Political Science Commons^™

Lina Acalugaritei And Karen Mingst On From Human Trafficking To Human Rights: Reframing Contemporary Slavery. Edited By Alison Brysk & Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick. Philadelphia, Pa: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. 280pp., Lina Acalugaritei, Karen Mingst

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

From Human Trafficking to Human Rights: Reframing Contemporary Slavery. Edited by Alison Brysk & Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. 280pp.

Carlos Figueroa On State Power And Democracy: Before And During The Presidency Of George W. Bush. By Andrew Kolin. New York, Ny: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 251pp., Carlos Figueroa

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

State Power and Democracy: Before and During the Presidency of George W. Bush. By Andrew Kolin. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. 251pp.

A Reply To David Richards’ Review Of Measuring Human Rights, Todd Landman, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Professor Richards highlights, in his generous review of our book Measuring Human Rights that one of the aims of the book is to bring to the forefront the importance of conceptualization before operationalization – that conceptual clarity (or lack of it) is at the heart of the problems concerning the measurement of human rights. He draws out three key issues from the book as the springboard for further discussion on measurement of the concept – a) the “Respect, Protect and Fulfill” (RPF) framework, b) the lack of reliable data sources, and c) the conceptual links between human rights, human development, …

International Organization And Poverty Alleviation, William F. Felice, Diana Fuguitt

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The World Trade Organization and Human Rights: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Edited by Sarah Joseph, David Kinley & Jeff Waincymer. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. 2009.

and

Global Poverty, Ethics and Human Rights. By Desmond McNeill & Asunción St. Clair. New York, NY: Routledge. 2009.

and

Hypocrisy Trap: The World Bank and the Poverty of Reform. By Catherine Weaver. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 2008.

Confronting “Indivisibility” In The History Of Economic And Social Rights: From Parity To Priority And Back Again, Roland Burke

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Indivisible Human Rights. By Daniel Whelan. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 2010. 269pp.

Making Peace Or Pacifying?, Therese O'Donnell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Notions of a culture of impunity surrounding the violence perpetrated by the Brazilian police have lingered ever since the largely unsuccessful prosecutions of those suspected to be involved in the notorious Candelária massacre of 1993. Eight young people, six of whom were under eighteen, were killed by an adult group comprised of several members of the police. Despite the security forces coming under increasing scrutiny ever since, the 2005 Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee on Brazil's Periodic Report made disheartening reading. The Committee expressed its continuing concerns regarding the widespread use of excessive force by Brazilian law enforcement …

January Roundtable: Crime And Human Rights In Brazil: The Police Pacification Units, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes Julio

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Brazil slum raids impress, but what's the impact?” By Bradley Brooks. Huffington Post, November 14, 2011.

Globalization And Commitment In Corporate Social Responsibility: Cross-National Analyses Of Institutional And Political-Economy Effect, Alwyn Lim, Kiyoteru Tsutsui

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article examines why global corporate social responsibility (CSR) frameworks havegained popularity in the past decade, despite their uncertain costs and benefits, and how theyaffect adherents’ behavior. We focus on the two largest global frameworks—the United NationsGlobal Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative—to examine patterns of CSR adoption bygovernments and corporations. Drawing on institutional and political-economy theories, wedevelop a new analytic framework that focuses on four key environmental factors—globalinstitutional pressure, local receptivity, foreign economic penetration, and national economicsystem. We propose two arguments about the relationship between stated commitment andsubsequent action: decoupling due to lack of capacity and organized hypocrisy due …

Human Rights Law And Military Aid Delivery: A Case Study Of The Leahy Law, Winifred Tate

Faculty Scholarship

Explicitly prohibiting US military counternarcotics assistance to foreign military units facing credible allegations of abuses, Leahy Law creation and implementation illuminates the epistemological challenges of knowledge production about violence in the policy process. First passed in 1997, the law emerged from strategic alliances between elite NGO advocates, grassroots activists and critically located Congressional aides in response to the perceived inability of Congress to act on human rights information. I explore the resulting transformation of aid delivery: rather than suspend aid when no “clean” units could be found, US officials convinced their Colombian allies to create new units consisting of vetted …

Hard Times For Peace Between Two Internally Divided Societies, Claudia Heiss

Human Rights & Human Welfare

These are not promising days for those who desire peace between Israelis and Palestinians, with two states respected by each other and recognized by the international community, living securely side by side. Richard Falk’s article rightly stresses the negative role played by the US Government in its sharp rejection of the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations Security Council. The problem, however, seems to lie deeper in these complex societies and their current political leaderships.

