The Question of The Human: Political Rights

Human rights are often framed as a universal moral truth, yet their application reveals deep-seated political and social contingencies that shape who qualifies as "human." This article interrogates the discursive construction of humanness, arguing that human rights function as instruments of power rather than inherent entitlements. Drawing on Foucauldian analysis and decolonial critiques, the study examines how rights are contingent on historical, geopolitical, and ideological forces that privilege specific identities—white, masculine, heteronormative, and state-aligned—while marginalizing others. Case studies on immigration detention, Indigenous land dispossession, anti-Black policing, and ecological exploitation demonstrate how human rights regimes reinforce exclusionary hierarchies. The analysis challenges the presumed neutrality of rights discourse, exposing its complicity in colonial violence and capitalist domination. By centring perspectives from feminist, Indigenous, and Black radical thought, the article advocates for a decolonial reimagining of human rights that transcends Eurocentric universalism and embraces pluralistic conceptions of humanity.