Piercing the Tattered Veil: Housing Restitution in Bosnia as a Case Study of Researching Human Rights with the Help of International Relations Theory

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Buyse
2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-179
Author(s):  
Daniel St. Pierre

Since the nonbinding Universal Declaration of Human Rights, states have created treaties and conventions to outline what is or is not acceptable regarding the treatment of human beings, with the understanding that if a state signs and ratifies these documents then that state will comply with the principles outlined within it.  Time and again however, compliance, or the lack thereof, has presented as a concern amongst many states, as well as non-state actors.  The issue of compliance is a serious one because it speaks to credibility.  If states do not anticipate compliance from one another it undermines the entire international system and any structure that has been created to address the anarchic nature of international relations will dissolve.  In order to make analysis of this massive issue area manageable, I focus on state compliance with human rights law and more specifically, compliance with the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention 1989, or C169.  Both Brazil and Argentina have signed and ratified C169 and both are democratic with indigenous populations.  Comparing these two states it allows us to better ascertain the circumstances under which states may comply with or defect from international human rights law.  I provide an overview on what rationalist theories suggest about compliance, followed by constructivist views.  I then outline my position before examining the results of the case study and assessing its’ impact as related to both theory and my arguments.  Ultimately, I find that notwithstanding ratification and well-developed democratic institutions that allow for a strong civil society to participate in politics, there are still circumstances wherein a state will defect from a human rights treaty because the gain of doing so outweighs the cost of non-compliance.


Author(s):  
Fiona Robinson ◽  
Anupam Pandey

One of the most vigorous debates within the discipline of international relations (IR) revolves around the “universal/particular” dichotomy: the tensions between worldviews that emphasize the “whole” as a unified entity or set of ideas—in the case of IR, the “whole” typically refers to the “whole world”—and those that emphasize constituent “parts”, and the differences among them. Discussions regarding universalism and particularism have involved the traditions of realism, liberalism, and the English School, as well as critical theory, poststructuralism, and postcolonialism. Furthermore, the opposition between universalism and particularism has often taken the form of the analysis of conflict between the sovereign state, on one hand, and universal human rights, on the other. Feminists have been particularly influential in challenging the universal/particular debate in the context of human rights. Their perspectives on human rights are exemplary of feminist scholarship in the field of international ethics more generally. Indeed, feminists are constantly striving to mitigate and overcome the tensions between the universal and the particular through their commitment to relationality. The crucial question that remains is: What should be the relationship between the universal and the particular and how should we conceive of this relationship in a non-antagonistic and constructive manner? The answer lies in conceiving the relationship between the two as a dialectical one. In order to understand the universal, it is important to accept the fact that it is derived from particular local contexts and can only be realized through the culturally specific norms and rules in each context.


Raído ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (27) ◽  
pp. 419
Author(s):  
Fabiana Esteves Neves ◽  
Ivi Vasconcelos Elias

Este artigo investiga a aprendizagem e a produção de conhecimento teórico na graduação em Relações Internacionais (RI) no Brasil. Consideramos que as dificuldades do estudante para ler/escrever textos acadêmicos se relacionam a questões metacognitivas e escolhas teóricas no âmbito acadêmico. Essa hipótese fundamenta-se tanto no contexto educacional brasileiro, que prioriza conceituações, no lugar do raciocínio analítico, quanto na predominância de abordagens positivistas tradicionais, desconectadas da situação de países em desenvolvimento como o Brasil. A fundamentação teórica compreende princípios da pedagogia crítica e das ciências cognitivas, com foco em quatro ações metatextuais com a escrita: reportar, sumarizar, analisar e teorizar (NEVES, 2015). Para descrever a produção dos estudantes, propôs-se a 35 alunos da disciplina “Teoria das RI I” um roteiro de leitura diagnóstico sobre um capítulo de livro teórico. As respostas para quatro das questões mostram que a falta de pensamento autônomo na disciplina se reflete na compreensão dos alunos, expressa por meio da escrita perfunctória. Consequentemente, nega-se a possibilidade de se tornarem sujeitos ativos na compreensão e transformação da política internacional. Quanto à leitura/escrita, reflexões sobre os aspectos metacognitivos do aprendizado precisam ser incluídas não apenas no ensino da linguagem, mas também nas disciplinas teóricas, especialmente no trato com textos acadêmicos.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-15
Author(s):  
Riana Mardila

