Human rights & the state in modern international relations現代國際關係中的人權與國家現代國際關係中的人權與國家

Dr. Titus C. Chen Dr. Titus C. Chen Assistant Research Fellow,Assistant Research Fellow,Institute of International Relations, Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Session II (03/05/2010) Agenda•John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance (1969)•Human rights news report•Weekly readings

▫What human rights?▫Whose human rights?▫Who decides human rights for others?▫Western heritage of human rights

What human rights?

•An expanding list of HR (Donnelly, IHR, p. 7)

•Categories of early HR▫The freedom of religion and opinion▫The right to life▫The right to private property

•Presented as natural rights•HR evolved from concrete human

experiences that stimulated political philosophies & actions

Two origins of modern HR (1)The modern state (a)

•Modern inter-state system in Europe▫Religious wars in 16th & 17th centuries▫The 1648 Westphalian system▫The prince as the territorial sovereign▫The absolutist monarchical state▫Religious freedom for the state, not

subjects▫Provision of religious asylum for dissenters

Two origins of modern HR (2)The modern state (b)

•Civil rights▫The freedom of religion▫The freedom of opinion▫The right to life

Two origins of modern HR (3) The modern market (a)

•Appearance of the Bourgeoisie▫The propertied class▫Financially independent to the sovereign

state▫Landed country gentry (agricultural)▫Urban residents with skills in trades

(merchant)

Two origins of modern HR (4)The modern market (b)

•Economic rights▫The right to private property▫The right to manage one’s property

Western heritage of modern HR (I)The Enlightenment legacy (a)•The era of Voltaire, John Locke, Jean-Jacque

Rousseau, Montesquieu, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, etc.

•Belief in reason & reasoning capacity as the defining characteristic of human beings

•Reason as the legitimate source of political authority

•From reason to secularism—decline of organized religion in politics

Western heritage of modern HR (I)The Enlightenment legacy (b)•Those who can reason and articulate

independently are rational, self-interested beings ▫They know what their interests and goals are▫They can find means to fulfill their own

interests and pursue their own goals▫They should be granted inalienable rights to

satisfy their interests and goals▫Men have natural rights to pursue “liberty,

health, liberty, or possession.”

Western heritage of modern HR (I)The Enlightenment legacy (c)•Classical liberalism

▫The origin of liberal democracy▫Social contract as the foundation of a polity▫A limited government

Western heritage of modern HR (I)The Enlightenment legacy (d)•Provisos of enjoying natural rights

▫Gender – are women rational beings?▫Race – are the “colored” a whole person?

Western heritage of modern HR (I)The Enlightenment legacy (e)•Provisos of holding political rights

▫Gender▫Race▫Financial independence - property▫Literacy - education▫Time - leisure

Western heritage of modern HR (II)The preeminent roles of the state (a)•State sovereignty as the dominant

principle of political organization in the modern international system that’s based on the norms of anarchy & non-intervention

•The prominence of the state as the precondition of modern HR development

Western heritage of modern HR (II)The preeminent roles of the state (b)•HR as a set of practices regulating

relations btw. the state and its citizens/subjects

•The state as the predominant provider and guarantor of HR

•The state perpetrated the most egregious HR violations

•Citizens/subjects had to deal mainly with the state/state agents to realize their HR

Western heritage of modern HR (II)The preeminent roles of the state (c)•This Western idea influenced even non-

Western HR development—STATE-LED protection of HR

•Changed understanding of the place of individuals in international relations

Western heritage of modern HR (II)The preeminent roles of the state (d)•Juridical tendency of the state (i)

▫From religious/cultural/racial/ethnic ▫Through territorial▫To juridical sense of the state sovereignty

and the citizenship▫Law-based definition of citizenship and HR

protection for citizens▫Law in both senses of natural law and

positive law

Western heritage of modern HR (II)The preeminent roles of the state (d)•Juridical tendency of the state (ii)

▫Provision and protection of HR is mostly formalized into law/binding regulations through legislative/rule-making processes

▫Advocacy for HR by citizens usually aim at enactment of certain legislation

▫Preeminence of law, legal institutions, and lawyers in HR protection

Western heritage of modern HR (III)•Implications

▫Do Western elements of HR make it less universal?

▫Does the Western heritage make HR less appealing/applicable to the rest of the world?

3 models of implementing HR (1)The Statist model•State-centered & only the state•HR as a matter of sovereign national

jurisdiction•HR as a matter of purely domestic nature•Applying the norm of non-intervention•Resist international/foreign intervention•It’s an international system

3 models of implementing HR (2)The Cosmopolitan model•Individuals & social groups as the

legitimate international actors•The state is to fulfill HR as demanded by

citizens, NGOs, and international advocacy groups

•HR issues are not stopped at state borders

•Advocate for international intervention•It’s a global/world society

3 models of implementing HR (3)The Internationalist model•Transnational HR advocacy is permissible

only to the extent that is authorized by international law, which are formulated by states

•Emphasis on multilateral/bilateral negotiations and rule-based deliberation among states

•It’s an international society

Realist skepticism of HR

•Realism is couched on the belief of the self-interested or interest-based human nature

•Realism suggests that states pursue the maximization of national interests, measured in terms of power and security

•Realism understands HR as moral principles and argues against the idea of promoting HR by foreign policy

Have a great weekend!

•Bob Dylan, The Times They are a-changin’ (1964)