Grasping the Dilemma

2020 ◽  
pp. 181-196
Author(s):  
Daniel Krcmaric
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
World Politics ◽  
International Justice ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
New Era ◽  
The World ◽  
Atrocity Crimes ◽  
Exit Options

This chapter summarizes the theory and the supporting empirical evidence on rulers who commit massive human rights abuses and are now held accountable in a way that was unthinkable just a few decades ago. It explains how the pursuit of international justice has reshaped the world politics and the trend toward holding leaders accountable for atrocity crimes complicates the exile option. It also discusses how the attractiveness of a foreign retirement is conditional on a leader's culpability for mass atrocities in the new era of accountability. The chapter refers to the justice cascade that shapes the behavior of leaders while they are still in power as they influence the viability of exile as a retirement option. It clarifies how the justice cascade deters atrocities as leaders know that committing abuses will decrease their exit options if they ever need to flee abroad.

The Justice Dilemma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Krcmaric
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
World Politics ◽  
International Justice ◽  
Civil Conflicts ◽  
Golden Parachute ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Mass Atrocity ◽  
Atrocity Crimes ◽  
Exit Options

Abusive leaders are now held accountable for their crimes in a way that was unimaginable just a few decades ago. What are the consequences of this recent push for international justice? This book explains why the “golden parachute” of exile is no longer an attractive retirement option for oppressive rulers. The book argues that this is both a blessing and a curse: leaders culpable for atrocity crimes fight longer civil wars because they lack good exit options, but the threat of international prosecution deters some leaders from committing atrocities in the first place. The book diagnoses an inherent tension between conflict resolution and atrocity prevention, two of the signature goals of the international community. It also sheds light on several important puzzles in world politics. Why do some rulers choose to fight until they are killed or captured? Why not simply save oneself by going into exile? Why do some civil conflicts last so much longer than others? Why has state-sponsored violence against civilians fallen in recent years? While exploring these questions, the book marshals statistical evidence on patterns of exile, civil war duration, and mass atrocity onset. It also reconstructs the decision-making processes of embattled leaders to show how contemporary international justice both deters atrocities and prolongs conflicts.

War and the Politics of Ethics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Zehfuss
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Ethics Training ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
The World ◽  
Ethics And Politics

Contemporary Western war is represented as enacting the West’s ability and responsibility to help make the world a better place for others, in particular to protect them from oppression and serious human rights abuses. That is, war has become permissible again, indeed even required, as ethical war. At the same time, however, Western war kills and destroys. This creates a paradox: Western war risks killing those it proposes to protect. This book examines how we have responded to this dilemma and challenges the vision of ethical war itself. That is, it explores how the commitment to ethics shapes the practice of war and indeed how practices come, in turn, to shape what is considered ethical in war. The book closely examines particular practices of warfare, such as targeting, the use of cultural knowledge, and ethics training for soldiers. What emerges is that instead of constraining violence, the commitment to ethics enables and enhances it. The book argues that the production of ethical war relies on an impossible but obscured separation between ethics and politics, that is, a problematic politics of ethics, and reflects on the need to make decisions at the limit of ethics.

Human Rights, Governance, and Democracy: The World Bank's Problem Frontiers

1993 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Gillies
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Bank Lending ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Conditions

This article examines the case for and against applying political conditions to World Bank lending, the circumstances that might trigger such conditions, and the means by which they may be applied. It also surveys the genesis and diverse meaning of the ‘good governance’ agenda and briefly examines how the Bank responded to human rights abuses in China and Kenya.

Violence, Development, and Canada’s New Transnational Jurisprudence

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliza Guyol-Meinrath Echeverry
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Global Era ◽  
Corporate Development ◽  
The World ◽  
Forms Of Violence

For decades, Canadian-based corporate development projects have been linked to acts of violence in countries all over the world. These acts include sexual violence, destruction of property, community displacement, the use of forced labor, and other forms of violence. While Canada has repeatedly failed to pass legislation holding Canadian-based corporations accountable for human rights abuses committed abroad, Canadian courts are increasingly asserting their jurisdiction over cases of development-related violence. Analyzing two ongoing court cases—Caal v. Hudbay, regarding sexual violence in Guatemala, and Araya v. Nevsun, regarding forced labor in Eritrea— this article examines the potential and limits of law to address the bureaucratic mechanisms and grounded experiences of corporate-development-related violence, and the changing relationship between states, corporations, law, and human rights in the modern global era.

Human Rights Watch Arms Project—Chemical and Biological Weapons Program

1996 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Nongovernmental Organization ◽  
Biological Weapons ◽  
Free Expression ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
The World ◽  
Chemical And Biological Weapons

Human Rights Watch is the largest U.S.-based independent human rights organization. It conducts regular, systematic investigations of human rights abuses in some seventy countries around the world. Human Rights Watch (HRW) includes five divisions, covering Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, and the signatories of the Helsinki accords, and has four thematic projects: the Arms Project, the Women's Rights Project, the Children's Rights Project, and the Free Expression Project. HRW maintains offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, London, Brussels, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Dushanbe, and Hong Kong. Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds.