Abstract. It is now 48 years from the declaration of 1982 Burma Citizenship Law. A law that legally denied the citizenship of (Muslim) Rohingya in Myanmar. It means also that for 48 years (Muslim) Rohingya remains stateless. Their fight over citizenship then becomes a global, or at least a regional challenge in International Relations sphere. In one aspect, their attempt in finding asylum to other countries at some point threaten the (arrival) state’ security. However, in another side, they also fight for their (human) security or even so (human)rights. Both securities are equally important. This article is more an introduction to the Human Security concept that was first initiated in 1994. It starts with a simple question on “how does Human Security explain the issue of Rohingya?” It seeks for key points that Human Security can explain by reflecting on Rohingya as the case study. It aims to give a bigger picture of this conflict interpreted by Human Security concept. Finally, as we are living in the globalization era, this issue is not only a state or regional challenge, but also a global challenge where IR actors can take responsibilities in helping and solving this human insecurity issue. Keywords: Rohingya; Human Security. Abstrak. Telah berlangsung 48 tahun sejak deklarasi Undang-undang Kewarganegaraan Burma 1982. Sebuah undang-undang yang secara hukum menolak kewarganegaraan (Muslim) Rohingya di Myanmar. Itu juga berarti bahwa selama 48 tahun (Muslim) Rohingya tetap tanpa kewarganegaraan. Perjuangan mereka atas kewarganegaraan kemudian menjadi tantangan global, atau setidaknya tantangan regional dalam ranah Hubungan Internasional. Di satu aspek, upaya mereka untuk mencari suaka ke negara lain pada titik tertentu mengancam keamanan (kedatangan) negara. Namun di sisi lain, mereka juga memperjuangkan keamanan (manusia) atau bahkan lebih (hak asasi manusia). Kedua sekuritas itu sama pentingnya. Artikel ini lebih merupakan pengenalan tentang konsep Keamanan Manusia yang pertama kali dimulai pada tahun 1994. Artikel ini dimulai dengan pertanyaan sederhana tentang "bagaimana Keamanan Manusia menjelaskan masalah Rohingya?" Ini mencari poin-poin penting yang dapat dijelaskan oleh Human Security dengan merefleksikan Rohingya sebagai studi kasus. Hal ini bertujuan untuk memberikan gambaran yang lebih besar tentang konflik yang ditafsirkan oleh konsep Human Security. Terakhir, saat kita hidup di era globalisasi, masalah ini tidak hanya menjadi tantangan negara atau regional, tetapi juga tantangan global di mana para aktor IR dapat mengambil tanggung jawab dalam membantu dan menyelesaikan masalah ketidakamanan manusia ini.Kata Kunci. Rohingya; Keamanan Manusia.


Author(s):  
Timothy J. White

The concluding chapter summarizes the major points of the chapters and identify some common themes that emerge from the analysis provided by the contributors. This chapter explains how International Relations theory is furthered by the attempt to apply the case study method to explore the causal mechanisms associated with different theories. While the Northern Ireland case confounds the theoretical predictions of multi-lateral governance and the literature on decommissioning, certain theoretical approaches, especially those emanating from constructivism, proved useful in explaining the arrival of a peace settlement in Northern Ireland. Constructivism has the advantage of allowing the researcher to focus on the unique characteristics of the actors involved and the ideas and ideologies they devised and employed to pursue their interests, including peace.


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
BALAKRISHNAN RAJAGOPAL

The multiplication of legal orders is characteristic of what one could call an age of globalization and counter-hegemonic globalization. In this age, the relationship between international law and other normative orders is increasingly important. The dominant disciplinary frameworks that provide explanations of such a relationship are focused on compliance with and/or the effectiveness of international norms in domestic legal orders and are derived from international relations. In this article, I examine the limits and possibilities of such approaches through a case study of the use of law (at multiple levels) by one of India's most prominent social movements, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada). The article argues that the use of law by a social movement is a concrete instance of counter-hegemonic globalization in which international law is one of many different legal orders, a situation of global legal pluralism, in which it is impossible to tell in advance which normative order will best advance cosmopolitan goals such as human rights.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (54) ◽  
pp. 23-32
Author(s):  
Sudeep Kumar Mr.

This paper critically analyses the case study of Chinese international relations theory through the lens of a non-Western International relations theoretical framework.There should be an attempt to democratise the existing international relations discipline because societal interactions among the countries across the globe cannot be judged by the yardstick of Western experiences. Non-Western international relations theories can be also generated under the post-positivist methodological framework, as it is equally important to include the localised voices and experiences of Asian, African and Latin American countries by reactivating their local historical traditions and ancient philosophies, sociological perspective and ontological, epistemological and axiological dimension of international relations theories 3. Key words: International Relations Theory - Tribute System – Confucian Model of Governance – World Order


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document