scholarly journals From Tehran to Helsinki: the International Year of Human Rights 1968 and State Socialist Eastern Europe

Diplomatica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-201
Author(s):  
Ned Richardson-Little
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
The West ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Status ◽  
Subsequent Rise ◽  
State Socialist

When the United Nations proclaimed 1968 to be the International Year of Human Rights, the official goal was to promote the adoption of the recently created human rights Covenants around the world. Instead of compelling the Eastern Bloc to accept liberal democratic conceptions of rights, however, it acted as a catalyst for the genesis of state socialist conceptions of human rights. Eastern Bloc elites claimed these rights were superior to those in the West, which they argued was beset by imperialism and racism. Although some within Eastern Europe used the Year as an opportunity to challenge state socialist regimes from within, the UN commemoration gave socialist elites a new language to legitimize the status quo in Eastern Europe and to call for radical anti-imperialism abroad. While dissent in the name of human rights in 1968 was limited, the state socialist embrace of human rights politics provided a crucial step towards the Helsinki Accords of 1975 and the subsequent rise of human rights activism behind the Iron Curtain.

The Failure of the Socialist Declaration of Human Rights

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 318-341
Author(s):  
Ned Richardson-Little
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cold War ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Mikhail Gorbachev ◽  
The West ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Increased Pressure

In the mid-1980s, the Eastern Bloc faced increased pressure on the issue of human rights from western governments, ngos, and indigenous dissident. Although the Socialist Bloc had claimed to represent the ideals of human rights throughout the Cold War, by 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev called on the leaders of the Eastern Bloc to work together on a coordinated response to this threat and in response East Germany proposed the creation of an international declaration based on the principles of socialist—rather than bourgeois—human rights. Within a few years, however, the project collapsed in ignominious failure as it provided a vehicle for reformers to challenge the status quo in the name of human rights by demanding greater democratization. Although the project was originally devised to refute the human rights claims of the West, it instead acted to spur on the intellectual collapse of the Eastern Bloc’s ideological unity at its time of greatest crisis.

Does Democracy “Travel”? Some Thoughts on Democracy and Its Cultural Context

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 41-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Turner Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Fundamental Question ◽  
Western World ◽  
The West ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Form Of Government

The fundamental question is whether the non-Western world is capable of developing our form of liberal democratic self-government, despite our differences in tradition and culture. The author taps on several critical differences of interpretation of what we consider to be integral to our form of government, such as John Locke's concept of “civil society”; the idea of “pluralism”; and the concept of “inherent human rights” counsel, which have distinctly different meanings in the West compared to those of Central and Eastern Europe. Interestingly, the differences are indicative of the profound cultural and historic differences of the societies engaged in the interpretation and adaption of these ideas. The author is optimistic in the regard of democracy “traveling,” provided that individuals recognize their own identity within the democratic society and acquire practice in exercising their freedoms. In this way, not only will democracy flourish under previously dictatorial regimes, but will continue to persist where it is already established.

Human Rights Naturalized

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Buchanan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
World War ◽  
Human Rights Movement ◽  
The Status ◽  
Naturalistic Theory

This chapter helps to confirm the explanatory power of the naturalistic theory of moral progress outlined in previous chapters by making two main points. First, it shows that the theory helps to explain how and why the modern human rights movement arose when it did. Second, it shows that the advances in inclusiveness achieved by the modern human rights movement depended upon the fortunate coincidence of a constellation of contingent cultural and economic conditions—and that it is therefore a dangerous mistake to assume that continued progress must occur, or even that the status quo will not substantially deteriorate. This chapter also helps to explain a disturbing period of regression (in terms of the recognition of equal basic status) that occurred between the success of British abolitionism and the founding of the modern human rights movement at the end of World War II.

How Well Does R2P Travel Beyond the West?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faith Mabera ◽  
Yolanda Spies
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Conceptual Development ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Western World ◽  
The West ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Domain State ◽  
The Status ◽  
Emerging Powers

R2P invokes the power-morality nexus in international relations and interrogates the rules of engagement that anchor international society. Conceptualization of R2P as a liberal Western construct can therefore be divisive, especially when operationalization of the norm—as happened during the 2011 intervention in Libya—feeds into a West-against-the-Rest narrative. This is unfortunate because the R2P doctrine has deep roots in the non-Western world—Africa in particular—and Global South perspectives continue to strengthen its conceptual development. Emerging powers challenge the status quo of structural power and their rhetoric on R2P often invokes mistrust of Western altruism in international politics. Their actions, on the other hand, prove that they are no less prone to realpolitik in the normative domain. State actors in the normative middle of international politics, including developed as well as developing countries, are well placed to bridge the West-versus-the-Rest schism and to provide leadership in the R2P discourse.

