Labor in Hard Times examines how organized labor in Turkey and the United Kingdom turned to international human rights law in response to domestic repression and neoliberal restructuring. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and a unique database of labor rights cases, the book traces how workers used litigation at the European Court of Human Rights not just to win legal victories, but to build political pressure, assert legitimacy, and reclaim space for collective action. Focusing on public sector unionists in Turkey and blacklisted construction workers in the UK, it offers a rare view of how grassroots activists and lawyers mobilized international law as a tactical resource: Workers engaged rights discourse strategically to pursue concrete goals, while remaining rooted in class-based solidarity. With vivid case studies, this book speaks to readers interested in international courts, human rights, and the evolving strategies of labor movements in an era of democratic backsliding and global inequality.
| ISBN: | 9781009732376 |
| Publication date: | 12th March 2026 |
| Author: | Filiz Kahraman |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 304 pages |
| Series: | Cambridge Studies in Law and Society |
| Genres: |
Human rights, civil rights Trade unions International law: courts and procedures Employment and labour law: general Law and society, sociology of law |
Labor in Hard Times examines how organized labor in Turkey and the United Kingdom turned to international human rights law in response to domestic repression and neoliberal restructuring. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and a unique database of labor rights cases, the book traces how workers used litigation at the European Court of Human Rights not just to win legal victories, but to build political pressure, assert legitimacy, and reclaim space for collective action. Focusing on public sector unionists in Turkey and blacklisted construction workers in the UK, it offers a rare view of how grassroots activists and lawyers mobilized international law as a tactical resource: Workers engaged rights discourse strategically to pursue concrete goals, while remaining rooted in class-based solidarity. With vivid case studies, this book speaks to readers interested in international courts, human rights, and the evolving strategies of labor movements in an era of democratic backsliding and global inequality.
Labor in Hard Times features in the following genres: Human rights, civil rights, Trade unions, International law: courts and procedures, Employment and labour law: general, Law and society, sociology of law
Labor in Hard Times is available in Paperback, Hardback
Labor in Hard Times was written by Filiz Kahraman and published by Cambridge University Press
Labor in Hard Times has 304 pages
Yes it is part of Cambridge Studies in Law and Society series
£24.29