Human Rights Education before the Challenges of the Emerging Human Rights of the 21st Century

OpenAIRE

Gloria Ramirez

2006-01-01

This article examines Human Rights Education vis-a-vis the challenges of the emerging human rights of the 21st century. It discusses the difficult situation of HRE in the uncertain and insecure times of globalization and permanent violence particularly after the September 11 attacks. In spite of these unfavorable circumstances, it can be concluded that HRE has gained ground in the agenda of NGO´s to become a demand formulated hand in hand with the fight for democracy and peace. Due to the fac...

MEDICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES OF THE DECISIONS RENDERED BY THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakhvadze, B; Chakhvadze, G

2017-01-01

The European Convention on Human rights is a document that protects human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals, and the European Court of Human Rights and its case-law makes a convention a powerful instrument to meet the new challenges of modernity and protect the principles of rule of law and democracy. This is important, particularly for young democracies, including Georgia. The more that Georgia is a party to this convention. Article 3 of the convention deals with torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, while article 8 deals with private life, home and correspondence. At the same time, the international practice of the European court of human rights shows that these articles are often used with regard to medical rights. The paper highlights the most recent and interesting cases from the case-law of the ECHR, in which the courts conclusions are based solely on the European Convention on Human Rights. In most instances, the European Court of Human Rights uses the principle of democracy with regard to medical rights. The European court of human rights considers medical rights as moral underpinning rights. Particularly in every occasion, the European Court of Human Rights acknowledges an ethical dimension of these rights. In most instances, it does not matter whether a plaintiff is a free person or prisoner, the European court of human rights make decisions based on fundamental human rights and freedoms of individuals.

Tensions and Dilemmas about Education in Human Rights in Democracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Magendzo, Abraham

1994-01-01

Asserts that incorporating human rights issues into the curriculum causes tensions, especially in nations with histories of military dictatorships. Describes human rights education in Chile and other Latin American nations. Discusses whether human rights should be a separate curriculum subject or integrated into all courses. (CFR)

Rights and wrongs under the ECHR : The prohibition of abuse of rights in Article 17 of the European Convention on Human Rights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Morree, P.E.

2016-01-01

The prohibition of abuse of rights in Article 17 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR or Convention) embodies one of the Convention’s main principles: its commitment to democracy and democratic values. The provision aims to prevent groups and individuals from successfully invoking

Human rights, State Violence and Political Resistance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Signe Larsen

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This article investigates Hannah Arendt’s and Giorgio Agamben’s critiques of human rights and argues that the two thinkers share a blind spot with regard to the radical potentials of human rights. The problem is that they do not break with two fixed imaginaries which still haunt liberal democracies: (1 the historical essentialist understanding of human rights and (2 nation-states and individuals as the principal loci for political rights, power, and action. Based on the work of Jacques Rancière, Costas Douzinas, and Étienne Balibar this article argues that human rights can be thought of as a constituent part of a radical political praxis and resistance movement. If human rights are thought of as a praxis of “right-ing” (Douzinas or a “dissensus” (Rancière, which both contest the current “distribution of the sensible,” a new “cosmopolitics of human rights” can be imagined where human rights are conceived as a borderline concept (Balibar.

Metaphors of Social Studies Teacher Candidates on Democracy

Science.gov (United States)

Tural, Aysegül

2018-01-01

Democracy is a form of government in which principle of equality is based, human rights and freedoms are protected. In this research, it is aimed to reveal democracy perceptions of social science teacher candidates through metaphors. Towards this aim, 105 social science teacher candidates are consulted about their democracy opinions. Study is a…

Speaking of Freedom: U.S. Multicultural Literature and Human Rights Talk In an Emerging Democracy

