Law Commons^™

The End(S) Of The State(?), Daniel J. Whelan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Last February, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote an op-ed that anticipated Klein’s article, in part. In his view, the Bush administration has been engaged in an effort to “Green-Zone” the United States government by gutting the professional civil service—dubbed as “the enemy” by the American Enterprise Institute—and replacing its ranks with political appointees who have little interest or experience in running a state, but quite a bit of interest in enriching the private sector with public largesse. Klein’s “Disaster Capitalism” takes Krugman’s theme and pumps up the volume ten-fold.

Seeking The Final Court Of Justice: The European Court Of Human Rights And Accountability For State Violence In Northern Ireland, Christopher K. Connolly

San Diego International Law Journal

This article examines the impact of the European Court's right to life jurisprudence on the issue of accountability for state violence in Northern Ireland. To date, the initiatives undertaken by the United Kingdom to comply with the European Court's rulings are largely unsatisfactory. Piecemeal institutional reforms aimed at preventing future breaches of Article 2 have failed to fully address the underlying concerns identified by the Court, and domestic right to life jurisprudence has placed significant limitations on the extent to which past violations of the right to life can be dealt with effectively in British courts. The United Kingdom's response …

If It Were Only That Simple, Katherine Gockel

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Reading “Disaster Capitalism,” one would think that the current dire situation in Iraq and the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina are all because of an emphasis on “small” government, privatization, and partnerships with the business sector. If only it were that simple.

The Personal Side Of Disaster Capitalism, Susan Waltz

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Two weeks ago a tornado ripped through my small hometown in rural Michigan (population 3,500), unexpectedly providing fresh perspective on the phenomenon Naomi Klein has called “Disaster Capitalism.” While I was writing this commentary, work crews were out with chainsaws and chippers, cutting up the remains of fallen trees and clearing mountains of debris from roads and sidewalks.

Marten Zwanenburg On Un Peacekeeping In Lebanon, Somalia And Kosovo: Operational And Legal Issues In Practice By Ray Murphy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 392 Pp., Marten Zwanenburg

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

UN Peacekeeping in Lebanon, Somalia and Kosovo: Operational and Legal Issues in Practice by Ray Murphy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 392 pp.

Debra L. Delaet On War Crimes And Genocide, Debra L. Delaet

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Why Not Kill Them All? The Logic and Prevention of Mass Political Murder by Daniel Chirot and Clark McCauley. Princeton University Press, 2006. 288 pp.

and

The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda by Scott Straus. Cornell University Press, 2006. 273 pp.

and

The Witnesses: War Crimes and the Promise of Justice in the Hague by Eric Stover. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. 252 pp.

November Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Disaster Capitalism: The New Economy of Catastrophe” by Naomi Klein. Harper’s. October 2007.

American Capitalism - Disasterous Consequences?, Richard Falk

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Naomi Klein’s depiction of late-capitalism as feeding off a disaster-prone planet and state-system is provocative and illuminating, even if it seems to be itself a form of “shock and awe” journalism. The great cultural critic of the 1960s, Norman O. Brown, memorably said of psychoanalysis, “[o]nly the exaggerations are valuable,” and so it might be with this critique of the dark sides of recent tendencies in world economic activity. It is notable that the book version of Klein’s article bears the title The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, which itself can be read as a sly admission that …

A Democratic Disaster, Michael Goodhart

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Naomi Klein’s “Disaster Capitalism” paints a grim and compelling portrait of an emerging American dystopia: Large corporations making huge profits on non-bid contracts to handle the government’s response to natural and political disasters (like Katrina and Iraq). She envisions “a collective future of disaster apartheid, in which survival is determined primarily by one’s ability to pay.” The catalogue of outrages Klein supplies is enough to make even the local chamber of commerce president blush. Yet as I read her piece, I found myself angry not so much with the corporations as with my fellow citizens. How can we allow this …

Us Policy On Small Arms Transfers: A Human Rights Perspective, Susan Waltz

Human Rights & Human Welfare

From Somalia and Afghanistan to Bosnia, Haiti, Colombia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Congo, small arms and light weapons were a common feature of the human rights calamities of the 1990’s.

© Susan Waltz. All rights reserved.*

*A shorter version of this paper is published as “U.S. Small Arms Policy: Having It Both Ways,” in the Summer 2007 issue of World Policy Journal.

