International Law Commons^™

Hijacked Justice: Domestic Appropriation Of International Norms, Jelena Subotić

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This paper explores the domestic politics of international norm diffusion, using the global transmission of transitional justice norms as the empirical context of the research. Applying sociological institutionalism as the principal theoretical framework, I argue that the motivation of states to adopt international models of transitional justice has changed over time. The transitional justice norm - that posits that war crimes and massive human rights abuses must be dealt with in a proper legal setting and not through “victors’ justice” or impunity - was institutionalized in large part as the result of a strong domestic demand for transitional justice in …

Peggy J. Blair On Commercial Law And Human Rights Edited By Stephen Bottomley And David Kinley. Burlington, Vt: Ashgate, 2001. 356pp., Peggy J. Blair

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Commercial Law and Human Rights edited by Stephen Bottomley and David Kinley. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2001. 356pp.

Aaron Peron Ogletree On Indigenous Peoples In International Law (Second Edition) By S. James Anaya. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. 396pp., Aaron Peron Ogletree

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Indigenous Peoples In International Law (Second Edition) by S. James Anaya. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. 396pp.

Aiding Whom? Competing Explanations Of Middle-Power Foreign Aid Decisions, Bethany Barratt Phd

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Paper presented at International Studies Association annual meeting Honolulu, Hawaii March 2005. I thank Sabine Carey, Christian Erickson, Scott Gartner, Miroslav Nincic, Steve Poe, and Randolph Siverson for excellent feedback on earlier versions of this research, and Richard Tucker for generously providing the Similarity of UN Policy Positions data.

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 of the author. The editors cannot guarantee a stable URL for any paper posted …

International Humanitarianism In The Contemporary World: Forms And Issues, David P. Forsythe

Human Rights & Human Welfare

© 2004 David P. Forsythe. All rights reserved.

This paper was commissioned by the U.S. Social Science Research Council and the United Nations University, for a research project on multilateralism starting Fall 2004.

The paper may not be quoted or referred to in any reference without the written permission of the author. Suggested revisions are welcomed by the author via his email address. 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 …

Legitimacy, Justice, And The Future Of Africa, J. Peter Pham

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Human Rights, the Rule of Law, and Development in Africa edited by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza and Philip J. McConnaughay. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. 308 pp.

Human Rights Investigation And Dialogue, Bronwyn Leebaw

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Shattered Voices: Language, Violence, and the Work of Truth Commissions by Teresa Godwin Phelps. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. 180pp.

and

International Citizens’ Tribunals: Mobilizing Public Opinion to Advance Human Rights by Arthur Jay Klinghofer and Judith Apter Klinghofer. New York, NY: Palgrave, 2002. 272pp.

Georgia, James Smithwick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The conflict between Chechnya and Russia combined with September 11 has focused more international attention on the Russian Caucuses. However, little has changed since America declared a War on Terror in the Republic of Georgia. The state turned a blind eye to religious persecution before September 11, and continues to do so. Multiple separatist movements persist in the same manner as they did prior to September 11.

Iran, Syd Dillard

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The West has been conditioned to perceive Iran as hostile, suspect, and promoting terrorism. The conventional wisdom is that Iran is not an “open society”, but one where dissent is repressed. However, the literature, as in the quote above, paints a picture of diverse peoples and political thought. Yet diversity in popular attitudes does not preclude Iran from a troubling human rights record. The more reformers demand and speak out, the more repressive the regime becomes. In defense of these activities, Iran appeals to cultural and religious tradition. Outside its borders, Iran has also been either a sponsor or supporter …

Uganda, Simon Amajuru

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The war in northern Uganda is one against civilians. Although the government purports to be targeting Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels, it is well known that more than 80% of the current rebels were conscripted against their will. The war has continued for more than 17 years, caused displacement of more than 1. 6 million people, and left more than 100,000 people dead. Over 20,000 children have been abducted and forced to join the LRW ranks or become sex slaves, while over 50,000 children have turned into “night commuters” for fear of abductions.

