Critical Geographies of Human Rights and the Spatial Dimensions of International Law Violations in Rakhine State, Myanmar

Abstract

The term critical geographies of human rights refers to the idea that law, society, geography, and injustice are mutually constitutive. This article proposes one possible theoretical framework for analyzing critical geographies of human rights, drawing from scholarship in critical human geography, sociolegal studies, and public international law. The article uses a case study regarding the Rohingya population of Myanmar to analyze how this theoretical approach works in practice, asking how narratives about the term Rohingya are built into, and reinforced by, legal definitions of belonging, exclusion, and citizenship. It argues that the situation of the Rohingya illustrates the international legal dimensions of material injustice while showing how human rights discourse is part of ongoing geopolitical dynamics. Examining the situation of the Rohingya thus provides a way to understand how critical geographies of human rights can be used to analyze the relationship between law, geography, and injustice. Key Words: citizenship, human rights, legal geography, Myanmar, sociolegal studies.