In the wake of global trends of democratic backsliding, many are concerned with the resilience of the democratic rule of law including in The Netherlands. Studies focusing on formal institutions at the national level point to weak safeguards protecting the independence of courts, declining democratic oversight, and insufficient protection of fundamental rights. Significant groups of citizens, particularly those in vulnerable situations who rely most on state support to enjoy their rights and dignity, are losing trust in government institutions to deliver on their promises. While trust in local institutions in Amsterdam is higher, this is lower among city residents with a migrant background and/or in socioeconomically weaker positions.

Cities can play an important role in defending the rule of law and protecting and realizing the rights of citizens. Research on human rights cities and urban governance has shown how actors inside local governments refer to international human rights norms, for instance to justify local policies that extend protection to vulnerable groups beyond national law or policy or to develop more participatory forms of decision-making. Cities have also been found to promote human rights and democratic values through transnational city networks. Yet while we know how cities may try to institutionalise human rights, we know much less about how non-state actors – particularly those at the grassroots and most marginalized – experience and interpret the rule of law in their everyday interactions with local authorities.

To explore this question this project focuses on the language and approaches urban residents, local community-based groups and urban social movements use to seek justice, equality, inclusion and access to services. At the same time, it is interested in how local authorities, service providers and legal or other professional actors respond to these claims. Rather than focusing primarily on laws and policies, this project is interested in the ‘everyday life’ of human rights and how the rule of law is experienced in practice by communities seeking justice in urban setting through formal and informal pathways. This will contribute to scholarly and practitioner understandings of how human rights do (or do not) facilitate social justice and under what conditions. It can also inform local government policy and practice by generating insights into the lived experiences of urban communities engaging with local institutions in their pursuit of social justice.

To research ‘rule of law from below’ we are looking for someone to conduct an in-depth qualitative study of residents facing specific rights issues in Amsterdam whose justice pathways have been understudied (examples include the homeless, survivors of family violence, welfare recipients, racialised minorities). Through socio-legal and ethnographic research including participant observation, interviews, and potentially experimental participatory methods, you will research the interactions of affected communities and civil society groups with local authorities and frontline service providers when trying to access and uphold rights. You may choose to compare different rights struggles within Amsterdam or similar rights struggles in different cities.

The PhD project will be supervised by Prof. dr. Kiran Grewal and prof. dr. Doutje Lettinga. Applicants are invited to develop a research proposal based on this project outline. The proposal allows you to specify and elaborate how you intend to address the questions posed in this advertisement. The template for the proposal can be found below (under “Application process and contact information”).