Human Rights Law Commons^™

The Collaborative Dialogue Panel: Changing The Model Of The Professional Sociology Conference, Kenneth A. Gould

Societies Without Borders

The emergence of Sociologists Without Borders opened up new opportunities for social justice oriented intellectual engagement and collaboration. Given the opportunity to re-imagine the structure and function of professional conferences, a number of us who were focused on issues of environmental justice as a human right came together in 2006 to challenge the traditional model of serial paper presentations at panel sessions. The collaborative dialogue panel brings together sociologists focused on a specific social problem or issue, and asks them to work together to generate questions and answers in a public forum in dialogue with each other and with others …

Wired Nation: How The Tea Party Drove An Anti-Immigrant Campaign, Louis Edgar Esparza, Judith Blau

Societies Without Borders

Emails written by activists mobilized by organizations affiliated with the tea party and supporting anti-immigrant legislation illustrate two primary kinds of tea party activists. Most activists articulate economic grievances and employ paralogical argumentation that, for them, resolves real grievances with anti-immigrant state policy. A smaller set stands against illegal immigration, a priori. Surprisingly, we also find that this email mobilization attracted a significant number of counter-protest emails. We conclude that tea party activists have channeled energy originating from legitimate grievances into scapegoating immigrant groups in Arizona in the campaign to support SB 1070. On the tenth anniversary of SSF, we …

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. …

Nature, Society And Social Change, Michael Briguglio

Societies Without Borders

Environmental destruction has become an everyday reality in the contemporary world. Major concerns are being put forward regarding the dangers to the environment in general and to human societies in particular, with strong focus currently being put on climate change. Sociology has an important role to play in the analysis of environmental problems. The interaction between nature and society can be analysed through the concept of overdetermination. At the same time, the social construction on environmental problems is imperative for environmental issues to reach the agenda. An active environmental sociology which is as much concerned with analysis as it is …

Ssf, And It’S Identity, Rodney D. Coates

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

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.

Homage To Maps; Still; To The Occupation, Kenneth A. Gould, Jeremy "Germ" Dehart

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

United States V. White: Further Unbalancing The Judicial Analysis Of Forcible Medication Of Defendants Found Incompetent To Stand Trial, Cynthia Polasko

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Equality, Susanne Baer

Book Chapters

This article first discusses key equality guarantees in law today. It then focuses on different understandings of the right to equality: as either a principle or an individually enforceable claim (the status); as an ‘empty idea’, a rationality test, or a ‘substantive’ right (the content); as a right of individuals or for groups (who bears the right?). It next examines equality as categorically distinctly structured as opposed to or as similar to other liberty interests (the test); as a general entitlement or as a specific guarantee to address particular inequalities, either separate or intersecting (the inequalities); and as general or …

A Legal Framework For Targeted Killing, Monica Hakimi, A. Guiora

Book Chapters

I agree with much of what Professor Amos Guiora says, but I disagree with the method he uses to get there. And I believe the method matters. Guiora assesses targeting operations under an "active self-defense" paradigm, with elements from both the jus ad bellum (the law governing the use of force) and the jus in bello (the law governing the conduct of hostilities). Under Guiora's paradigm. a state may target terrorism suspects in anticipatory self-defense if: (I) targeting is proportional to their threat; (2) collateral damage is minimized; (3) alternatives to targeting are infeasible; and (4) military necessity justifies the …

Hannah Arendt In A Global Age: Political Evil And International Theory, Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Political Evil in a Global Age: Hannah Arendt and International Theory. By Patrick Hayden. New York: Routledge, 2009. 145 pp.

From “Iron Fist” Policies To Comprehensive Social Intervention, Claudia Heiss

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The latest effort by Brazilian authorities to control crime in Rio's favelas confronts us with several complex questions regarding democracy, the rule of law, and civil-military relations, not only in this case, but throughout Latin America. What conclusions can we derive from the military and police interventions in Rio about the state of affairs of these third-wave democracies?