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Amy Levin

2015-02-01

In February 2013, I served as the first US Fulbright scholar in a Myanmar public university in almost thirty years. Our discipline was chosen for this venture because, according to the project overview, “American literature is not a sensitive subject with the Ministry of Education and thus a good idea.” Knowing it to be risky, I introduced Masters students and their faculty to recent US literature, focusing primarily on works by women and minorities beginning with the Civil Rights movement. My texts were selected from those I teach in my course on US women writers at home, but in Myanmar, they were discussed with predominantly female groups representing the many religious and ethnic groups within Myanmar.  On other occasions, I met with women from NGOs or participated in programs on Women’s Studies and issues such as human trafficking. The experience yielded multiple opportunities to reflect and theorize about the nature of global rights and reciprocity; I was able to compare how women in Myanmar and the US responded to concerns relevant to marginalized populations, even as I confronted issues arising from post-colonialism and male privilege daily.  Yet the most intriguing parts of the experience were the silences, evasions, and hesitations which constantly interrupted conversations about the opportunities for improving civil rights in the shift toward democracy.  Slowly, we were able to use literature to draw implicit parallels and open conversations about “sensitive topics” so that in the end, the experience was transformative for all of us. Adapting a line from a Naomi Shihab Nye poem, one of my students wrote, “Until you speak Myanmar, you will not understand freedom.” And she was right. My presentation will analyze how US multicultural women’s literature provided scaffolding for more extensive conversations about women and human rights, drawing on literary theory and student narratives as appropriate.

Professional Education in Postcolonial Democracies: Indigenous Rights, Universities, and Graduate Attributes

Science.gov (United States)

Ma Rhea, Zane

2013-01-01

This paper examines the nexus between Indigenous rights, the modern university, and graduate attributes and theorises the potential of the university in postcolonial democracies to address Indigenous rights in its professional education programs. It posits the postcolonial professional as one who has been educated about internationally recognised…

Human Rights Education, Postcolonial Scholarship, and Action for Social Justice

Science.gov (United States)

Osler, Audrey

2015-01-01

In our global age, educational researchers and practitioners need tools that can be applied in a range of contexts and scales: local, national, and international. This article argues that human rights education (HRE) is a site of struggle in which human rights and democracy need to be constantly renewed. It contextualizes HRE within a critical,…

Science, democracy, and the right to research.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Mark B; Guston, David H

2009-09-01

Debates over the politicization of science have led some to claim that scientists have or should have a "right to research." This article examines the political meaning and implications of the right to research with respect to different historical conceptions of rights. The more common "liberal" view sees rights as protections against social and political interference. The "republican" view, in contrast, conceives rights as claims to civic membership. Building on the republican view of rights, this article conceives the right to research as embedding science more firmly and explicitly within society, rather than sheltering science from society. From this perspective, all citizens should enjoy a general right to free inquiry, but this right to inquiry does not necessarily encompass all scientific research. Because rights are most reliably protected when embedded within democratic culture and institutions, claims for a right to research should be considered in light of how the research in question contributes to democracy. By putting both research and rights in a social context, this article shows that the claim for a right to research is best understood, not as a guarantee for public support of science, but as a way to initiate public deliberation and debate about which sorts of inquiry deserve public support.

Visual graphics for human rights, social justice, democracy and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The value of human rights in a democratic South Africa is constantly threatened and often waived for nefarious reasons. We contend that the use of visual graphics among incoming university visual art students provides a mode of engagement that helps to inculcate awareness of human rights, social responsibility, and the ...

The right to freedom of expression: The mother of our democracy ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Student-teachers have a sense of the importance of the right to freedom of expression in a democracy, but they have not yet internalised the mechanism or process of balancing the right in praxis. This does not bode well as the school system will fail to be a market place of ideas. In order to enable learners to reach their full ...

Kingdom, covenant, and human rights

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Koos Vorster

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This research revisits the idea of a Christian perspective on human rights. Departing from a hermeneutics of trust, this article considers the concept of human rights from the perspective of revelation history. Revelation history departs from the consent of the parts of Scripture, irrespective of differences in dating, original languages, canonical differentiation, cultural, social and historical contexts. Scripture offers a theological unity consisting of various topics which are developed continuing and purposeful throughout the biblical revelation. Two of the major topics in Scripture as they are revealed by a revelation historical survey are the concepts kingdom of God and the covenant of God with God’s people. In this article these two concepts will be used as a foundation for a Christian theory of human rights both as legal human rights and moral human rights. The central theoretical argument of this investigation is that both the concepts kingdom and covenant are essentially about justice and relationships – the justice of the kingdom and the relation between God and humankind, the relation between people and the relation between humans and creation. These relations are the essence of the rights people have, vis-à-vis the authority of the day and other people. These rights, which deal with the orderly maintenance of relationships, can be formalised in legal human rights and should be nurtured and protected by the civil authorities. Christians and churches as moral agents in society have the calling to promote the idea of human rights in constitutional democracies.