November Roundtable: The Palestine Bid For Statehood At The Un, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes Julio

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Statehood versus “Facts on the Ground””. By Richard Falk. Aljazeera, September 20, 2011.

The Us On The Palestinian Statehood Bid: Weighing The Costs, Thomas Pegram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Reflecting on the controversy surrounding the Palestinian bid for statehood, Richard Falk neatly subverts the opening words of the UN Charter, “we the people,” as having always surrendered to “we the governments,” and, in the modern era of American empire, “we the hegemon.”

This may well be true. The UN Security Council (UNSC), in particular, is viewed in Washington as a vehicle for hegemonic ambitions—to be indulged when it serves its purpose and vetoed and sidelined when it does not. Unfolding events at the UNSC, reportedly due to vote on the Palestinian resolution on November 11 but now postponed perhaps …

The Sum Of The Parts, Therese O'Donnell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

From one perspective the Middle East lends itself as a macabre mise-en-scene where the triumph of realpolitik over the legitimacies of international law can be continually re-staged. To be sure, at least two sovereign states seem to go their own way, even in the face of rampant and valid international criticism—the end of a construction freeze on illegal settlements and failures to condemn clearly illustrate this point. However, two can play at that game. The US veto of the October 2003 draft Security Council resolution declaring as illegal Israel’s construction of its security fence, beyond the 1949 Green Line and …

The Un Security Council On Syria: Radical Change Or Continuity?, Thomas Pegram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Presidential Statement issued by the UN Security Council on August 3 condemning the widespread violation of human rights by Syrian authorities was hailed by some as signaling the collapse of the pro-Syrian "defiance coalition."

This "defiance coalition," comprised of the so-called "BRICs" (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) along with Lebanon, did indeed relent, begrudgingly, to growing international pressure for action on Syria. However, whether a statement containing little actionable content signals the crumbling of defiance rather than a diplomatic maneuver as calculations are recalibrated in light of developments is another matter.

The Arab Spring: Endgames As Framing Battle, Colm Campbell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The narrative of the Arab Spring (including the Syrian uprising) in the mainstream media appears clear and linear: a cruel dictator is challenged in a series of street demonstrations that rapidly coalesce to become a popular uprising. The dictator resorts to increasingly brutal repression, but this fails to end the challenge. Within a relatively short time the dictator is overthrown. Elections within a reasonable period are announced, promising the creation of a democracy that is representative not only of the protest movement, but of society as a whole. Raghida Dergham's Huffington Post article largely reflects this perspective, drawing attention to …

September Roundtable: "The Syrian Spring" And Human Rights, Introduction, Raslan Ibrahim

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The UN Security Council's Pro-Syrian 'Defiance Coalition' Crumbles”. By Raghida Dergham. Huffington Post, August 2011.

White Noise, White Heat, Therese O'Donnell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

If, as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously uttered, "A week is a long time in politics," then the Six weeks since Raghida Dergham's article could be a lifetime and the last six months of the "Arab Spring" an aeon.

The Moral International Sphere As A New "Civic Virtue", Claudia Heiss

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Liberal political theory, the predominant paradigm at least since the 1970s, rules out as oppressive the imposition of any substantive notion of a "good way of life" and proposes instead a neutral conception where each individual should have the right to pursue his or her own preferred project of life. This opposition of an ancient "virtue" and a modern "freedom" seems challenged by current debates about morality and the responsibility to protect innocent civilians from massive crimes. The moral outrage of the international community may be interpreted as a signal of a perhaps minimal notion of civic virtue, which translates …

The Right Side Of The Coin: Focus On The Human Rights Of People, Not The Failure Of States, Brooke Ackerly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

US policy toward failed states should focus on strengthening civil society and social movements so that people are better able to hold their leaders accountable.

The language of “failed states” disassociates foreign policy from international dialogue about human rights. Instead, “failed states” is a contemporary sound bite that connotes a lack of sovereignty, suggesting that intervention would not violate national sovereignty because in a failed state, there is none. Of course, we could have a similar cynicism about the use of human rights concerns to justify invasion. Certainly, states have tried to choose when to reference international human rights norms …

August Roundtable: Re-Thinking State Failure And Human Rights, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Think Again, Failed States ”. By James Traub. Foreign Policy. July/August 2011.

