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From £25.99

African Ubuntu and its View on Law, Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals

By: Dorine E. van Norren

From £25.99

This account of African Ubuntu philosophy questions the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It challenges the logic of linear growth that centres the individual, and instead proposes "Life is mutual aid"—a logic of sharing, affirming that one's humanity is tied to others.

This innovative account of wellbeing perspectives of (South) African Ubuntu philosophy sheds new light on sustainability debates. It questions the universality of the UN Sustainable…
From £25.99
From £25.99
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This innovative account of wellbeing perspectives of (South) African Ubuntu philosophy sheds new light on sustainability debates. It questions the universality of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The slogan of the Goals, “Leave non-one behind,” begs the question of who is behind and who is ahead. Development is caught in the logic of linear “sustainable” growth of nations and centres around the flourishing of the individual instead of the community. “Life is mutual aid” would be the African approach, which includes a logic of sharing, affirming that one’s humanity is tied to others.

With concrete examples of policies, law, jurisprudence on Ubuntu and practice from South Africa, this book is a must read for philosophers willing to think beyond European philosophy, development economists interested in reshaping today’s paradigms, innovative human rights lawyers with a social heart, anthropologists who yearn for a dialogue between worldviews of the Global South and science, and all people who seek new meaning in today’s society.

Dorine E. van Norren is an associate researcher at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands (Law) and Pretoria, South Africa (Decoloniality). She studied law in Amsterdam and Cape Town and French in Lyon. She has a Master’s in International and Dutch Law from Free University Amsterdam, the Netherlands (1995), and a PhD in Law and Development Studies from Tilburg and Amsterdam University, the Netherlands (2017). She did field research for her PhD in Ecuador, Bhutan, South Africa, and at the UN in New York and Paris. She has published articles in world-renowned journals and books with respected publishers. She worked as a diplomat in Sri Lanka and Turkey and held several positions at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Southern Africa, North America, European Integration departments). She worked for the Advisory Council of International Affairs. She was Coordinator for UNESCO, human rights and SDGs at the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture including UNESCO Commission advisory member. Currently she is Strategic Advisor Western Hemisphere.
The book is written on a personal title.

Hardback

  • ISBN: 1-0364-1539-2
  • ISBN13: 978-1-0364-1539-6
  • Date of Publication: 2025-01-23

Paperback

  • ISBN: 1-0364-1541-4
  • ISBN13: 978-1-0364-1541-9
  • Date of Publication: 2025-01-23

Ebook

  • ISBN: 1-0364-1540-6
  • ISBN13: 978-1-0364-1540-2
  • Date of Publication: 2025-01-23

Subject Codes:

  • BIC: GTF, RNU, JFSL9
  • THEMA: GTP(5PB-AU-A), RNU(5PB-NZ-A), JBSL11(5PB-US-E)
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  • “The Zulu greet one another with Sawubona, “We see you”, meaning we recognize you; I see myself in the other. However, the West does not see the Africans, it does not recognize their wisdom and philosophies.”
    - Mogobe Ramose Philosophy Professor
  • This book on Ubuntu encourages an active type of listening from the heart, moving away from privilege. A type of listening which recognizes whose stories dominate and whose stories are absent from our considerations when we think of how we shape our future.
    - Mpho Tutu van Furth Priest
  • "Anyone wishing to understand Ubuntu’s significance, the context in which it was developed and its capacity for providing repair to other torn parts of the world, can feast on the cornucopia of materials and debate in this book."
    - Albie Sachs Former Constitutional Judge; anti-apartheid activist, South Africa

Meet The Author