Category: Legal Theory

As part of its 20th Anniversary celebration, the Human Rights Center at the UC Berkeley School of Law presents Envisioning Human Rights, a collection of world-class human rights photography, curated by Pamela Blotner, on exhibit at Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley, from August through October 2014. The exhibition features the work of Mimi Chakarova, Nic Dunlop,… Continue reading Envisioning Human Rights Photo Exhibition Video

The Belo Monte dam project in the Brazilian rainforest is a paradigmatic example of development at any cost. While the dam will be the third largest in the world and provide electricity to industry and citizen, the environmental and social impacts are astounding. Thirty years have nearly passed since the Brazilian government first presented its… Continue reading The Belo Monte Dam: Social Movements, Law and State Repression

Natural disasters cause significant environmental change and societal costs while devastating the lives of its victims. The number and power of extreme weather events are forecasted to increase with the advent of climate change. The average yearly death count caused by natural disasters between 2002—2011 was 107,000 and those affected was 268 million (CRED 2013).… Continue reading Citizenship Rights in Times of Disaster: The Ethics of International Intervention

Climate change, extreme poverty and conflict emerge from social relations based in fear, selfishness, hatred and ignorance. To transform the inherent destructive powers of these relations requires a confrontation with governments, corporations, and individuals committed to following the same scripts that benefits the privileged minority while billions suffer the consequences. This project demands a battle… Continue reading Counter Narrating the Violence of Hegemony in Climate Change Conflicts

Access to health in the developing world brings together multiple actors, policies, and strategies in a worldwide effort to provide life saving medicine to those who cannot afford it. With income inequality growing on a global scale, now more than ever, strong leadership and decisive action concerning affordable drug pricing and increased accessibility in developing… Continue reading Beyond TRIPS: Questioning the Effectiveness of the Global Intellectual Property Regime

On September 27th, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released their highly anticipated fifth assessment concerning the physical science basis of climate change.  The report details the observed change in the climate system, the drivers of climate change, and projections of changes in the climate system.  This assessment reaffirms the scientific consensus concerning climate… Continue reading IPCC 5th Assessment, Sea Level Rise, and International Refugee Law

This article examines the innerconnections of climate change and capital.  I argue, the capitalist system causes, continues, and fails to address climate change and its attendant social and physical affects.  To prove this argument, the article examines the disastrous affects of anthropogenic induced sea level rise and capital’s response – corporate and market based solutions. … Continue reading Disastrous Climate Change and Capital’s Failures: Restoring Nature/Society Equilibrium Through Alternative Frameworks

Since the discovery of oil, Nigeria has enforced governmental mechanisms that denigrate its citizens and distributed its power through territorial and spatial networks of domination. The State has maneuvered in both domestic and global politics and markets to ensure the continued exploration and exploitation of their oil reserves.  To do this the State passed laws… Continue reading Mechanisms of the Politics of Oil: Spaces of Exception and Functions of Governmentality in the Nigerian Context

Corporations often perform in states with low or nonexistent regulatory control concerning human rights or the environment.  In these spaces, there is a profitable place for good and bad actors.  To break with the inherent structural violence and exploitation of the global economy, corporations must take a leadership role in human rights protection.  This role… Continue reading Corporate Social Responsibility for the Marginalized: Incorporating Human Rights and Civic Engagement in Business Activities

In Watt’s article Blood oil — The anatomy of a petro-insurgency in the Niger delta he argues that the myriad social interactions surrounding oil, which occur in multiple spaces and scales, operates within what he calls the “oil complex” – “a configuration of social, political, and economic forces” (Watts 2005, 9.6).  Complicating notions of environmental… Continue reading Thoughts on the Resource Curse