Christina M. Cerna On The Development Of Positive Obligations Under The European Convention On Human Rights By The European Court Of Human Rights By Alastair Mowbray. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2004. 239pp., Christina M. Cerna

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Development of Positive Obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights by the European Court of Human Rights by Alastair Mowbray. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2004. 239pp.

Supranationalism And The Superpower Rubicon, Imtiaz Hussain

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Chapter VII Powers of the United Nations Security Council by Erika de Wet. Portland, OR: Hart Publishing, 2004. 413pp.

Neotrusteeship In Afghanistan, Melanie Kawano

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Afghanistan is currently under the tentative rule of an international administration, or neotrusteeship, thereby restricting its national sovereignty. However, self-determination and nonintervention have never been persistent features of Afghanistan. Foreign interventions, invasions and great power showdowns on its territory have made a truly autonomous Afghan state a shortlived phenomenon. The outcome at each stage of Afghan history has been an unstable state that seems to invite even more external involvement.

State-Building In Afghanistan, Melanie Kawano, Amy Mcguire

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan in late 2001, Afghan citizens and members of the global community have been grappling with the question of how to build a state that can fill the void created by decades of conflict and violence. However, the concept of “state-building” is complex. The term describes both an internal process and international assistance; it requires short-term action as well as a long-term vision. While no precise formula for state-building exists, there are historical precedents and “models” of state-building expressed by great powers and multilaterals. In reality, however, these are based on best guesses that fail …

Democratization In Bosnia, Melanie Kawano, Amber Goodman, Chris Saeger

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Democratization in post-conflict, post-Dayton Bosnia has been characterized by many scholars as a “noble experiment”: the West’s guinea pig for internationally initiated post-communist democratization. In a state so wearied by war and dictatorship, democracy would be expected to take root quickly and flourish. However, due to various cultural and political influences, what the Dayton Peace Agreement originally intended to quickly lead to Bosnia’s self-governance has instead resulted in the state’s crippling dependence on external actors. The articles in this section of this bibliography explore the myriad influences (primarily under the umbrella of ethnicity) on the process.

Neotrusteeship In Bosnia, Lauren Ingram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The conflict in Bosnia resulted in 4.3 million displaced people, 250,000 estimated casualties, and more than 200,000 wounded including 50,000 children. (Cousens and Carter 25). In 1995, these facts became known to the world when the U.N. Protection Force (UNPROFOR), NATO, and the United States were able to reach a peace agreement with warring factions. As in World War II, Bosnian-Serbians, Bosnian-Croatians, Croatians, Muslim were active combatants. However, unlike World War II, no single governing authority emerged. Instead, the U.N., with key U.S. involvement, had to institute not only peace but also an administration that could uphold that peace. The …

State-Building In Bosnia, Chris Saeger

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Although the idea of state-building is at least as contentious as the idea of the state itself, international technocrats and foreign policymakers remain resigned to this project. International state-building has been conceived of as maintaining intermestic social order, protecting individual rights, and consolidating transnational linkages of power. Yet whatever the motive, effect or standard form of state-building, some political organization called “the state” is a necessary condition for membership in international society, if not for protecting individual human rights.

Sudan, Alexandra Nichols

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since independence Sudan has found itself almost constantly embroiled in civil conflict within its own borders. Throughout the 1990’s, Sudan was widely known to sponsor terrorism, having such as including Osama bin Laden from 1991-1996. American sanctions have been in place in Sudan since 1997, the last American ambassador was removed in 1998, and Sudan has been on the U.S. State Departments list of sponsored terrorists since 1993.

Human Rights And Globalization: Is The Shrinking World Expanding Rights?, Zehra F. Kabasakal Arat

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Globalization of Human Rights. Edited by Jean-Marc Coicaud, Michael W. Doyle, and Anne-Marie Gardner. Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2003.

and

Globalization and Human Rights. Edited by Alison Brysk. Berkely: University of California Press, 2002.

