Reflections on Human Rights Understandings in Light of the Arab Spring
On the basis of these two arguments, and some insight on the Arab Spring, this paper challenges prevailing national and international approaches to human rights advocacy and compliance mechanisms in Arab Spring states.
The political and social contexts of Arab Spring countries have varying characteristics. Levels of activism by civil society actors also vary. As such, this paper looks at the broad common features of human rights policies and understandings in the region and how they may be reconstituted more effectively in order to reinvigorate human rights advocacy. It uses a reflective approach from a national practitioner’s perspective to theorize the Arab Spring and explore a more profound and sustainable approach to the general respect and protection of human rights post Arab Spring.