The Obsolescence of Human Rights

Filip Balunovic

Filip Balunovic

The Obsolescence of Human Rights

The Alt-Right, the Pandemic and Science as an Emerging Political Cleavage

This book explores how the alt-right has appropriated human rights rhetoric – once rooted in progressive ideals – to resist public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Phrases like “My body, my choice” have been retooled to challenge vaccination and state intervention. The author interrogates the historical and ideological malleability of human rights, revealing how their universalist claims are often compromised by exclusionary and reactionary forces. Central to this analysis is the pandemic’s role in exposing science as an emerging political cleavage. Through the lens of political mistrust, pseudoscience, conspiracy thinking, and neoliberal crisis, the book examines the conditions that gave rise to right-wing human rights discourse – and asks whether the concept of rights can still hold emancipatory promise in an era of ecological breakdown and rising technopolitical conflicts.
Forthcoming publication. Pre-orders will open a few weeks before publication date.
Author

Filip Balunovic

Filip Balunovic (1987, Belgrade) is a research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory at the University of Belgrade and an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Media and Communication at Singidunum University.
Title
The Obsolescence of Human Rights
Subtitle
The Alt-Right, the Pandemic and Science as an Emerging Political Cleavage
Author
Price
€ 49,95 excl. VAT
ISBN
9789048575756
Format
Paperback
Number of pages
204
Language
English
Publication date
Dimensions
13.5 x 21 cm
Categories
Eastern Central Europe
Political Science
Discipline
Social and Political Sciences
Imprint
Table of Contents
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Introduction
PART ONE: THE OBSOLESCENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Chapter 1: Human Rights: Historical Perspective
Chapter 2: Rethinking the Universality of Human Rights
Chapter 3: Ideologization of Human Rights
PART TWO: THE ALT-RIGHT, THE PANDEMIC AND SCIENCE AS AN EMERGING POLITICAL CLEAVAGE
Chapter 4: Science as a New Line of Political Divisions
Chapter 5: The Role of Distrust and Conspiracy Theories
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

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