Philosophy of democracy and Principles of Democracy

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Jarmila Chovancová

2016-07-01

Full Text Available As the title of suggests the article deals with the problems of democracy, its philosophy and also dominant principles. The author reflects interpretation of democracy on the society with their different understand.             Democracy represents a form of government, a way of political life where these principles are put into practice.             Democracy and its separate principles are expressed in the ultimate legal rules in the democratic countries. Principle of participation as a democratic principle rests with the fact that citizens have right to participate in state administration either directly or via their elected representatives. This principle also ensures that citizens participating in state administration enjoy equal basic rights and liberties and also guarantees that no person can be excluded from participation in state administration or from access to elected or other posts.             Methodology: In the article I using method of analyze - I analyzing dominant problems of democracy-its principles in democratic countries. Another method is comparation- understanding democracy from historical aspect. And the end I also using method of synthesis-explanation democracy understand today.

From the rights of man to the human rights: Man - nation - humanity

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Zaharijević Adriana

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The insistence on the fact that human rights and the rights of man (codified in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, respectively are not one and the same, which could be deduced from the notion of man common to both terms, is the key thesis of this text. By developing this motive, I try to determine the following: that the notion of man, by definition inclusive and abstractly non-discriminative term, is in fact established on tacit exclusions in the time of its inception (Enlightenment revolutinary era, and it was only upon these exclusions that the term man could have signified "the free and equal". Although the parallel or simultaneous evolution and implementation of the rights of man and national rights might seem contradictory, I seek to demonstrate that this paradox is only ostensible, arguing that the notion of man is itself limited and exclusionary, and is therefore compatible with the exclusivity which is the conditio sine qua non of nation. The consequences of nationalism - World Wars, primarily - proved that the conception of liberty and equality, based on the conception of fraternity of men (white European males, and of partial democracy pretending to be universal, cannot be maintained any further. Codification of universal human rights represents a reaction to this internal discrepancy inasmuch as it is a reaction to the destructiveness of all kinds of nationalisms. The notion of life, developed in this text, corresponds to the fundamental requirement for the right to life (as the first and the most basic of all human rights, which no longer belongs to "man", but to everyone.

Democracies restricting democratic rights: some classical sources and implications for ethics of biometrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Leavitt, Frank J

2011-03-01

Ancient Greek and 17th century English philosophy are not usually discussed along with the ethics of biometrics and data sharing. Academic ethics today, however, suffers from a lack of background in classical texts. We may discuss whether biometrics and data sharing are consistent with democracy, but if we do not know what democracy is, then we cannot know what actions are consistent with it. I shall discuss how and why democracies have restricted the rights of their citizens. I will give the most attention to two paradigms that have most influenced modern democratic thinking: 17th century English democracy and ancient Athens. I do not accept the dogma that the Athenians were obviously wrong to try and then to condemn Socrates. His death-loving doctrine could not but have weakened the will of the youth to work and fight for the good of Athens. I will try to understand the Athenians' point of view and their need to defend their security. At the end, I will apply these lessons to biometrics and data sharing for security reasons.

Democracies Restricting Democratic Rights: Some Classical Sources and Implications for Ethics of Biometrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank J. Leavitt

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Ancient Greek and 17th century English philosophy are not usually discussed along with the ethics of biometrics and data sharing. Academic ethics today, however, suffers from a lack of background in classical texts. We may discuss whether biometrics and data sharing are consistent with democracy, but if we do not know what democracy is, then we cannot know what actions are consistent with it. I shall discuss how and why democracies have restricted the rights of their citizens. I will give the most attention to two paradigms that have most influenced modern democratic thinking: 17th century English democracy and ancient Athens. I do not accept the dogma that the Athenians were obviously wrong to try and then to condemn Socrates. His death-loving doctrine could not but have weakened the will of the youth to work and fight for the good of Athens. I will try to understand the Athenians' point of view and their need to defend their security. At the end, I will apply these lessons to biometrics and data sharing for security reasons.