Human Rights And Post-War Reconstruction: Introduction, Roberto Belloni

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The expression “post-war reconstruction,” commonly adopted by both practitioners and academics, is somewhat misleading. Reconstruction does not entail rebuilding or return to the pre– war state of affairs as the expression seems to suggest. Rather, reconstruction involves difficult multiple transitions: from war to peace, from a state to a market economy, and from authoritarianism to democracy. Each transition taken by itself would be daunting. Taken together, they can be almost overwhelming.

Background For The “War On Terror”

Human Rights & Human Welfare

September 11 changed the United States’ understanding of terrorism. Prior to these attacks, Americans typically viewed terrorist events and actors through the lens of foreign affairs, quite removed from “everyday” concerns. Terrorist events involving Americans did occur, occasionally on American soil, but a sense of American invulnerability never truly wavered. September 11 challenged this presumption; as well as perspectives on the history of terrorism, compelling some to reexamine past events in order to find portents of the future tragedy.

Sri Lanka, Amanda Donahoe

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sri Lanka has been entrenched in a civil war for two decades. As in ethnic conflicts in many other post-colonial countries, the different groups of Sri Lanka give loyalty primarily to the group, rather than to the entire country. The Sinhalese majority have slowly populated the government and treated the Tamil minority as a threat to national stability, instead of as candidates for conciliation and power sharing. Consequently, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has taken up arms against the Sinhalese controlled government to fight for an independent homeland in the north and north-east parts of the country in …

The Promise And Limitations Of International Human Rights Activism, Rebecca Evans

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Breaking Silence: The Case that Changed the Face of Human Rights by Richard Alan White. Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2004. 320 pp.

A Life In The Realm Of Rights: A Man And A Movement’S History, Tom J. Farer

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Taking Liberties: Four Decades in the Struggle for Human Rights by Aryeh Neier. New York: PublicAffairs. 400pp.

Protecting Indigenous Peoples, Paul J. Magnarella

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Origins of Indigenism: Human Rights and the Politics of Identity by Ronald Niezen. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. 272pp.

and

Indigenous Peoples and the State: The Struggle for Native Rights by Bradley Reed Howard. Dekalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2003. 252pp.

Democratization In Afghanistan, Chris Rowe

Human Rights & Human Welfare

What determines whether a specific country embarks on the road to democracy, if it completes that voyage successfully, and finally consolidates democratic values, practices, and institutions? Analysts have debated these issues for decades and have identified a number of historical, structural, and cultural variables that help account for the establishment of successful democracies in some countries and its absence in others. Frequently cited prerequisites for democracy include social and economic modernization; a large and vibrant middle class; and cultural norms and values relating to politics.

Democratization In Iraq, Kate Lotz, Tim Melvin

Human Rights & Human Welfare

With the war in Iraq over, Coalition forces are still present as the cultivation of Iraqi democracy is underway. Coalition-led democratization in Iraq will prove to be a lengthy and complex objective, but one which will be pursued until successfully accomplished.

Neotrusteeship In Iraq, Tim Melvin

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This section deals with literature that examines the role and effectiveness of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in administering Iraq from 2003 till 2004. Foreign rule plays an important role in developing failed state’s infrastructure and institutions. By examining critical elements of the CPA’s administration, this section focuses on the overall success and failures of the CPA administrative capacity, and what this means for the future of Iraq’s new government. Since the cessation of the CPA, the Iraqi government has had its ups and downs and is still heavily reliant on the American presence. But some positive elements have been …

Human Rights And The War On Terror: Introduction, Jack Donnelly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

War rarely is good for human rights. The decision of the United States to launch a “global war on terror” in response to the suicide airplane bombings in New York and Washington has had predictably negative human rights consequences. In combating a tiny network of violent political extremists, human rights have in various ways, both intentional and unintentional, been restricted, infringed, violated, ignored, and trampled in many countries, sometimes severely.

State-Building In Iraq, Hafsteinn Hafsteinnsson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Whether the 2003 invasion of Iraq was principally strategic or humanitarian, the United States’ involvement in Iraq has become a complex state-building mission. While there is agreement within the international community on the importance of rebuilding a democratic Iraq, there are many conflicting viewpoints on how this operation should proceed.