1st Edition
NGOs, Knowledge Production and Global Humanist Advocacy The Limits of Expertise
NGOs, Knowledge Production and Global Humanist Advocacy is an empirically and theoretically rich account of how international non-governmental organisations produce knowledge of and formulate understandings about the world around them.
The author applies critical and sociological perspectives to analyse the social and political limits of knowledge generated in support of global advocacy efforts aimed at enhancing human rights and preventing violent conflicts. It is found that, despite their transnational networks and claims to humanist universality, the proximity of global advocates to Western power structures and elite social spaces delimits their worldviews and curtails the potential for radical departures from mainstream political thinking.
This book will be of interest to scholars and students of international relations, human rights, the sociology of knowledge, peace and conflict studies, and critical security studies.
1. Introduction: Understanding the World Through Humanist Advocacy
2. Mapping the Logics of Knowledge Production in Global Advocacy
3. Advocacy in the Knowledge Market: Organisational Legitimacy and the Evolution of Epistemic Practice
4. The Epistemic Culture of Global Advocacy
5. The Epistemic Limits of Global Advocacy on Post-War Sri Lanka
6. Extracting Knowledge: Global Advocates’ Relations with Domestic
Actors in Post-War Sri Lanka
7. Conclusion: Embattled Knowledge, Contested Expertise – A Bleak Future for Global Humanist Advocacy?
Biography
Alistair Markland completed his doctorate at Aberystwyth University’s Department of International Politics. He now teaches politics and international relations at Aston University’s School of Languages and Social Science, UK. His research looks at the epistemic practices of transnational actors, global advocacy efforts around violent conflicts, and technology and human rights.
