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- Title
Conceptualizing Statelessness as a Human Rights Challenge: Framing, Visual Representation, and (Partial) Issue Emergence.
- Authors
Professor, Lindsey N Kingston Associate
- Abstract
Issue emergence is the step in the process of mobilization when a pre-existing grievance is transformed from a problem into an issue, attracting the attention and funding necessary to advance itself onto the international agenda. Until very recently, statelessness served as an example of a social problem that had not yet emerged. In a 2009 study, I interviewed 21 decision-makers at prominent US non-governmental organizations to uncover the challenges facing the emergence of statelessness. Almost a decade later, advocacy efforts have led statelessness to enjoy partial—but not full—issue emergence. Findings from a research follow-up at the 2014 First Global Forum on Statelessness in The Hague emphasize how the issue of statelessness faces challenges related to framing problems, raising awareness, and overcoming discrimination and political hostilities. In interviews and group discussions, more than 40 statelessness experts expressed frustration regarding how statelessness is currently placed into ready-made narratives, for instance, or narrowly defined as a legal issue. Content analysis of 2017–18 media coverage of the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar further illustrates challenges for conceptualizing statelessness within the public imagination. While documentary photographer GregConstantine offers a rare, explicit focus on statelessness, his work also shows how visually representing statelessness is a complicated task. I ultimately argue that the processes of issue framing and visual representation matter immensely for issue emergence—not only for the success of a campaign, but also for determining how we discuss rights protection and political membership.
- Subjects
MYANMAR; STATELESSNESS; HUMAN rights advocacy; SOCIAL movements; ROHINGYA (Burmese people)
- Publication
Journal of Human Rights Practice, 2019, Vol 11, Issue 1, p52
- ISSN
1757-9619
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jhuman/huz010