A Social Psychology Model Of The Perceived Legitimacy Of International Criminal Courts: Implications For The Success Of Transitional Justice Mechanisms, 45 Vand. J. Transnat'l L. 405 (2012), Stuart K. Ford

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

There is a large body of literature arguing that positive perceived legitimacy is a critical factor in the success of international criminal courts, and that courts can be engineered in such a way that they will be positively perceived by adjusting factors such as their institutional structure and outreach efforts. But in many situations the perceived legitimacy of international criminal courts has almost nothing to do with these factors. This Article takes the latest research in social psychology and applies it to survey data about perceptions of international criminal courts in order to understand how affected populations form attitudes about …

A Betrayed Ideal: The Problem Of Enforcement Of Eu Sex Equality Guarantees In The Cee Post-Socialist Legal Systems, Goran Selanec

SJD Dissertations

The notion of equality between men and women has, for a long time, played a significant role in the societies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The ideal was particularly important during the period of “real” or “really existing” socialism in CEE. For the CEE socialist regimes, the ideal of equality was an ideological banner that supposedly demonstrated their moral superiority to the “West”. The ideal has gained new importance in recent years, when the CEE post-socialist states had to commit to the protection of the notion of equality between sexes as a condition of their membership in the European …

Human Rights And Counterterrorism: A Contradiction Or Necessary Bedfellows?, Amos N. Guiora

Georgia Law Review

Ten years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, questions
remain regarding the relationship between human rights
and counterterrorism. The historical track record of the
Executive Branch, Supreme Court, and Congress in this
vein is troubling. While the contradiction suggested in
this Essay's title need not be the case, it is, nevertheless,
the persistent reality in American history.
This Essay assesses the current relationship between
human rights and counterterrorism. In doing so, it
reflects on wartime measures implemented by presidents
throughout U.S. history and recommends a way forward
that facilitates more effective protection of human rights

without impinging on legitimate national security …

The Evolution Of Law And Policy For Cia Targeted Killing, Afsheen John Radsan

Faculty Scholarship

Many critiques of the Central Intelligence Agency’s alleged use of killer drones depend on law that does not bind the United States or on contestable applications of uncertain facts to vague law. While acknowledging a blurry line between law and policy, we continue to develop a due process for targeted killing. In the real world, intelligence is sometimes faulty, mistakes occur, and peaceful civilians are at risk. International humanitarian law, which applies during armed conflicts, demands very little in the way of process beyond the admonition to take feasible precautions. Even so, the intelligence-driven nature of targeted killing, and the …

Tensions In Rhetoric And Reality At The Intersection Of Work And Immigration, Jennifer Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The End Of The Beginning - A Comprehensive Look At The U.N.'S Business And Human Rights Agenda From A Bystander Perspective, Jena Martin

Faculty Articles

With the endorsement of the Guiding Principles regarding the issue of business and human rights, an important chapter has come to a close. Beginning with the then U.N. Secretary-General's "global compact" speech in 1999, the international legal framework for business and human rights has undergone tremendous change and progress. Yet, for all these developments, there has been no exhaustive examination in the legal academy of all of these events; certainly, there is no one piece that discusses or analyzes all the major instruments that have been proposed and endorsed by the U.N. on the subject of business and its relationship …

Sexual Assault Cases In The Supreme Court Of Canada: Losing Sight Of Substantive Equality?, Emma Cunliffe

All Faculty Publications

The equality guarantee contained in section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has prompted reforms that protect women as complainants in sexual assault cases. This article considers the effectiveness of these reforms. Part 2 supplies a history of the relationships between consent, trial procedure, and substantive equality in sexual assault law. The author argues that substantive equality has had a significant effect on both substance and procedure. Part 3 examines the impact of these reforms by considering the extent to which substantive equality has infused judicial reasoning and fact determination in contested sexual assault cases. Specifically, the …

Sow What You Reap? Using Predator And Reaper Drones To Carry Out Assassinations Or Targeted Killings Of Suspected Islamic Terrorists, Thomas M. Mcdonnell

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article explores whether targeted killing of suspected Islamist terrorists comports with international law generally, whether any special rules apply in so-called “failed states,” and whether deploying attack drones poses special risks for the civilian population, for humanitarian and human rights law, and for the struggle against terrorism. Part I of this article discusses the Predator Drone and its upgraded version Predator B, the Reaper, and analyzes their technological capabilities and innovations. Part II discusses international humanitarian law and international human rights law as applied to a state’s targeting and killing an individual inside or outside armed conflict or in …