Democracy and development in the age of globalisation | Mubangizi ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Globalisation is one of the leading characteristics of the world today – a world that is striving for development, democracy and the protection of human rights. There is no doubt that the relationship between globalisation and democracy is quite complex. So too is the relationship between globalisation and development.

Thinking About Education in Human Rights from an Ethical and Controversial Perspective

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Abraham Magendzo

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper delves into the relationship between the education in human rights and ethics from a controversial perspective. It is a direction that seeks to help people become active and participatory citizens in a pluralistic democracy. Three fundamental ethical principles are analyzed, and they allow teaching human rights through controversy: Human rights: a global ethics of human rights; human rights: an ethical minimum; human rights and moral pluralism. This article proposes to relate human rights education with the critical-dialogical pedagogy. In this perspective are identified four critical inquiry tools that serve to develop different dimensions for a critical understanding in the social sphere: the approach of the problem, the reflexive skepticism, the multiperspectivity, and systemic thinking.

The right of self-determination and multiparty democracy: two sides of the same coin?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vidmar, J.

2010-01-01

This article is concerned with the relationship between the right of self-determination and the political system of multiparty democracy. It considers whether international law supports the view that operation of the right of self-determination requires a multiparty political system. It also

The Usefulness of the Legal Concept of Human Dignity in the Human Rights Discourse: Literature Review

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Borja Fernandez Burgueño

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This paper will evaluate the convenience of using the legal concept of human dignity in the human rights discourse and its effectiveness to address injustice in a twenty-first century democratic society. This article will argue that the difficulty of defining human dignity does not diminish its merits and allows it to be both solid and adaptable to new challenges. Then, this paper will argue that human dignity is a powerful concept due to its capacity to bring change and modernise society and will conclude that there is a strong relationship between time, human dignity, human rights and democracy.

THE BASIC OBJECTIVES OF DEMECRACY  AND FUNDAMENTAL INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS  FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

OpenAIRE

ILGAZ , Dr.Nesrin DEMİR  Assist.Prof.Dr.Deniz

2007-01-01

The basic objectives of democracy, as they take place openly in the definition of the concept and are lead primarily by freedom and equality, are listed as political representation, political participation and rights. The first important document created in the international arena concerning human rights is the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, an instrument of the United Nations. A regional agreement which has great significance is the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental...

Profiles of four women. Health and human rights activists.

Science.gov (United States)

Reiner, L; Sollom, R

1997-01-01

This article briefly profiles four women physicians working for health and human rights around the world. Dr. Ruchama Marton, an Israeli psychiatrist and activist for peace in the Middle East, is a founder of Physicians for Human Rights/Israel. Dr. Jane Green Schaller is a US pediatrician whose 1985 trip to South Africa initiated her human rights involvement, which includes the founding of Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Judith van Heerden, a primary care physician in South Africa, has worked for reform of prison health care, to establish hospice care, and, most recently, for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) education for medical students. Dr. Ma Thida, the only physician not interviewed for this article, is currently held in a Burmese prison because of her work on behalf of the National League for Democracy. The profiles suggest the breadth of human rights work worldwide and are a testament to what physicians can do.

Equality, Human Dignity and Minorities: A Social Democracy in Construction

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Jacson Gross

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article deals with equality, human dignity and the need to build a social democracy. Bringing equality concepts in a broad sense as foundation work, is set to develop writing by making some remarks on the dignity of the individual and minorities, often not heard, even within democratic scenarios since democracy is the voice the most by hiding voices and demands of sectors or groups excluded from the agenda. Minorities such as LGBT, black, residents of peripheral areas of large cities, among others, do not have their demands heard from this idea, we seek a concept of social democracy, which is wider than just the voice of the majority.

76 FR 77363 - Human Rights Day and Human Rights Week, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-13

..., we celebrate our fundamental freedoms and renew our commitment to upholding and advancing human..., race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disability. Dictators seek to.... Around the world, we witnessed significant progress in consolidating democracy and expanding freedoms...

60 THE PLACE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN NIGERIA'S DEMOCRACY ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ike Odimegwu

certain institutions are needed to secure and protect those inviolable and inalienable rights ... generated serious debate in the intellectual circle, depending on the school one ... of the nature and essential characteristics of human person. The particular .... wild beast and strong feelings lead astray rules and the very best of ...

