Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Working From Within: Observations Of Non-Governmental Efforts To Decrease Social Marginalization In Buenos Aires, Elisabeth Tilstra

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

This essay is a modification of an excerpt from the senior thesis written for the Chancellor’s Honors Program at The University of Tennessee. The complete project—titled “Bringing the Outside In: An Examination of Non-Governmental Aid Organizations in Buenos Aires”—first examines the political and economic history of Argentina as a context from which to understand the current stage of actors in the social sector. Then, drawing from my fieldwork in the slums surrounding urban Buenos Aires, it introduces the twelve organizations I studied that work with issues of poverty and development, exploring organizational elements that aid or limit a nonprofit’s efficacy. …

The Impact Of Water On Girls' Formal Education: A Study Of Kenyan Secondary Schools, Jennifer Emick

Master's Theses

This study applies a human rights lens to view how the lack of access to potable water in Kenya’s rural areas impacts girls’ education. This research is intended to serve as a baseline for iteration and expansion, with the long-term goal of developing a greater understanding of the ways in which water development projects and the smarter provision of basic resources can be used as strategies for achieving gender equality in both education and civic participation.

Migration And Disaster-Induced Displacement: European Policy, Practice, And Perspective, Michael D. Cooper

Michael D. Cooper, Esq.

Over the last decade, a series of devastating natural disasters have killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions, and decimated the built environment across wide regions, shocking the public imagination and garnering unprecedented financial support for humanitarian relief efforts. Some suggest that disaster migration must be supported by the international community, first as an adaption strategy in response to climate-change, and second, as a matter of international protection. This study surveys the current state of law as it relates to persons displaced by natural disaster, with a specific focus on the 27 member states of the European Union plus …

Olympism, Ethics And The Rio 2016 Olympic Games Preparations: An Ethical Analysis, Dana Poeta

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Olympism is the underlying philosophy of the modern Olympic Games. It provides the ethical foundation of the Olympic Movement. This thesis defends the maintenance of human rights as essential for the achievement of Olympism. The problem investigated and evaluated in this thesis is the preparation for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. A critical analysis and account of the ethical demeanor in regard to the actualization of Olympism is provided. By comparing relevant current issues with past Olympic Games, the recurring problems in achieving Olympism are identified. The conclusion emphasizing the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) responsibility for ensuring that Olympism, …

Radiography To The Chilean Human Rights Institution: Between Law And Politics, Sergio Verdugo Sverdugor@Udd.Cl, José Francisco Garía

Sergio Verdugo R.

The article examines the fundamental recommendations for the national human rights institutions (NHRI) to function with proper autonomy against the state and, also, against NGOs that try to capture the commission´s agenda. The authors analyse the institutional design of the Chilean Human Rights Institution (INDH) and evaluates the profile and the nomination process of its membership. The paper provides evidence that demonstrates that the INDH´s research agenda is associated with a partial political view. Then, the authors suggest certain changes to strengthen the independence of the INDH.

Understnading Women's Issues A Feminist Standpoint By Shahida Murtaza, Professor Vibhuti Patel

Professor Vibhuti Patel

In the 19th century, the male social reformers with the blessing of the British administrators, influenced by western liberal democratic values initiated the process of fight against female infanticide, widow-burning, segregation of women from the public life, prostitution and begging by the destitute women. They also organised public functions for widow-remarriages. As a result, their relatives, neighbours, community leaders and the organised religion boycotted them. In a way, it was a blessing in disguise because their isolation from petty politics gave them ample time and resources to interact with the power-structures to bring about legal reforms and establish educational institutions, …

International Security, Development, And Human Rights: Policy Conversion Or Conflict?, Miao-Ling Lin Hasenkamp

Journal of International and Global Studies

This article uses an institutional network governance approach to explore the overlapping dimension of the policy fields between security, development, and human rights, reflected in the US and German provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan. The past two decades have witnessed a gradually changing paradigm in academic and policy debates regarding the questions of the normative basis of world order and possibilities for tackling imminent threats to security and peace (i.e. intra-state armed conflicts, failed states, terrorism, poverty, and deepening inequality). The introduction of concepts such as “human security” and “the right to humanitarian intervention/responsibility to protect (R2P)” as well …

A Blessing In Disguise? Ghana's Potential To Overcome Nigeria's 'Oil Curse' And Develop A Successful Model For Oil Production Within A Human Rights Framework, Samantha N. Kerr

Senior Theses and Projects

Although Africa possesses rich natural resources, the Afro-pessimistic conception that African countries cannot manage their resources remains widespread. This research project provides a comparative analysis between the political and economic histories of Ghana and Nigeria following independence. In addition to focusing on these countries’ post-independent histories, this thesis examines the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) of the early 1990s in Nigeria as an effective civil society organization that vocalized the Nigerian government and Shell Petroleum Corporation’ corruption in the oil industry. Additionally, this research project explores Ghana’s potential to overcome Nigeria’s “negative” experience with oil due …

