Rights in Pursuit of Social Change: Legal Mobilisation in the Multi-Level European System (Oñati International Series in Law and Society) - Hardcover

...anyone interested in (human) rights, courts and politics will probably find stimulating thoughts to take away from this very fascinating book. -- Mathias Moeschel * Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 21.3 * Anagnostou's enthralling style and her ability to produce precise definitions make it easy to pay attention. -- Marion Guerrero * European Journal of Legal Studies * The strength of this book is an appreciation of the multiplicity of approaches and strategies among parties. -- David Schultz * The Law and Politics Book Review * ...this volume will be valuable to anyone seeking to relate the generalities of the rule of law to a more detailed appreciation of the manner in which the rule of law shapes political potentialities. -- Christopher May * Political Studies Review *

Over the past few decades, European countries have witnessed a proliferation of legal norms concerning marginalized individuals and minorities who increasingly invoke them in front of courts to assert their rights and claim protection. This book explores the relationship between law, rights, and social mobilization in Europe. It specifically inquires into the extent and ways in which legal processes and entitlements are mobilized by less privileged social actors to advance their rights claims and pursue social change. Most distinctly, the book explores such processes in the context of the multi-level European system, characterized by the existence of multiple legal and judicial arenas at the national, subnational, and supranational/transnational level. In such a complex system of law and governance in Europe, concepts like legal opportunity structures, as well as the factors shaping them, need to be reconceptualized. How does the multi-level European context distinctly shape the nature and salience of rights, as well as their mobilization by individuals and minority actors? It is a fascinating study that will be of interest to human rights and European law scholars. (Series: Onati International Series in Law and Society)