| ii Table of Contents ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. i Table of Contents .................................................................................................. ii Preface and Acknowledgments ............................................................................ x Declaration of Originality ................................................................................... xiii List of Tables and Figures.................................................................................. xiv List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................... xv Dedication ........................................................................................................... xix Chapter 1 1.1 ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS IN PERIL FOR WANT OF RESOURCES? ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM: UNPACKING ‘MAXIMUM AVAILABLE RESOURCES’ ......................................................................................................... 4 1.2.1 ‘Maximum available resources’: Why the concept requires further clarity.... 6 1.2.2 Defining ‘resources’ .................................................................................... 9 1.2.3 What resources are ‘available’ to the State? ............................................. 10 1.2.4 ‘Maximum’ of resources ............................................................................ 12 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ............................................................................. 14 1.3.1 Research questions .................................................................................. 16 1.3.2 Core thesis arguments.............................................................................. 17 1.4 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................ 18 1.4.1 Methodological approaches ...................................................................... 20 1.4.2 Data types and data analysis .................................................................... 22 1.4.3 Case studies............................................................................................. 26 1.4.3.1 Background to the case studies: The Maldives ................................... 28 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCHOLARSHIP..................................................................................................... 31 1.5.1 Identifying challenges to ESC rights realisation in a world of abundance .. 32 1.5.2 Bringing ESC rights to the forefront of State policy ................................... 35 1.5.3 Economics and policy dynamics of ‘maximum available resources’ .......... 37 1.5.4 ESC rights activism and advocacy: Enhancing policy accountability of the State .................................................................................................................. 40 1.6 THESIS STRUCTURE ..................................................................................... 42

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