The Phenomenology of Democracy

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Robert

2009-01-01

Human beings originate votes, and democracy constitutes decisions. This is the essence of democracy. A phenomenological analysis of the vote and of the decision reveals for us the inherent strength of democracy and its deficiencies. Alexis de Tocqueville pioneered this form of enquiry into democracy and produced positive results from it.…

Development of society and human rights and freedom

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Vilić Dragana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the direct connection between the development of human society and progress in the realization of and respect for human rights and freedoms, as well as a number of problems that stand in the way for their full realization. The Company to its characteristics should allow the free development of man to protect his rights, freedom and autonomy. On the other hand, an individual has an active role in building a society whose form is: economic development, permanent democratization of social relations, development and dissemination of human rights and freedoms, the existence of the rule of law and so on. Degree of respect for human rights and freedoms measured level of development achieved and the characteristics of democracy in a society. The main causes of their violations and neglect, as well as the social climate and miles of contributing to this are: domination of one ideology, cultural closeness, economic underdevelopment and the like. As an example, of vulnerable groups in the realization of human rights can be given: the poor, women, children, immigrants, same-sex oriented persons, etc. The paper presents the view Alain Touraine in the development of human society and, related to it, the development of human rights, who was going in the direction of the transformation of rights from abstract to concrete rights, with particular emphasis on cultural rights.

Visual Graphics for Human Rights, Social Justice, Democracy and the Public Good

Science.gov (United States)

Nanackchand, Vedant; Berman, Kim

2012-01-01

The value of human rights in a democratic South Africa is constantly threatened and often waived for nefarious reasons. We contend that the use of visual graphics among incoming university visual art students provides a mode of engagement that helps to inculcate awareness of human rights, social responsibility, and the public good in South African…

Right to Development and Right to the City : A Proposal of Human Rights Categories Universal as assumptions Citizenship

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Alessandra Danielle Carneiro dos Santos Hilário

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the Right to the City, in a conceptual dimension and wide, and his dialectical relationship with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and its universalism and cultural relativism categories. The Right to the City (RtC is capitula- ted as one of the categories of the Human Right to Development from the compartments on Human Rights to descend from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Linked to this assumption, the discussion of universalism and cultural relativism theories bring to the fore important questions and considerations as to RtC condition, since in its current design and trampled by an evil legacy of neoliberalism, this right has demonstrated the need for authoritative action of the State, given the nature of fundamental human right of the third dimension. Through RtC, boasts up of economic, social and cultural rights, requiring a positive action of the state as compliance guarantee this human right. In this bias, relevant are discussions about the concept of law, morality, liberalism, effectiveness and universality of human rights theories and cultural relativism in dialectic with the RtC and its complexity. It starts from the assumption that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other statements which have descended universality (despite criticism, however, this har- vest, it is imperative closer examination of the concept, forecast, guarantee and effective- ness fundamental human rights, which may lead to a mixed application of universalistic and relativistic theories when analyzed from the perspective of these institutes. The Hu- man Right to Development (RtD presupposes notions of environmental sustainability and economic democracy, with qualified participation of social subjects (wide citizenship, seen continuous and articulated perspective as guiding the development process.

The Death of Democracy and the Forces of Power and Control: The Case of Europe

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Theo Gavrielides

2016-08-01

Full Text Available At the time of writing, the United Kingdom is grabbling with its decision to abandon its European Union membership. As the country is divided and hate incidents are increased by almost 50%, this think-piece presents a critical analysis of Europe’s missed opportunity for social justice. The paper presents evidence by analysing the civil and political rights jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in order to explore the potential of what it calls the “human rights project” for a regional democracy. The paper shows that a key objective of the European Convention of Human Rights was the development of case law that would construct a regional democracy for bringing consistency in the enjoyment of civil and political rights across the continent. This “human rights project” was well underway, but is now hampered by contemporary forces of power and control that are ridiculing the work and status of the Council of Europe. The paper identifies three levers that move these forces, namely: financial and security terror as well as nationalism. The paper warns that if these forces are not managed, the backlash in social justice will continue while the human rights project for a regional democracy will come to its demise.