Immobilizing Conceptual Debates, Jonas Claes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In “Think Again: Failed States,” James Traub argues that “state failure” is a failed concept. Prioritizing efforts to prevent or address state fragility, weakness, or failure may seem impractical given the conceptual breadth of this systemic challenge. Like globalization, human security, or climate change, state failure contains so many aspects that it becomes analytically useless. But the need to rethink this garbage-can concept—everything can be thrown in—does not keep us from addressing the litany of well-understood challenges subsumed within.

More Questions, Few Answers On State Failure And Human Rights, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Foreign Policy article under review brings us back to the issues addressed in April's Roundtable, which looked at humanitarian intervention in light of widespread political violence in the Ivory Coast. Much of that discussion centered on the factors that lead states to adopt policies aimed at stopping egregious human rights abuses from being committed in other jurisdictions, either by state agents or non-state actors. This month's Roundtable discussion highlights the myths attached to the concept of “state failure,” which increases the likelihood of such violations occurring. The author of this month's centerpiece, James Traub, comments on a number of …

“Failed States Are Everyone’S Problem”, Devin Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This article raises interesting issues but cannot answer its own puzzles because it fails to define what constitutes a threat or danger to US national security. As an American citizen, the security of the Central African Republic is in my personal interest. The CAR is a country where it has been reported that one out of every sixteen mothers dies during childbirth. That is a serious problem! Who is to say it is not in Americans’ interest to prevent state failure there? If the US government is not interested in Central Africans' security, obviously, there is a disconnect between the …

A Centrist Solution To Central American Violence And Inequality, Devin Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The northern triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) has experienced horrific violence, poverty, and a vicious cycle of human rights violations for decades. Repeated natural disasters and the re-routing of the drug trade through Central America are not helping the situation. On the other hand, nearby Costa Rica has achieved a much higher standard of human rights, public safety, and political stability. Why? Costa Rica has put in place four pillars of development and stability lacking in most other countries in the region: a stronger state, an educated population, inter-racial cooperation, and a more inclusive democracy. For …

June Roundtable: Human Rights In Central America, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Tormented Isthmus ”. The Economist. April 14 2011.

The Hearts And Minds Of The Citizens, Brooke Ackerly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

If the US contributes increased military support to Guatemala under the premise of curtailing the drug trade, it could inadvertently further destabilize this already politically unstable country. It certainly will not contribute to developing a sense of political alliance in the hearts and minds of its citizens. Concerns about destabilization in Guatemala (and Central America more generally) and the role of this destabilization in facilitating the drug trade have led the Economist to suggest that the solution is to increase military foreign aid to Guatemala.

Generic Wish-Lists For State-Centric Policies, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Central America depicted in the article under review resembles a region visited by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—colonial Conquest, civil War, Famine and other natural disasters, and poverty, disease and Death. Added to this list of woes are the recent drug-fueled conflict, democratic instability, weak state capacity, and the socio-economic fallout of the economic recession in the United States. While the first half of the article records these problems, the author shifts gears in the second half and provides an array of responses to these challenges, with a forceful recommendation that states in the region focus their efforts …

Conflict Resolution Agenda: Approaching Its Expiration Date, Jonas Claes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Conflict resolution scholars and policy-makers have traditionally prioritized research and policy measures dealing with political violence, treating criminal violence as a contextual factor in their analysis or as a subordinate policy concern. One may wonder why the value of a casualty differs depending on whether the fatal blow was caused by a tank, a gang knife, or even a typhoon. The prioritization of political violence over criminal violence seems morally unjustified considering that the killing rates in Guatemala and El Salvador are higher now than during the civil wars that ended in the 1990s. Despite similarities in the causes, manifestations, …

We Do Not Enjoy Equal Political Rights: Ghanaian Women's Perceptions On Political Participation In Ghana, Marie-Antoinette Sossou

Social Work Faculty Publications

This study explores Ghanaian women’s perception and voices about issues of gender equality in terms of exercising their political and decision-making rights in connection with political participation and governance in Ghana. The study uses demographic survey and six different focus group discussions to capture the views of a total of 68 women with different educational, socioeconomical, and occupational backgrounds, in two regions of the Ghana. The findings indicate that even though theoretically the constitution of Ghana gives women equal rights as their male counterparts to actively participate in the governance of their country, in practice, women face issues of gender-based …

April Roundtable: Responsibility To Protect And Human Rights Protection In The Ivory Coast, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

Article under review: “The Case for Intervention in the Ivory Coast” by Corinne Dufka. Foreign Policy. March 25 2011.