ASTK15420U COURSE: Righting wrongs or wronging rights? Human rights and its discontents

Few norms, discourses or ideologies have triumphed more quickly and universally than that of human rights in the 20^th century. On the one hand, it has undoubtedly become one of the most powerful languages employed by the oppressed and the rightless to claim equality, rights and justice. On the other hand, controversies, criticisms and resistance have always accompanied the various facets of the human rights project: its philosophical foundations, the regime and the practice. Is the idea of human rights bound to either emancipation or domination? Is the ‘bottom-up’ movement a better approach to human rights than the ‘top-down’ intervention? Are those critiques of human rights referring to imposing the ideology of ‘the rich on the poor’ or the tendency of victimization merely based on the coincidental abuse of an essentially good idea by hegemonic powers, or, are they rooted in the contested nature of the idea itself? This course will provide an overview of the topic as discussed in political theory and international relations, with a focus on the paradoxes and ambiguities involved in its philosophy and practice. We will start with introducing the intellectual resources of human rights and the historical background of the international human rights regime (Part I); we will then explore the main strands of critique against different notions and dimensions of human rights (Part II). In Part III, we will investigate some issues of controversy in the implementation of human rights with the help of multimedia materials.

The course is expected to be structured under the following weekly headings:

1. Introduction

Part I Historical Background

1. The ‘Rights of Man’ before human rights
2. Human rights, imperialism and colonialism
3. The birth of the international human rights regime

Part II Wronging rights

1. Human rights and the sovereign state
2. The poststructuralist critique
3. The postcolonial critique
4. Questioning universality

Part III Righting wrongs: practices in focus

1. Humanitarian intervention and the Responsibility to Protect
2. Free movement and fundamental rights in the EU
3. territorial sovereignty, border control and human rights
4. Humanitarian government
5. Minority and group rights

Competency

The course will enhance the students’ abilities in conceptual discussion and critical analysis. It will help students develop their specialized projects in Political Theory or International Relations. It is also relevant to those who aim for a career in public administration, NGOs, think tanks and media.