Representing woundedness: the functions of affects and emotions in international human rights testimonial forums

ABSTRACT In this article I consider the connection between power, affects, and emotions. I explore how personal testimonies in international human rights help reinforce neoliberal distributions of power and consider the role of emotions and affects in securing these distributions. I propose that certain forms of violence are prioritized because they carry more value in the international human rights market and because they are saturated with feeling and thus more likely to provoke emotional responses. I analyse three international human rights case studies (Amnesty International’s human rights reports; the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and the complaint procedure of the Committee Against Torture) to illustrate how affects and emotions sustain various discursive boundaries and help shape the ideas and subjects that constitute international human rights. Mapping affective and emotional arrangements can help us better understand how various hierarchies, including those related to class, sex, race, and colonialism are reinforced.