An Unlikely Rights Revolution
Legal Mobilization in Scandinavia Since the 1970s
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12965217 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Johan Karlsson Schaffer (0000-0002-0568-7353, University of Gothenburg, corresponding author), Malcolm Langford (0000-0002-5975-4320, University of Oslo), Mikael Rask Madsen (0000-0002-1473-6727, University of Copenhagen) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 11-31 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nordic Journal of Human Rights (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1891-814X • E-ISSN: 1891-8131 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/18918131.2023.2273652 |
| OpenAlex | W4390611780 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 7 |
Why have civil society groups in Scandinavia increasingly turned to legal mobilization in recent decades? In Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, a legal-political culture based on parliamentary supremacy, deferential judiciaries, strong-state corporatism, and jurisprudential scepticism towards rights talk supposedly discourages groups in civil society from seeking societal change through litigation. Yet, in all three countries, diverse groups and organizations in civil society have increasingly adopted litigation strategies for a broad range of causes. In this paper, we seek to account for how and why this shift has occurred. Drawing on socio-legal mobilization theory, we compare Denmark, Norway, and Sweden across three episodes from the 1970s to today. Litigation has gradually moved from the political margins to the mainstream. Our findings suggest that while European law, domestic institutional reforms, and a proliferating human rights discourse have opened new ways for resourceful groups and entrepreneurial individuals to challenge the status quo, parliamentary and corporatist channels remain often viable and preferred alternatives for mainstream organizations. The paper thus contributes to the emerging literature on how civil society groups in Scandinavia employ litigation strategies by offering a comparative and historical assessment and contributes to knowledge about the factors that shape legal mobilization by civil society groups
Civil society · Corporatism · Human rights · Legal culture · Mainstream · Mobilization · Political economy · Political opportunity · Political science · Politics · Skepticism · Social movement · Sociology · State (computer science · Status quo · European and International Law Studies · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law
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| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |