My research mentioned in report of UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

My research has been mentioned in the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, authored by Olivier De Schutter, It’s an excellent document well worth a read.

Here is the summary:

“In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, examines the future of social protection against the background of the rise of far-right populism across world regions. Highlighting the transformation of social protection, which has resulted in a growing distrust towards institutions, he explains how this feeds the rise of far-right populism, which thrives on economic insecurity and fear of status loss. He shows how far-right populism sows division, exploiting the discontent towards the incumbent elites as a pretext for dismantling welfare, thus serving the interests of the privileged; or promoting welfare chauvinism, which reserves social protection for the in-group and the so-called
“deserving poor” – the exact opposite of treating social protection as a human right. The Special Rapporteur concludes by explaining why rights-based social protection should be championed as a bulwark against the rise of authoritarian populism.”

And here is an excerpt from the conclusions of the report:

  1. “Redistribution through social protection is not just an economic issue; it is also a political challenge that deserves to be considered in its own right. Mainstream parties have created fertile ground for the rise of far-right populism by reengineering the welfare State […], by presenting social protection as a burden on public budgets, whereas it is in reality an investment in the future, with potentially high returns.”
  2. It is time to change course. Leaders who wish to avoid the backsliding of democracy should do more to alleviate fears and to provide economic security. […] The response to the threat of the far right must be to take social protection seriously as a human right of the individual and as a public good that generates strong positive externalities benefiting all members of society.”