Political Science Commons^™

Changing The Culture Of Corruption - Do Small Steps Count?, Rhona Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Corruption is endemic in modern society, but history attests this problem is as old as states themselves. No single solution to date has garnered sufficient political and/or popular support to effect change. Could education play a role in changing the culture?

April Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Cambodia's Curse” by Joel Brinkley. Foreign Affairs. March/April 2009.

Cursing Cambodia, Charli Carpenter

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Joel Brinkley has written a heartbreaking piece in Foreign Affairs about Cambodian society thirty-five years after Pol Pot. We are presented with anecdote after anecdote about historical trauma, corruption, and poverty. It’s a depressing picture, and an important country case to have on the US’ foreign policy radar screen.

No Show, Mark Gibney

Human Rights & Human Welfare

For someone of my generation, any mention of Cambodia conjures up a jumble of images and emotions—albeit, nearly all from the distant past. Always appearing, but in no particular order, would be: the revelation of Nixon’s secret war; the killings at Kent State; strikes that closed down a number of American college campuses; Pol Pot; the seemingly endless debate whether to use the term Cambodia or the more radical “Kampuchea”; Prince Sihanouk; and last but certainly not least: the Khmer Rouge as the personification of a Third World liberation movement.

New Government In Cambodia, Tyler Moselle

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The government of Cambodia is replete with corruption and does not respond adequately to the needs of its citizens according to Joel Brinkley’s Foreign Affairs article “Cambodia’s Curse.” Pol Pot, the killing fields, and the Khmer Rouge still linger in the memories of most Americans when Cambodia’s name is mentioned. Yet, the country is currently languishing in the arms of an unresponsive governing elite whose fortunes may continue to improve due to oil and continuous aid grafting.

A Coincidental Trip To Cambodia, Rebecca Otis

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In a timely coincidence, Henry Alford’s recent travel article, “Banishing the Ghosts in Cambodia,” recently tantalized this reader with visions of a destination vacation in mind. Written for the travel-inspired readership of the New York Times, Alford’s version of Cambodia as a newly reborn hotspot for far flung Westerners approaches the point of lulling his decidedly non-Cambodian audience into pleasantly myopic vision of a plush Cambodian phoenix fully risen from its mired ashes. Amidst the outcropping of chic resorts and beautiful beaches reincarnated from the elegant, pre-Khmer Rouge moment of Cambodia’s forgotten past, Alford banishes the ghosts of Pol Pot’s …

A Curse Not Limited To Cambodia, Chandra Lekha Sriram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Brinkley’s piece draws welcome attention to the virtual farce of hybrid justice now underway in Cambodia, although the emphasis of the piece on the prevalence of corruption de-emphasizes a broader point: human rights protections are not respected in Cambodia, and serious accountability for the abuses by the Khmer Rouge or any subsequent abuses are unlikely, not merely because leaders are corrupt, but because the wide scale culture of impunity makes the protection of human rights and functional rule of law virtually impossible.

Measuring The Unconscionable, Sarah Stanlick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The combination of level-headed scientific approaches and passionate activism seems at first glance an incompatible relationship. For the passionate humanitarian, there is a hesitation in fear of "selling out" to the black and white world of science, that science would somehow take the "human" dimension away from human rights. However, the bigger issue-and opportunity-is the multitude of ways that the partnership between scientific method and human rights can yield possibilities and innovations. As described in Sonia Shah's piece in The Nation , scientists are coming together to lend their unique skills and perspective to the ever-changing global status of human …

Scientists Have Been Out For Some Time Now: A Response To Sonia Shah, Clair Apodaca

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sonia Shah's categorization of the scientific community as having been "by and large. impassively unmoved [by human rights], churning out their papers, applying for grants and debating esoterica at their private professional meetings" is grossly inaccurate on at least two accounts.

Scientists Promoting Human Rights, Edward Friedman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Scientists have long been involved with work to protect fundamental human rights. The activities of the Federation of American Scientists to expose the health impact of nuclear testing in the atmosphere is typical. In the Soviet Union , many of the leading human rights activists, starting with the great Andrei Sakharov , were scientists. The same is true in China where a major intellectual force inspiring China's 1989 democracy movement was Fang Lizhi , an astrophysicist. Often their contribution to military security even gives them a little bit of protection.

March Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Scientists Come Out for Human Rights ” by Sonia Shah. The Nation. January 27, 2009.

