Researcher Profile - Celestine Nyamu-Musembi
Dr. Celestine Nyamu-Musembi
Institute of Development Studies
University of Sussex
BRIGHTON BN1 9RE
Tel. 01273 872927 Fax. 01273 621202
Email: C.Nyamu@ids.ac.uk
Biography
Celestine Nyamu-Musembi is a fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex. She is a lawyer with inter-disciplinary training and experience in legal anthropology. Main areas of research interest & expertise include rights-based approaches to development, integrating participatory approaches into rights advocacy, access to justice at the local level, local implementation of international human rights standards, overlap between formal and informal legal regulation of land relations, gender equality in property relations and in governance reforms.
Projects
Project - Under what conditions does civil society political activism translate into positive change in political culture? Evidence from Kenya with lessons from Bangladesh and for Southern Sudan – part of 'Deepening Democracy in States and Localities' Research Programme
Summary - This proposed study seeks to understand why political activism by organized civil society in Kenya has not translated into deeper citizen engagement nor into strengthened government accountability, yet this has been the case in Bangladesh.
Latest Publications
Forthcoming: Nyamu-Musembi, C., (2006), From Protest to Proactive Action: Building Institutional Accountability Through Struggles for the Right to Housing in Peter Newell & Joanna Wheeler (eds.), Rights, Resources and the Politcs of Accountability, London: Zed Books
Nyamu-Musembi, C., (2006), 'Breathing Life into Dead Theories About Property Rights: de Soto and Rural Land Relations in Africa' in Birgit Englert & Deus Kibamba (eds.) Privatization, Gender and Land Rights in Eastern Africa
Nyamu-Musembi, C., (2005),‘For or Against Gender Equality? Evaluating Post-Cold War Rule of Law Reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa’ (UNRISD Discussion Paper # 7, 2005).
Nyamu-Musmbi, C. an Cornwall, A. (2004), Putting the ‘Rights-Based Approach to Development’ into Perspective, Third World Quarterly Vol.25(8)
