Solid Organisations in a Liquid World

Abstract

In view of the recent worldwide wave of street protests challenging current modes of democratic representation, and drawing on the author's years of experience leading the NGO Conectas Human Rights, along with conversations held with partners in Brazil and other countries, this article mulls over human rights organisations’ stance and role in the 21st century. Such street mobilisations point to the diversification of actors and struggles, mistrust in public institutions, and the empowerment of the individual as a political actor. In this article, the author briefly discusses: (i) the context of multiple struggles, interlocutors, and levels of action to be engaged in by human rights organisations; (ii) how these organisations are related to the crises of representation and effectiveness of State institutions; and (iii) how they interact with and strengthen individuals as activists and political actors. By drawing on the distinctions between organisational activism and selfactivism, it points to the need for human rights organisations to strike a balance between their solid presence with long-term mindset, and fluidity to adapt and take advantage of the opportunities that contemporary society provides.

Keywords: Street protests, Bauman, Selfactivism, Representation, Human Rights Organizations