Enlightenment: Science And Human Rights, Christien Van Den Anker

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The subject of science and human rights sparks off thoughts of how this link has historically and geographically been severed, which has the effect of finding it newsworthy that scientists speak out in favor of human rights.

The ancient Greek philosophers were not limited in their subject matters in the same way as we take for granted now: science, society and the self were all deliberated about both empirically and normatively. Moreover, there was no division of labor between thinkers about one or other of these subjects.

Pre-Islamic Persian influences also affected debates on science. In the Middle Ages with …

Protecting Human Rights In Conflict, Clair Apodaca

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Just War Theory of Jus in Bello is the international community’s attempt to ensure respect for human rights and human welfare during armed conflicts. The principle of proportionality and the obligation to distinguish between combatants and civilians in attacks are two related notions that are fundamental to the protection of human rights during conflict. The principle of proportionality limits the amount of violence and destruction that is morally permissible. By contrast, the principle of discrimination (or distinction) discriminates between legitimate targets, such as soldiers and weapons depots, and illegitimate targets, specifically noncombatants such as civilian populations and their property.

Stopping The Killing And/Or Stopping Human Rights Violations, Edward Friedman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The relationship between promoting human rights and stopping wars can be perplexing. The 19th century origins of the Geneva Convention and the International Commissions of the Red Cross (ICRC) are warnings about the moral danger, ambiguities, or tensions of bringing war within the arena of human rights considerations. Human rights and war can be a toxic cocktail. One should not want to make war more likely or legitimate or deadly by seeming to say that the killing machine on one side or the other is acting humanely, as if that makes war okay. War is hell.

Proportionality And Unjust Wars, Sarah Stanlick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As violence rages in the Middle East, policymakers, academics, and the public alike have been embroiled in debate over the proportional use of force. As The Economist article points out, historical grievances leave both Israelis and Palestinians with compelling arguments for defense and resistance. However, at this point, the cycle of violence has perpetuated blame that goes beyond a simple tally sheet. World leaders remain divided on the rights and wrongs of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but human rights groups internationally are crying out for Israel and Hamas to end attacks that “do not discriminate between civilians and military targets.” While …

Proportional To Life, Emma Gilligan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Economist piece entitled “Proportional to what?” poses a dangerous question. The notion, as the article suggests, that proportionality in war is a “slippery idea” or that the facts are “nebulous” is the work of either an intentionally provocative or idly cynical author. Whatever the motivation for the words, it is precisely the dismissive tone embodied in such statements that has contributed to and defined the attitude more recently of larger states, like Israel and Russia, to issues of accountability for the death of civilians.

Healing From War To End All Wars, Christien Van Den Anker

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The First World War was known as the war to end all wars. After the Second World War, and especially in reference to the Holocaust, the urgent slogan was “Never Again.” Although these hopes to end war and genocide have not yet been fulfilled, they inspired the worldwide moral stance against war and a host of international instruments and bodies contributed to the protection of both civilians and combatants during war.

February Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Proportional to What?” The Economist. December 30, 2008.

Darfur: In Search Of Peace Exploring Viable Solutions To The Darfur Crisis, George Shepherd, Peter Van Arsdale, Negin Sobhani, Nicole Tanner, Frederick Agyeman-Duah

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The following is a report for the Consultation on Darfur carried out in Nairobi, Kenya by Africa Today Associates, Inc. The event took place June 9‐11, 2008 and was made possible with support from Ford Foundation, Kenya (in collaboration with the Institute of International Education). This report aims to build upon, not replace, the findings of our Consultation in Abuja, Nigeria. It is for this purpose that the findings and points addressed in this report are solely those discussed in Nairobi. Although it is inevitable that the two consultations reflected some overlap on the core issues and discussion points, especially …

The European Court’S Political Power Across Time And Space, Karen Alter

Faculty Working Papers

This article extracts from Alter's larger body of work insights on how the political and social context shapes the ECJ's political power and influence. Part I considers how the political context facilitated the constitutionalization of the European legal system. Part II considers how the political context helps determine where and when the current ECJ influences European politics. Part III draws lessons from the ECJ's experience, speculating on how the European context in specific allowed the ECJ to become such an exceptional international court. Part IV lays out a research agenda to investigate the larger question of how social support shapes …

The Responsibility To Protect: A Policy Forum, Sarah Bania-Dobyns, Kathy Gockel, Kyle Matthews, Jodi Vittori