Identifying and Assessing the Implementation of Human Rights Decisions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-148
Author(s):  
Alice Donald ◽  
Debra Long ◽  
Anne-Katrin Speck
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
European Regions ◽  
The Status ◽  
Public Record

Abstract Assessing the extent to which states have implemented the decisions of supranational human rights bodies is a challenging task. It requires supranational bodies—be they judicial, quasi-judicial or political—to create an evidence-based public record of the status quo of implementation at any point in time and determine whether the measures taken do, in fact, satisfy the requirements of the decision. This, in turn, relies upon states engaging in good faith, victims having a voice, and civil society organizations seizing the opportunity to influence the follow-up process. Using empirical data from interviews in selected states in the African, Inter-American and European regions, and within regional and United Nations bodies, this article argues that in no human rights ‘system’ are all these expectations met, in part because follow-up work is inadequately resourced. It argues that supranational bodies should proactively seek out diverse sources of information and adopt more transparent and responsive working methods so as to enable ‘real time’ participation by all interested parties. The article concludes with recommendations for supranational bodies, and state and non-state actors.

scholarly journals 'The Last Human Rights Defender in the United Arab Emirates'

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 596-608
Author(s):  
Ahmed Mansoor ◽  
Manu Luksch
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Al Jazeera ◽  
Amnesty International ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
The Status ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
Opposition Movements ◽  
Insight Into

In May 2016, artist, researcher and activist, Manu Luksch, travelled to the United Arab Emirates (USE) to conduct research on ‘smart city’ initiatives in the region, and also to interview renowned human rights defender, Ahmed Mansoor. In March 2017, Mansoor was re-arrested, and on May 28th 2017, he was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. Organisations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and many others are campaigning for his release and #FreeAhmed has become a call online and on the streets in the form of graffiti and posters. Meanwhile the UAE has been one of 4 Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, who have extended their authoritarian campaign against dissidence beyond their borders to target other states who they regard as threatening the status quo, in particular the small but very wealthy state of Qatar, home of the Al-Jazeera news network that has, like Mansoor, championed opposition movements in the Middle-East. In this context, Surveillance & Society decided it was important to publish this interview almost in full as it gives unique insight into the personal and professional experience of a human rights defender in an authoritarian state that is at the same time extremely wealthy, technologically advanced and highly integrated into global capitalism.

scholarly journals Considerations on Armenian Political Elites, Diasporas and Armenian Economy in 1991-2019 Period

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ersan Bocutoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Considerable Time ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
The West ◽  
Mental Transformation ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Status ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Set Up

After the liberation of Dağlık Karabağ and close vicinity from the long-standing Armenian occupation by Azerbaijan in 2020, different scenarios concerning the future of Armenia and South Caucasus have come to fore. Therefore, there should be a realistic evaluation of status quo of Armenian political elites, diasporas and Armenian economy relations before taking into account of the scenarios. It is not difficult to estimate that since the realization of optimistic scenarios need a mental transformation of Armenian political elites and diasporas that takes considerable time, they are not likely to happen let alone in the short run but even in the medium run. The aim of this paper is to investigate the status quo of Armenian political elites, diasporas, and Armenian economy relations during 1991-2019 period so as to be able to set up a scientific base on which the evaluation of scenarios concerning the future of Armenia and South Caucasus is placed. The method adopted in the paper is a descriptive one and data are collected via internet. Paper suggests that the divergence of Armenian political elites and diasporas on fundamental issues such as Armenia-diaspora relations, Armenia-Russia relations, Armenia-the West Relations and Armenia-Turkey-Azerbaijan relations blackens not only the future of Armenia but also the future of South Caucasus.

Race

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Schickler
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Business Regulation ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Status

This chapter examines the status quo before the start of the civil rights realignment, showing that civil rights was simply not viewed as part of the standard “liberal program” as of the early 1930s. Although African Americans were vocal in attacking Franklin D. Roosevelt's weak civil rights record, they were largely alone. When whites on the left pushed Roosevelt to be a more forthright liberal or progressive, they criticized him for inadequate support for labor, weak business regulation, and insufficient recovery spending—but not for his failure to back civil rights. At this early stage, the “enemies” of a liberal Democratic Party generally were not identified with the South but instead were probusiness Democrats from the Northeast, associated with Al Smith of New York. Economic questions were the key battleground in the eyes of white liberals, and civil rights did not figure in these debates.

Opportunity and threat behind the Iron Curtain: The failed diffusion of human rights activism in Romania

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-757
Author(s):  
Thomas E Shriver ◽  
Adriana M Szabo ◽  
Laura A Bray
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Diffusion Processes ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Iron Curtain ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Charter 77 ◽  
International Human ◽  
Domestic Level

Research has highlighted the importance of diffusion processes for the emergence and spread of collective action, yet less attention has been paid to cases where diffusion fails to lead to successful campaigns. This article analyzes an instance of failed movement diffusion to explicate how proximate episodes of contention interact with domestic configurations of opportunity and threat. The authors draw on a failed human rights campaign in communist Romania. In the mid-1970s, several Eastern bloc nations signed international human rights covenants to improve international relations, unintentionally sparking dissident movements across the region. Activists in Romania sought to emulate Czechoslovakia’s dissident movement, Charter 77. But despite the success of its model, the Romanian campaign failed to materialize. This article analyzes the movement and finds that the failed diffusion resulted from a combination of limited structural opportunities at the domestic level, weak perceptions of collective efficacy, and the state’s use of flexible repression strategies.

scholarly journals International Slavic Studies: Concepts, History and Evolution

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenfei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The West ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Formal Establishment ◽  
Slavic Studies

Abstract This paper departs from the definition of Slavistics and reviews the history of international Slavic studies, from its prehistory to its formal establishment as an independent discipline in the mid-18th century, and from the Pan-Slavic movement in the mid-19th century to the confrontation of Slavistics between the East and the West in the mid-20th century during the Cold War. The paper highlights the status quo of international Slavic studies and envisions the future development of Slavic studies in China.

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