Paper on "The Human Right to Political Participation"

In "Journal of Ethics & Social Philosophy" (February 2013):

"The Human Right to Political Participation" [pdf]
 
by Fabienne Peter

Abstract
"In recent developments in political and legal philosophy, there is a tendency to endorse minimalist lists of human rights that do not include a right to political participation. Against such tendencies, I shall argue that the right to political participation, understood as distinct from a right to democracy, should have a place even on minimalist lists. In addition, I shall defend the need to extend the right to political participation to include participation not just in national, but also in international and global governance processes. The argument will be based on a cosmopolitan conception of political legitimacy and on a political conception of human rights that is normatively anchored in legitimacy. The central claim of my paper is that a right to political participation is necessary – but not sufficient – for political legitimacy in the global realm."

Fabienne Peter is Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy, Warwick University. She is the author of "Democratic Legitimacy" (Routledge, 2008).