Championing Human Rights Close to Home and Far Away: Human Rights Education in the Light of National Identity Construction and Foreign Policy in Norway

Human rights education (HRE) has been recognised in international educational discourses as a sustainable practice to develop active citizenship and protect human dignity. However, such education has not been fully explored in a broader political context. In addition to contributing to empowering citizens to resist human rights violations, HRE plays several roles in society, contributing to both national identity and international image-building. The article explores possible relations between national identity construction, foreign policy and HRE in Norway through the following research question: "What interplay occurs between Norwegian foreign policy and national identity in relation to human rights, and, within this context, what is the role of HRE?" The article presents a qualitative analysis of Norwegian policy documents and reports, arguing that HRE is a component of Norwegian national identity as well as political currency in foreign relations.