Between Emotion and Calculation

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (136) ◽  
pp. 129-141
Author(s):  
Ximena Espeche
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
The World

Abstract Operation Truth (Operación Verdad) was the Cuban Revolution’s first major intervention in the global mass media. In late January 1959, the revolutionary government invited journalists and politicians from around the world to witness the trials and executions of individuals accused of committing human rights abuses during the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship. This essay argues that Operation Truth prompted a battle of information waged to define the legitimacy of emotion and calculation as a way of supporting political action in Cuba. Operation Truth coverage judged the revolutionary leaders’ suitability as governing officials by characterizing them as bearers of a “true masculinity,” and positively or negatively judging their “Latin” identity.

Preface: Democratic Transition in Africa

1993 ◽  
Vol 21 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 6-7
Author(s):  
Guy Martin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
International System ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Political Repression ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
New Era ◽  
Supportive Environment

Since 1989, the “winds of change” have swept throughout Africa, signaling the dawn of a new era, variously referred to as the “second independence,” or the “Springtime of Africa.” After three decades of authoritarian one- (or no) party rule characterized by political repression, human rights abuses, economic mismanagement, nepotism and corruption, democracy is spreading like bushfire throughout Africa. In 1992 an evaluation of the Carter Center’s African Governance Program, noted that 9 African countries may be described as “democratic,” 4 are under a “directed democracy” regime, and 31 are in transition to democracy, with various degrees of commitment. Popular struggles for democracy in Africa are not new, they have been here since independence. But recent changes in the structure of the international system (notably successful popular struggles for democracy in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union) have created a generally favorable and supportive environment for their development and maturation.

Torture at Abu Ghraib: Non-disclosure and Impunity

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aloysia Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
The United States ◽  
Abu Ghraib ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
The World ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Culture Of Silence ◽  
Abu Ghraib Prison ◽  
Different Parts

This chapter discusses some of the long-standing social and political impacts of the torture of prisoners in Iraq by Coalition forces, and reflects on the consequences of the culture of silence and impunity that has typified torture in the so-called War on Terror. More specifically, it explores the culture of silence and non-disclosure that has led to further human rights abuses globally, including the exportation of torture techniques used at Abu Ghraib prison to different parts of the world, the increased public acceptance of torture in countries such as the United States and Australia, and the marginalisation and vilification of certain groups within the global community. Finally, the chapter explores the importance of acknowledgement, transparency, and accountability in relation to torture and for the broader promotion and protection of human rights, and the achievement of long-standing peace in the region.

The Sociopolitical Discourse of Violeta Parra and Víctor Jara - The Culture of People's Power

2017 ◽  
pp. 109-126
Author(s):  
Elena Maria De Costa
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Central America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Social Commentary ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Military Regimes ◽  
The World ◽  
Latin American Culture ◽  
History Of

While its roots lie deep in Latin American culture and history, the New Song music was first brought to the attention of the world when totalitarian military regimes seized power in South America during the 1970s. Torture, death, persecution, or disappearance became the tragic fate of thousands of citizens including Violeta Parra and Victor Jara of Chile, popular and talented singer-songwriters (cantautores), the latter executed for his songs of justice and freedom. Other New Song artists were driven into exile to avoid a similar fate. Later, during the 1980s, a second, deadlier wave of terror swept through Central America in genocidal proportions. Again, New Song artists urgently sang about these horrific human rights violations, denouncing the perpetrators of this violence and telling the story of the struggle of people resisting. Beyond the desired social space in which to talk about horrific human rights abuses, there is a deep history of social commentary in musical and other performative traditions in Latin America.

A New Era of Global Human Rights

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Lichtenstein
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
The United States ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
New Era ◽  
Collective Voice ◽  
International Labor ◽  
The World

The rights regime that emerged in the second half of the twentieth century proved enormously liberating, not only in the United States but throughout the world as well, and especially in the less industrialized and democratic nations where the demand for human rights and civil liberties has sparked reform and revolution. But for both workers and citizens, an orientation that privileges individual rights above all else can also function as both a poor substitute for and a legal subversion of the institutions that once provided a collective voice for workers and other subaltern strata. This chapter explores this trade-off. According to the International Labor Organization's World Labor Report, trade union membership dropped sharply during the 1990s, falling to less than 20 percent of workers in forty-eight out of ninety-two countries. The decline was most serious in manufacturing, even though on a worldwide basis the manufacture of actual products in actual factories was a booming proposition.

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