Relational Capital and Political Mobilisation: A Case for Network Perspective on Democratisation : Human Rights and Political Mobilisation in Nigeria 1990-1999

The role of human rights in democracy advocacy is a recent addition to the more established theoretical debates on democracy and democratisation. In the new but growing debates on the influence of human rights networks, both domestic and international, democratisation came up as the area where human rights have had a considerable influence. This monograph examines how human rights issues and organisations working to promote human rights changed the context of democratisation in one of Africa’s most fragile states. It also explores the interface between the global appeal of human rights and domestic struggle for the opening of democratic spaces in Nigeria as encapsulated in the activities of a local organisation which enjoys a global reach and influence. The author makes a powerful case for a reinvention of the political space with the active engagement of non-governmental or informal actors in national political contests.

Dr Ismail Ibraheem is a lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Nigeria. Prior to joining the University of Lagos in June 2011, Dr Ibraheem lectured at several universities in the United Kingdom. Dr Ibraheem’s current research interests include political communication, health communication, new media and globalisation