Political Economy and Development: Alternative Approach to Social and Economic Rights

Faris will present Political Economy and Development by suggesting alternative approaches to social and economic rights. It will be held in person (Rm 216) and on Zoom.

If you want to join on Zoom, please register in advance before the meeting.

Presentation Abstract:

Social and economic rights occupy a prestigious place within the literature on comparative constitutional law. The literature is centralized around the enforceability and justiciability of social and economic rights. The enforceability debate underscores the judicial role in enforcing socio-economic rights. Accordingly, judicial enforcement provides a remedial mechanism for an individual or a society to uphold the government to deliver its constitutional commitments. However, the literature fails to address the causes of the government’s failure to meet constitutional commitments. In other words, the literature focuses on how to solve the problem, but it does not give attention to preventing it from happening. For that, I suggest employing political economy and development to study social and economic rights. Although, that should not mean the abandonment of the enforceability approach.