Call for abstracts

JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE SOCIAL WORK (JCSW), special issue (2027-2)
Humanization of Social Work and Civic Engagement

Guest editors contact information:

Dr. Benjamin Bunk (University of Wuppertal & University of Giessen, Germany) benjamin.bunk@erziehung.uni-giessen.de

Dr. Janestic Mwende Twikirize (Makerere University, Uganda)
janestic.twikirize@mak.ac.ug

Dr. Emil Albert Sobottka (Pontíficia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
esobottka@pucrs.br

Aims and scope
Human rights are a foundational as well as contested point of reference for social work. They are programmatically embedded in the global definition and statement of ethical principles of professional social work – besides social justice, collective responsibility, and respect for diversity. Referring to the legitimacy of international human rights catalogues can provide an authoritative resource for social work locally. At the same time, such legal and political norms intersect with local cultures and even conflict with pedagogical traditions.

Parting from the thesis of an increasing reference to human rights globally, this “humanrightization” is an ambivalent process, entangled with feelings of (in)justice, sometimes in tension with diverse pedagogical ethics, and becoming plausible only in relation to other ideas like humanitarianism or the mutual recognition of dignity. Advancing human rights is therefore not unanimously hailed in international social work. At the same time, "we" are currently experiencing a time of political disruption and social change. The idea of subjective, fundamental, and universal human rights for all is crucially contested (as well as the United Nations as such), while inequality is ever-increasing. This might not be experienced simultaneously and in the same way in varying local contexts.

The aim of this special issue is to examine the advance - or regression, of human rights references (a process which we call: “humanrightization”) within the field of social work from a comparative perspective, and thus discuss empirically and theoretically its conditions, forms, and tensions. We adopt a broad conception of “social work” as empirical field or institutional setting, comprising state services and public policies, charity and social change organizations, social movements, and other forms of civic engagement. However, our main focus is on discourses and everyday practices. We are also interested in studies regarding the adversaries of human rights in relation to social work, welfare, and development.

By calling for a critical analysis of the tensions, paradoxes, ambivalences, and ambiguities of human rights references in social work discourses and professional practices, the goal is to move beyond academic debates on the legitimacy of human rights, its postcolonial deconstruction, and description of current contestations. Committed to the idea of human rights, we want to understand the process of humanrightization.

 Possible Questions
The local appropriation of egalitarian values, or universal claims of justice, and a human rights consciousness is rather an empirical question, but can also be approached theoretically. Possible questions include:

• When are human rights invoked, or how are they referred to in the field of social work? Why do people sometimes reject human rights references in the field of social work?
• In what way are human rights related to other norms such as human dignity, social justice, collective responsibility, and respect for diversity?
• To what extent do individual human rights contradict collective rights (values)? What are the tensions and paradoxes between human rights and traditional notions of justice and other ideas of well-being?
• Why and under what conditions do human rights become relevant in social work discourse and practice?
• To what extent do the current political transformations (which feel like a backlash for human rights) actually lead to a reaffirmation of egalitarian values, the politicization of human dignity, and an increasing relevance of social justice claims?
• Can a discernible shift towards other semantics (meanings) of justice in social work currently be observed (e.g., freedom, dignity, merit)?
• Universal human rights for whom in an unequal world? Which rights, and whose rights, really matter? Do we all enjoy the same human rights equally?
• How do economic, social, and cultural rights contradict identity politics?

Humanrigthization is not merely about politically implementing and campaigning human rights as some kind of legal norm for social work. Empirically, from a biographical or pragmatist perspective, the commitment to such a value system is a complex endeavor for professionals and activists, but also for users of social work services alike. On the other side, social work is situated within a specific historical and political context, where human rights stand in opposition to authoritarian, racist, libertarian, and imperialist developments. Thus, examining the advancement, stagnation, or regression of human rights references is also a heuristic to address the relationship(s) of social work, its principles and ethics, towards broader political disruptions and social transformations. 

Submission guidelines and time frame
Authors are invited to submit abstracts of up to 350 words (excluding references), with the provisional title, five key words, and a brief CV or bio note (including relevant publications, if any). Abstracts should be submitted till the 30st of May 2026 to: benjamin.bunk@erziehung.uni-giessen.de 

After selection and invitation (June), we expect the full-length articles of up to 8000 words (~ 55.000 characters; incl. spaces) by the end of November 2026. The quality of contributions will be ensured by a double-blind review process.

We explicitly welcome interdisciplinary contributions from social work, educational science, and social and cultural sciences.

For further author guidelines: https://journals.uis.no/index.php/JCSW/about/submissions