From the Civil War to 9/11: Democracy and the Right to a Fair Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus, Alan S.

2011-01-01

In the United States, the right to a fair trial is protected by the Constitution. The ideal of justice is a critical underpinning of the democracy. However, while the United States is a model of an honorable and just court system most of the time, our constitutional rights are occasionally stretched or broken. The rationale is often national…

Debugging Democracy

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Alexander Likhotal

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Democracy was the most successful political idea of the 20th century. However since the beginning of the new century democracy has been clearly suffering from serious structural problems, rather than a few isolated ailments. Why has it run into trouble, can it be revived? In the consumption driven world people have started to be driven by the belief in economic prosperity as the guarantee of human freedom. As a result, human development and personal status have become hostages of economic performance, deforming basic civilisation’s ethical matrix. However in 10-15 years, the world may be completely different. We are looking at communications and technology revolutions occurring in very abbreviated time frames. Soon, billions of people will interact via a fast data-transferring Metaweb, and it will change social standards as well as human behaviour patterns. Integrated global economies functioning as holistic entities will spur a deep reframing of global governance, shaping a new configuration of political, economic and military power. One can hardly expect that these changes will leave democratic mechanisms intact. It’s a pivotal moment for all of us because we are facing paradigm changes in our way of life. We clearly need a new political vision that is deliverable quickly. Democracy can be reset if it can provide a platform for collective judgement and individual development—in a value-driven process, when values manifest themselves in concrete and socially meaningful issues, and are not reduced to the economic optimization and politics of the wallet. In other words, the only remedy to resolve the crisis of democracy is more democracy.

Aggregate Democracyand Deliberative Democracy: An Inevitable Practical Circle

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Macarena Marey

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The paper sets forth programmatically a series of conditions necessary for a deliberative theory of democracy to be able to account for the normative value of the two fundamental principles of democracy: human rights and popular sovereignty. The starting point is the question of whether aggregate conceptions are capable ofdesigning collective decision-making procedures in which those two principles are mutually entailed. The article emphasizes the importance for democratic procedures to include a reciprocal justification requirement that cannot be fully satisfied by aggregate or agonistic conceptions.

DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIA: THE ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

FBL

The study revealed that many people within the voting age did not vote and were ... known American political scientist, as quoted in Cayne (1993:777) as “an implicit bargain ..... Functional democracy requires strong/effective political institutions and basic rights ... Experience” African Journal of Social Science and Humanity.

Globalization, democracy, and child health in developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Welander, Anna; Lyttkens, Carl Hampus; Nilsson, Therese

2015-07-01

Good health is crucial for human and economic development. In particular poor health in childhood is of utmost concern since it causes irreversible damage and has implications later in life. Recent research suggests globalization is a strong force affecting adult and child health outcomes. Yet, there is much unexplained variation with respect to the globalization effect on child health, in particular in low- and middle-income countries. One factor that could explain such variation across countries is the quality of democracy. Using panel data for 70 developing countries between 1970 and 2009 this paper disentangles the relationship between globalization, democracy, and child health. Specifically the paper examines how globalization and a country's democratic status and historical experience with democracy, respectively, affect infant mortality. In line with previous research, results suggest that globalization reduces infant mortality and that the level of democracy in a country generally improves child health outcomes. Additionally, democracy matters for the size of the globalization effect on child health. If for example Côte d'Ivoire had been a democracy in the 2000-2009 period, this effect would translate into 1200 fewer infant deaths in an average year compared to the situation without democracy. We also find that nutrition is the most important mediator in the relationship. To conclude, globalization and democracy together associate with better child health in developing countries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The dynamics of democracy, development and cultural values.

Science.gov (United States)

Spaiser, Viktoria; Ranganathan, Shyam; Mann, Richard P; Sumpter, David J T

2014-01-01

Over the past decades many countries have experienced rapid changes in their economies, their democratic institutions and the values of their citizens. Comprehensive data measuring these changes across very different countries has recently become openly available. Between country similarities suggest common underlying dynamics in how countries develop in terms of economy, democracy and cultural values. We apply a novel Bayesian dynamical systems approach to identify the model which best captures the complex, mainly non-linear dynamics that underlie these changes. We show that the level of Human Development Index (HDI) in a country drives first democracy and then higher emancipation of citizens. This change occurs once the countries pass a certain threshold in HDI. The data also suggests that there is a limit to the growth of wealth, set by higher emancipation. Having reached a high level of democracy and emancipation, societies tend towards equilibrium that does not support further economic growth. Our findings give strong empirical evidence against a popular political science theory, known as the Human Development Sequence. Contrary to this theory, we find that implementation of human-rights and democratisation precede increases in emancipative values.