Human Rights And U.S. Foreign Policy In The Multilateral Development Banks, Daniel Braaten

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Promoting human rights is an important foreign policy goal for the United States. There are many foreign policy areas through which the U.S. promotes human rights including voting against countries which violate human rights in the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). Promoting human rights, however, is not the only foreign policy goal of the U.S. in the MDBs. The U.S. also seeks strategic goals such as supporting allies and promoting domestic economic prosperity as well in the MDBs. Realist international relations theory posits that strategic interests will trump promoting human rights in the MDBs. For the U.S. however liberal international relations …

Challenges In Localizing Global Human Rights, Ranita Ray, Badana Purkayastha

Societies Without Borders

Drawing from ethnographic and historical data combined with document analysis, this article addresses two issues related to the mechanisms involved in localizing global human rights ideas: 1) the disharmony that may results when global ideas are concretized in the form of domestic laws and come in conflict with the ever shifting local rights consciousness and 2) the role of habitus in determining how human rights advocates respond to changing local rights consciousness. By examining the ways in which violence against women is addressed by a human rights commission in an Indian state, the disjuncture between local appropriations of global human …

The Failures And Possibilities Of A Human Rights Approach To Secure Native American Women’S Reproductive Justice, Barbara Gurr

Societies Without Borders

This article has three purposes: the first is to bring to light current violations of Native American women’s basic right to health as these violations are produced by the federal government and imposed through the Indian Health Service. The second is to articulate the challenges of current human rights discourse in articulating and providing for Native Americans’ human rights within the United States. Third, this article offers a potential strategy for understanding and redressing the violation of Native women’s right to health through the rubric of reproductive justice. Drawing from over ten years of participant observation as well as semi-structured …

Indirect Violence And Legitimation: Torture, Surrogacy, And The U.S. War On Terror, Eric Bonds

Societies Without Borders

This paper contributes to the sociological study of legitimation, specifically focusing on the state legitimation of torture and other forms of violence that violate international normative standards. While sociologists have identified important discursive techniques of legitimation, this paper suggests that researchers should also look at state practices where concerns regarding legitimacy are “built in” to the very practice of certain forms of violence. Specifically, the paper focuses on surrogacy, through which powerful states may direct or benefit from the violence carried out by client states or other armed groups while at the same time attempting to appear separate from and …

“American Exceptionalism”—On What End Of The Continuum?, Assem Hasnain, Josh King, Judith Blau

Societies Without Borders

This paper draws from global understandings about Human Rights, recasting them in terms of a sociological conception of the dimensions of a Decent Society. We pose our questions within the framework of American Exceptionalism, because the assumptions that underlie that term have never been empirically examined. Can we conclude on the basis of this analysis that America, when compared with other countries, advances human rights? No. Can we conclude on the basis of this analysis that America, when compared with other countries, is a Decent Society? No. Can we conclude on the basis of this empirical analysis that America, when …

What Does A Sociology Without Borders Look Like?, Tanya Golash-Boza

Societies Without Borders

In this essay, I consider what a sociology without borders would look like through an exploration of two questions: 1) How can sociology be mobilized to make the world a better place? and 2) What does a sociology of human rights look like? To answer these questions, I take the reader through a discussion of the history of Sociologists without Borders, the influence of Professor Judith Blau, and my own excursions into the sociology of human rights in the United States and abroad.

To Be A Sociologist Without Borders, Judith Blau, Keri E. Iyall Smith

Societies Without Borders

In a conversation with Keri E. Iyall Smith, Judith R. Blau shares her thoughts on the early days of Sociologists Without Borders/Sociólogos Sin Fronteras (SSF). She explains the impetus for the organization and some of its early victories. She then describes her work today with the Human Rights Center (HRC), where members of Carrboro and Chapel Hill are working together to live the dream of human rights.

Of Tools And Houses: Sociologists Without Borders And The Aaas Science And Human Rights Coalition, Bruce K. Friesen, Mark Frezzo, Brian K. Gran

Societies Without Borders

Sociologists Without Borders (SSF) has played a key role in the Science and Human Rights Coalition (SHRC) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This Coalition, which consists of nearly fifty scientific organizations, seeks to advance the human right to benefit from scientific progress and its application. This article critically evaluates SSF’s role in the SHRC. After providing background on the work, organization, and objectives of the Coalition, this article then elaborates on how sociologists, particularly representatives of the American Sociological Association and SSF, have collaborated with other scientists on various projects designed to implement this human right. …

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration: Pertaining To Public Safety And Homeland Security, Benjamin Martin Ogden

Master in Management for Public Safety and Homeland Security Professionals Master's Projects

