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@article{202530,
        author = {Dr. Umesh Chandra Sahoo and Dr. Kunjala Nag},
        title = {Redistributive Justice and Economic Empowerment: Discourses over the Right to Development across the Globe},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {12},
        pages = {8565-8576},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=202530},
        abstract = {The global development landscape continues to be shaped by deepening inequalities, systemic injustices, and uneven access to resources and opportunities. In this context, the discourse on redistributive justice and economic empowerment has gained renewed prominence, especially within the framework of the Right to Development (RtD). Declared by the United Nations in 1986, the RtD recognizes development as a fundamental human right, emphasizing the need for inclusive, participatory, and equitable progress across nations and populations. However, the practical realization of this right remains contested and fragmented, particularly between the Global North and Global South, where structural power imbalances continue to limit the global redistribution of wealth, technology, and opportunity. Drawing upon key theoretical paradigms—Rawlsian justice theory, Amartya Sen’s capability approach and postcolonial critiques of development—the study interrogates how the RtD has been both conceptualized and contested across diverse geopolitical contexts. This paper critically examines the evolving discourses around redistributive justice and economic empowerment as central mechanisms to achieve the Right to Development. It situates these concepts within international development theory, human rights law, and global political economy, highlighting how they are interpreted, implemented, and challenged across different geopolitical contexts. It also theorizes redistributive justice as a moral and political imperative that challenges the structural inequities of the global order. Through this lens, economic empowerment is not merely a function of market inclusion but a transformative process requiring equitable access to resources, participatory governance, and historical redress. Redistributive justice and economic empowerment must not be viewed as charity or policy options but as fundamental rights and obligations that underpin a fair and humane world. The discourse must now move beyond rhetorical commitments toward enforceable mechanisms, participatory governance, and transformative international cooperation that truly leave no one behind.},
        keywords = {Right to Development, Redistributive Justice, Postcolonial Theory, Neoliberalism and Global Governance.},
        month = {May},
        }