper argues that the vertical autonomy of the transnational field of human rights has demonstrable field effects at the national level, and that this has a number of implications. First, where transnational fields have greater vertical autonomy, the national level can operate with varying hierarchies, with actors adopting practices that diverge from those acting transnationally. Second, as a result of these scalar differences and the vertical autonomy of the transnational field, actors at the national level may have to adapt their practices, others can be side-lined as a result of “symbolic pollution.” Third, in order for local actors to engage with transnational advocacy networks, they must be the right type of actor.
AB - Whilst a body of work exists that has engaged with and conceptualised transnational fields, and in particular for this paper, the transnational field of human rights, more work needs to be done to elaborate on the effects of transnational fields, at the national level. Using Bourdieu’s field theory, and more recent scholarship that focuses on scalar aspects of fields, this research focuses on a human rights field at the national level in Bahrain. The paper addresses two levels/dimensions of the transnational field of human rights: the transnational level and the national level, focusing on the field’s vertical autonomy. Based upon nineteen in-depth interviews, the research retrieves the biographical trajectories of Bahraini human rights activists and activists from iNGOs with a specific remit that includes Bahrain. The paper argues that the vertical autonomy of the transnational field of human rights has demonstrable field effects at the national level, and that this has a number of implications. First, where transnational fields have greater vertical autonomy, the national level can operate with varying hierarchies, with actors adopting practices that diverge from those acting transnationally. Second, as a result of these scalar differences and the vertical autonomy of the transnational field, actors at the national level may have to adapt their practices, others can be side-lined as a result of “symbolic pollution.” Third, in order for local actors to engage with transnational advocacy networks, they must be the right type of actor.
KW - Bahrain
KW - Bourdieu
KW - field autonomy
KW - human rights
KW - Middle East
U2 - 10.1111/1468-4446.12992
DO - 10.1111/1468-4446.12992
M3 - Article
SN - 0007-1315
VL - 74
SP - 259
EP - 274
JO - British Journal of Sociology
JF - British Journal of Sociology
IS - 2
ER -