This paper may be freely circulated in electronic or hard copy provided it is not modified in any way, the rights of the author not infringed, and the paper is not quoted or cited without express permission …

Eric K. Leonard On Atrocity, Punishment, And International Law By Mark A. Drumbl. New York, Cambridge University Press, 2007. 316 Pp., Eric K. Leonard

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law by Mark A. Drumbl. New York, Cambridge University Press, 2007. 316 pp.

"I'Ll Try Anything Once": Using The Conceptual Framework Of Children's Human Rights Norms In The United States, Bernardine Dohrn

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

International human rights law provides norms, concepts, and standards of immediate and practical value to attorneys for court-involved children in the United States. The conceptual framework of the comprehensive rights of the child is broadly congruent with, or closely related to, the strongest aspects of US. constitutional law and practice. The expansive language of children's human rights offers an historic opportunity: new tools and a more comprehensive context in which to change how we think about young people in conflict with the law, children in state custody, and children in related legal settings. The challenge is to use these fresh …

The Eighteenth Birthday Of The Convention Of Rights Of The Child: Achievements And Challenges, Jaap E. Doek

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Although the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child has produced positive results in many countries, the United States remains one of the few nations that has not signed on to this treaty. This Essay will begin by describing the content of the treaty. This Essay will discuss the achievements, challenges, and solutions resulting from the treaty in the areas of child poverty, violence against children, and child labour. Given the positive results produced in other countries, this Essay will conclude with an invitation to the United States to join the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Allen Keiswetter On Women In The Middle East: Past And Present By Nikki R. Keddie. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. 416pp., Allen Keiswetter

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Women in the Middle East: Past and Present by Nikki R. Keddie. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006. 416pp.

Moral Relativism And Human Rights, Torben Spaak

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Responsibility For Extraterritorial Human Rights Violations, Damira Kamchibekova

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

International Adoption: Thoughts On The Human Rights Issues, Elizabeth Bartholet

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lipstick On A Caterpillar? Assessing The New U.N. Human Rights Council Through Historical Reflection, Balakrishnan Rajagopal

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

How Japan's Recent Efforts To Reduce Sex Trafficking Can Be Improved Through International Human Rights Enforcement Mechanisms: Fulfilling Japan's Global Legal Obligations, Kerry E. Yun

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Kurds In Turkey: Eu Accession And Human Rights, Khurram Khan

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

Book review of Kerim Yildiz's The Kurds in Turkey: EU Accession and Human Rights

Race Against Time, Sarah Feor

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

Book review of Stephen Lewis' Race Against Time

Human Rights In China And The Rule Of Law, Xu Wenli

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

September Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness” by Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian. The Nation, July 30, 2007.

Problematic Issues Concerning The Freedom Of Association And Group/Collective Rights In The Republic Of Armenia, Shavarsh Khachatryan

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Globalization Of Human Rights And The Socialization Of Human Rights Norms, Christopher Marsh, Daniel P. Payne

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Time For A Treaty? The Legal Sufficiency Of The Declaration On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Intolerance And Discrimination, Carolyn Evans

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tolerance And Religious Freedom: The Struggle In Peru To Tolerate Multiple Cultures In Light Of Principles Of Religious Freedom, Carlos Valderrama Adriansen

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Who Intervenes And Why It Matters: The Problem Of Agency In Humanitarian Intervention, Eric A. Heinze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The debate over humanitarian intervention has tended to focus on the conditions under which the resort to armed intervention is permissible while paying less attention to which actors are best suited to engage in such a complicated and demanding undertaking. The purpose of this paper is to explore characteristics that affect the ability of potential agents of humanitarian intervention to effectively undertake this operationally and politically demanding task. While the military wherewithal of the intervener is fundamental, I argue that a potential intervener’s legitimacy as an agent or enforcer of humanitarian norms is also crucial in determining whether and the …

Law In Times Of War: The Case Of Chechnya, Federico Sperotto

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In October 1999 “the second Chechen war” broke out. In December the Russian federal army started an operation to take control of Grozny. During the confrontation between the Federal forces and the Chechen separatists, serious human rights violations occurred. Several cases concerning violations of fundamental rights, in and around the city, have been brought before the European Court of Human Rights against Russia. The lawsuits concerned in particular physical integrity issues. This study provides some insights on the jurisprudence of the European Court on Human Rights in order to ascertain the adequacy of the mechanism of protection provided by the …

The Law Of International Disaster Response: Overview And Ramifications For Military Actors, David Fisher

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.