About us
Recognised by the Norwegian Research Council for its World Class Status, the Rights, Accountability and Power in Development (RAPID) research group is an arena for exploring theory, policy, and practice within the themes of the group, with the aim of advancing new knowledge that can be utilised in our research, teaching and publications.
Thematic areas
RAPID draws on various conceptualisations of rights and their bearing on development theory and practice. We are supportive of a rights-based approach to development that is equally concerned with civil and political rights (e.g. the right to a trial, not to be tortured), as well as with economic, social and cultural rights (the right to food, housing, a job). Human rights accountability and its use in development planning and processes are also central in this approach. However, RAPID encourages a broad view of rights, and strives for including diverse normative or non-normative interpretations from:
- Gender Rights
- Marginalized and Indigenous Peoples Rights
- Labour Rights
- Water Rights and Governance
- River and Nature Rights
- Land Rights and Study of the Impacts of Land Acquisitions
- Environmental Politics and Rights to Resources
- Conflict and Strategies for Resolution
- Legal Pluralism
- Energy and Extractive Politics
Our analytical and epistemological approaches recognize that competing political structures, discourses, ideologies, systems of knowledge, and practices influence how rights gain, maintain and lose meaning and power. This is why we draw on analyses of accountability and power struggles in order to understand rights and their bearing on development. RAPID is an inter-disciplinary research group, drawing on a diversity of backgrounds that include anthropology, human geography, sociology, political science, economy, and development studies.
Empowered Futures Research School
Knowledge and competence on energy transitions transcends technological innovation. Energy developments divide opinion and generate controversy. Recognizing the social and political nature of power, Empowered Futures is a research school providing research-based competence on conflict mediation, equitable policy and development frameworks to achieve just energy transition.
News and events
With funding from the Research Council of Norway, RAPID arranges the seminar series: Rethinking Rights and Resources for the Green Transformation. These seminars, along with other RAPID news, are listed here.