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Human Rights and Human Welfare is pleased to offer its first policy forum-a new type of review to add to our review essays, book notes and roundtable. In this policy forum we asked practitioners in the field to review a set of policy reports on the responsibility to protect. R2P, as practitioners and scholars alike have come to know this policy area, like many of the human rights concepts addressed by HRHW, is a multifaceted concept requiring perspectives from different fields and professions to address it comprehensively. Further, R2P is a quickly changing policy issue, and academics and practitioners …

Rebecca Root On Banning Landmines: Disarmament, Citizen Diplomacy, And Human Security. Edited By Jody Williams, Stephen D. Goose And Mary Wareham. (Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008). 348pp., Rebecca Root

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Banning Landmines: Disarmament, Citizen Diplomacy, and Human Security. Edited by Jody Williams, Stephen D. Goose and Mary Wareham. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008). 348pp.

Jessica Burley On Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. By Richard Dowden (New York: Public Affairs, 2009). 592 Pp., Jessica Burley

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. By Richard Dowden (New York: Public Affairs, 2009). 592 pp.

Human Rights In China: Introduction, Hsiu-Lun Teng

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The People’s Republic of China has experienced rapid and cardinal changes in its political, economic, and societal realms over the past thirty years. These changes, in conjunction with China’s political and economic policies abroad, have left recognizable imprints on a variety of human rights issues. The human rights issues discussed in this digest cover both domestic and international dimensions.

Trafficking Of Women And The Harmonious Society: The Chinese National Plan Of Action On Combating Trafficking In Women And Children Within The Context Of Chinese Patriarchy And Reform, Sean Michael Barbezat

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Chinese National Plan of Action on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children, an evolution of prior regional cooperative work in coordination with the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Trafficking (UNIAP), is a considerable accomplishment. It represents a comprehensive, practical foundation for counter-trafficking work, and addresses the most serious concerns raised by Chinese and international anti-trafficking research over the last dozen years. However, a statement of this magnitude produced by a state not known for its sweeping human rights instruments leads to suspicion.

Tibet Under Chinese Rule, Dina Buck

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The struggle between Tibet and China has been a long and intractable one. How China chooses to deal with Tibet, commonly referred to as the “Tibet Question,” is a point of controversy both within China and for the international community at large. The two main points of concern are Tibet’s quest for self-determination and Tibetan quality of life under Chinese rule. While Tibet’s struggle for self-determination can be linked with the questionable treatment Tibetans face under the Chinese government (hereafter referred to as Beijing), the two issues are not exactly the same.

Uyghurs Under The Chinese State: Religious Policy And Practice In China, Katie Corradini

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is notorious for committing human rights violations. These violations include infanticide, human trafficking, violent enforcement of the one-child policy, and religious persecution. The international community commonly overlooks religious persecution of the Uyghurs, who are targeted and often oppressed by the Chinese government. China is arguably the center of the political and economic international system but, as the Uyghur diaspora expands to developed countries, including the United States, the rest of the world must understand the issues at the forefront of the conflict.

Chinese Women And Economic Human Rights, Lisa Fry

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Women’s human rights in China have an intriguing history and a challenging present. In ancient China, Confucianism espoused the virtues of silent women who stayed at home. During the Maoist period, on the other hand, gender equality was prioritized by the state, and women were equally appointed to leadership positions and agricultural collectives with men. After Mao’s death, the country transitioned to a social market economic system that resulted in a loss of state support for gender equity. Today, the rights of women in China are not clearly defined, protected, or promoted. China’s patriarchal traditions have reasserted themselves, obstructing women’s …

Why China Supports Burma’S Dictators, Dustin Stokes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Burma, also known as Myanmar, is governed by a repressive dictatorship that is guilty of numerous human rights abuses. Political prisoners, oppressed women and ethnic minorities, and child soldiers are examples of human rights violations in Burma. Burma’s government benefits from its relationship with China, whose support for the dictatorship is motivated by its own economic and strategic interests. The United States and its Western allies must alter their existing Burma policy, which has been part of the problem, in order to help end the suffering of the Burmese people.

Transforming Children Of War Into Agents Of Change, Brooke Breazeale

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since the turn of the century, Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced the fastest growing rate of child soldiers. Consider the following statistics:

• An estimated 60 percent of child soldiers in Africa are fourteen years old and under (Singer 2006: 29);
• In Uganda the average age of personnel in armed forces is 12.9 (Singer 2006: 29);
• Since 1990, two million children have been killed in armed conflict, the equivalent of five hundred per day for ten years (Singer 2005).