Despite the efforts of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Government, Armed Forces, and other law enforcement agencies, illegal drug uses continues to be a major issue. The direct connection between illicit drugs and terrorism, specifically in Afghanistan, poses a major threat to America along with the effects these drugs have on public health. In order to continue to successfully counter illegal drug trafficking and abuse in the United States it is essential to bolster numerous aspects of the Drug Enforcement Administration its efforts. This includes management, public-private partnerships, and critical infrastructure protection. It is also necessary for …

Human Rights And Illicit Trade In Cultural Objects, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Movable cultural heritage is not bounded nor shielded by national territorial borders. Applicable domestic laws are of limited import without the cooperation of other states and the international community. Despite a century of domestic legal protection of movable cultural heritage in many states, widespread non-compliance and lack of enforcement has been the norm rather than the exception. However, the tide is turning. States formerly reluctant to ratify cultural heritage treaties have done so, signalling their acceptance of the importance of multilateral action in this field. Enforcement of such laws is viewed as part of the reinforcement of good governance, rule …

Comentario A “Las Cosas Cambian Cuando Les Pones Un ‘Tú’: Sobre Universalismo, Focalización Y Regresividad”, De Fernando Atria, Sergio Verdugo Sverdugor@Udd.Cl

Sergio Verdugo R.

Se argumenta que el trabajo del profesor Atria sigue una perspectiva parcial que es insuficiente para tomar determinaciones concretas y que confunde elementos relevantes que debieran distinguirse. Su trabajo se centra en la educación superior, pero no diferencia las particularidades de esta última ni los distintos bienes que ella está llamada a servir. Se cuestionan las ventajas de la universalidad y gratuidad en el sistema de educación terciaria y se constata que las ideas del profesor Atria responden a una amplia política redistributiva y social ideológicamente comprometida.

Radiografía Al Sistema Interamericano De Dd.Hh., Sergio Verdugo Sverdugor@Udd.Cl, José Francisco García

Sergio Verdugo R.

Se realiza un análisis crítico al sistema interamericano de DD.HH. Se examina el diseño institucional y los equilibrios políticos existentes al interior de las instituciones más importantes de dicho sistema: la Comisión y la Corte Interamericanas. Se aporta evidencia acerca del funcionamiento de dichas instituciones y se constatan bajos niveles de accountability y de independencia de los jueces.

The Political Implications Of Natural Disasters, Leah Cathryn Windsor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When natural disasters like floods or droughts happen, people experience their wrath, losing lives, livelihoods, homes and security. Natural disasters disrupt the status quo, and create social, humanitarian and political needs. In most cases, people turn to their governments to provide for these needs. However, governments vary widely in their ability and willingness to provide for these needs. Citizens evaluate the outcomes of the government's actions in response to their needs arising from the effects of the natural disaster. Much work on the effects of natural disasters has been undertaken by civil war scholars. This project uniquely contributes to our …

Conflictual Foreign Policy Of The United States: Between Security And Human Rights, Chelsea K. Layman

CMC Senior Theses

The United States prioritizes human rights rhetorically but not in practice. As a result, United States policy is disjointed and conflictual between human rights and security. The result is an inconsistency in foreign policy. There have been examples of this throughout United States history such as in El Salvador, Indonesia, and Bahrain.

This thesis explored the three cases in depth by 1) providing background information and a summary of human rights violations in order to provide context for the analysis, 2) listing and explaining the reasons why the United States prioritized security, and 3) analyzing when human rights are absent …

The Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights Of Young People In India: A Review Of The Situation, K.G. Santhya, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This paper summarizes the sexual and reproductive health situation of young people in India, sheds light on those sub-populations of young people who are most vulnerable to adverse sexual and reproductive outcomes, and assesses the barriers that compromise the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people at the individual and family levels, as well as at the health system level.

Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections Of Race And Class For Women In Academia -- Introduction, Carmen G. Gonzalez, Angela P. Harris

Carmen G. Gonzalez

Presumed Incompetent is a pathbreaking account of the intersecting roles of race, gender, and class in the working lives of women faculty of color. Through personal narratives and qualitative empirical studies, more than 40 authors expose the daunting challenges faced by academic women of color as they navigate the often hostile terrain of higher education, including hiring, promotion, tenure, and relations with students, colleagues, and administrators. One of the topics addressed is the importance of forging supportive networks to transform the workplace and create a more hospitable environment for traditionally subordinated groups. The narratives are filled with wit, wisdom, and …

Enforcing Restitution Of Cultural Heritage Through Peace Agreements, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Peace agreements have been an important source of international law in modern times. They have been especially important in the earliest formulations of the international and regional protection of cultural heritage. The significance of this source of international law making and its enforcement has become more pronounced with the exponential proliferation of peace processes and resultant agreements since the end of the Cold War. It is argued that how cultural heritage (and cultural rights) is historically dealt with in peace agreements falls broadly into three discernible categories: (1) restitution and restoration of cultural heritage as reparations between existing states, post …