On Education and the Taste for Democracy.

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Freire, Paulo

1991-01-01

Argues that it is impossible to teach democracy without living democracy. Shows the need to create the taste for democracy, and the appetite for learning, taking risks, and for appreciating differences. Asserts that teachers are not actually champions of civil rights, freedom and democracy but will be called on to fight for these ideals. (PRA)

'Democracy is coming to the RSA': On democracy, theology, and futural historicity

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Robert R. Vosloo

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This article brings the concept of democracy � as an open-ended tradition � in conversation with notions dealing with historicity and the future, such as �democracy to come�, �promise�, and �a democratic vision�. It is argued that although these notions are rightfully associated with the future, they also imply that democracy should not be disconnected from an emphasis on an inheritance from the past. With this emphasis in mind, the first part of the article attends to the French philosopher Jacques Derrida�s intriguing term, �democracy to come�, whereas the second part of the article takes a closer look at some aspects of the work of the South African theologian John de Gruchy on democracy, with special reference to his distinction between a democratic system and a democratic vision. The third, and final, part of the article brings some of the insights taken from the engagement with Derrida and De Gruchy into conversation with the continuing challenges facing theological discourse on democracy in South Africa today.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: A constructive proposal is made that emphasises the futural openness of democracy in a way that challenges a vague utopianism.Keywords: Democracy; Derrida; De Gruchy; future; historicity

77 FR 33945 - Delegation of Reporting Functions Specified in Section 8 of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004, as...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-08

... of Reporting Functions Specified in Section 8 of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004, as Amended... Democracy Act of 2004 (Public Law 109-480; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note), as amended by section 5 of the Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-82). You are authorized and directed to publish this...

Educação, justiça e direitos humanos Education, justice, and human rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Alberto Vilar Estêvão

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Neste artigo, o autor reflecte sobre a questão da justiça e dos direitos humanos, tendo presente as exigências da democracia deliberativa, na linha de Habermas e, sobretudo, as propostas de uma democracia comunicativa. Assim e num primeiro momento, o autor problematiza as relações entre democracia, justiça e direitos humanos, dando um particular realce quer às tendências individualistas e mercantilizadas de ver a democracia e os direitos quer às concepções deliberativa e comunicativa da democracia e suas implicações em termos de justiça e direitos humanos. A partir daqui, a reflexão inflecte para o campo da educação, como um outro lugar da justiça, debatendo a questão da justiça escolar e a concepção da escola como organização dialógica e comunicativa, realçando, em linguagem habermasiana, as funcionalidades sistémica e comunicativa que a perpassam. O autor completa esse enquadramento destacando, dentro da ideia de que a escola é um lugar de vários mundos e de justiças, as múltiplas racionalidades mobilizadas pelos actores escolares, a quem compete fazer opções, conscientes de que, quando a racionalidade comunicativa-emancipatória domina sobre outros tipos de racionalidade, a justiça e os direitos se abrem e se universalizam. Finalmente, essa discussão é retomada no último ponto do artigo, mas agora enquadrada nos desafios da globalização entendida em vários sentidos, terminando com a referência, dentro de uma concepção de globalização contra-hegemónica, a uma "democracia cosmopolítica", favorecedora de uma cordialidade solidária e cosmocidadã, apoiada nos direitos humanos.In this article the author reflects on the issue of justice and human rights, considering the demands of a deliberative democracy, along the lines of Habermas and, above all, of the proposals of a communicative democracy. Thus, at first, the author problematizes the relationships between democracy, justice, and human rights

The Evaluation of the Opinions of Prospective Teachers about the Objectives of Human Rights Education

Science.gov (United States)

Özbek, Ramazan

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate opinions of prospective teachers attending Social Sciences Teaching Department Primary Education Section on the objectives of Human Rights Education in the scope of Citizenship and Democracy Education Curriculum. This study is vital for learning of democratic life. 25 prospective teachers studying in the 8th…

