Contemporary
Critiques of Human
Rights
Chapter 7
Four Schools of Thought
The distinction between these schools lies on two axes: (1) individual or
collective, (2) language based or transcendental
Liberal-Individualist
Natural Rights School – rights are a given, derived from reason or God; Rights are
universal, inherent in each individual
Deliberative School – rights are agreed upon, a vehicle for expressing entitlements
and obligations; through deliberation we develop agreed upon principles from
which rights are realized; rights are not absolute, rather expressed through law
Collectivist (Group Emphasis)
Protest School- rights are something fought for, action to redress injustice; rights as
based in struggle
Discourse School- rights are “talked about,” i.e. they are language for expressing
claims
Historical Recognitions of Rights
Code of Hammurabi (1754 BC)
Law of 12 Tables (12 Bronze Tablets)
Magna Carta (1215)
• Significant contributions:
• Sovereign is subject to the law
• Right to a fair trial
• Restriction on cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail
• Rights regarding taxation
Historical Recognitions of Rights
The Legacy
of the Magna
Carta
Peace of
Westphalia
(1648)
• English Bill of Rights
• Supremacy of Parliament
• U.S. Bill of Rights
• Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen
• Recognition of limited religious rights
• Creation of nation states
• Principle of national sovereignty (non-intervention)
• Realism
Realism & Human Rights
Realists are skeptical: they believe the ‘diplomacy of human rights’
is just talk
Human rights are only important to the extent that they promote
the national interest of state actors
The assumption of universal morality hides the pursuit of narrow
selfish interests
Helps explain the prevalence of double standards in international
diplomacy
Liberalism & Human Rights
Human rights are an
extension of natural
and inalienable rights
States have a duty to
protect rights-if they
fail to do this their
sovereign status is in
question
The establishment of
global human rights
regime (United
Nations system) is
evidence of this role
Argue human rights
are playing an
increasingly
important role in
international relations
Aware of tensions
between notions of
sovereignty and
embedding universal
moral principles
Constructivism & Human Rights
Constructivism is a way of thinking about the relationship between
norms and interests
The important theoretical point here concerns the constitutive
nature of international political reality, specifically how states
create-and are created by- shared norms and values
The basis of human rights is the overlapping consensus that exists
among actors and institutions in international society
No necessary tension between the interests of sovereign states
and universal moral principles
Respect for humanity has an important effect on the forming of
state identity
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (1948)
Foundation of human rights law
Document draws from the liberal tradition
How does the declaration
challenge the principle of
national sovereignty?
No longer at mercy of own government or even
foreign entities, the new model recognizes law and
accountability
But states remain the mechanism by which human
rights are understood to take shape and develop
processes to ensure
Idea of sovereignty is weakened, but not displaced
Features of the Universal
Declaration Model
Based on idea of
human dignity
Creates
entitlements
Rights of
individuals
Interdependent
and indivisible
•Idea of respect or worthiness
•Specifies minimum conditions
•“Fuse moral vision with political practice”
•Help realize possibilities of human nature
•Idea of who holds rights: individuals make claims, not
groups
•“Whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
Features of the Universal
Declaration Model
•
Responsibility centers on state entities- “Statecentric”




Idea of state as violator or protector
Variations in resources and will
National implementation/coordination
Complex relationship between state sovereignty, power,
and norms
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
• Criticisms
 It fosters expectations of protection that are
unrealizable in reality
 Humanitarian atrocities are not always
preventable (or resolvable) by the application of
military power
 Facilitated a more flexible and positive
framework for military intervention
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
R2P brings together these internal and external
dimensions placing responsibility to uphold human
rights on states and the international community
Primary responsibility falls on the state, when state
neglects this responsibility, the international
community shares a collective responsibility to respond