Civilizing Disability Society

Investigates the tensions caused by the CRDP as grassroots disability associations attempt to address their local members' needs.

This book investigates the ways in which the civil society provisions in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is used to civilize grassroots disability associations in Nicaragua by changing them from local mutual support and service providers into rights advocates organizations that fit a global model.The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is increasingly used to civilize grassroots disabled persons' organizations (DPOs) around the world. The international disability rights movement actively promotes the CRPD's key norm that disabled persons mobilize in support of their rights under the Convention. The unintended consequence of these activities, however, is that local groups focused on social support and service provision, rather than disability-rights advocacy, are targeted for change. While the resources provided by international actors to grassroots organizations provide new opportunities, they also create barriers to local groups' ability to promote full civic participation of their members in the local community. Through a detailed account of grassroots DPOs in Nicaragua, Civilizing Disability Society demonstrates how local organizations navigate pressures from abroad as they attempt to concretely address the health, education and economic needs of their members at home.