Democracy and Women's Health

Science.gov (United States)

Safaei, Jalil

2009-01-01

New research on broader determinants of health has culminated into the new paradigm of social determinants of health. The fundamental view that underlies this new paradigm is that socioeconomic and political contexts in which people live have significant bearing upon their health and well-being. Unlike a wealth of research on socioeconomic determinants, few studies have focused on the role of political factors. Some of these studies examine the role of political determinants on health through their mediation with the labour environments and systems of welfare state. A few others study the relationship between polity regimes and population health more directly. However, none of them has a focus on women's health. This study explores the interactions, both direct and indirect, between democracy and women's health. In doing so, it identifies some of the main health vulnerabilities for women and explains, through a conceptual model, how democracy and respect for human rights interacts with women's health. PMID:21836777

Democracy as a legitimizing ideology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Henry, P.J.; Wetherell, G.A.; Brandt, M.

2015-01-01

Democracy as an abstract belief system bestows rights to individuals and serves egalitarian principles. However, the language of democracy may be used to justify harmful treatment of others in the world. Data from 3 representative samples of adults are presented demonstrating that satisfaction with

Designing For Democracy: Using Design Activism to Re-negotiate the Roles and Rights for Patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knutz, Eva; Markussen, Thomas; Mårbjerg Thomsen, Signe

2014-01-01

there are already a number of approaches available which in one way or the other address the relationship between design, democracy and power. We provide an account of participatory design, adversarial design and design activism thereby pointing towards design’s potential for re-distributing power and authority......In this paper we focus on ‘patient-democracy’ and ‘shared decision-making’ seen from the perspective of design practice and design research. In the research on democracy in healthcare it is rarely questioned what forms of democracy underlies these concepts. We have examined three different theories...... of democracy and the democratic practices that belong to each of these. For designers working to increase patient democracy it is of vital importance to be able to distinguish different structures underlying democratic practices and to work out methods for prototyping democracy. In design research...

Democracy is a historical urgency

Science.gov (United States)

Synek, Miroslav

2015-03-01

Survival of humanity, on this planet, may depend, heavily, on coping with advancing technology of nuclear missiles. Let us consider critical alternatives of powerful governments: democracy, as an alternative to dictatorship. Democracy is based on free elections, as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Democracy is a historical urgency, in the age of inter-continental nuclear missiles, computerized on a push-button, conceivably controllable by a very powerful, miscalculating and/or insane, dictator, capable of producing global nuclear holocaust, on our entire planet. Diplomacy, together with supporting activities, should be utilized, to help, in important steps, at this time, for achieving democracy in critical areas.

Solving Local Violence by Cosmopolitan Democracy Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Luthfil Hakim

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The implementation of democracy intensified since the fall of the new order era has some failures. One of the factors is violence phenomena still continue in the region. This study aims to discuss the violence in the region by presenting cosmopolitan democracy as a new design of more humane democracy. In addition, this research method uses library research, because library research can understand the problem in-depth to find the pattern and recommendation from the violence problems which happens in Indonesia. This study uses Hannah Arendt observations on the phenomenon of violence. In addition, the concept of cosmopolitan democracy is referred from Daniele Archibugi, David Held, and Ulrich Beck is presented as a draft of new democracy direction which is more inclusive and humane. The result of this study discloses that the occurrence of incidence is triggered by failed implementation of the democratic system in Indonesia.

The Multi-Layered Crisis - Impacts on People's Rights in Asia and Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Johannes Dragsbæk

Invited key-note speech for the Roundtable on "Challenges to participatory democracy and human rights in the globalized market" at the 7th Asia-Europe People's Forum "For Social and Ecological Justice" in Beijing, China 13-15 October 2008......Invited key-note speech for the Roundtable on "Challenges to participatory democracy and human rights in the globalized market" at the 7th Asia-Europe People's Forum "For Social and Ecological Justice" in Beijing, China 13-15 October 2008...

Civil rights between legal provisions and political reality in Albania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Doris Koliqi Malaj

2018-03-01

Full Text Available One of the basic principles of civil rights is that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The life protection, liberty and property should be equally guaranteed to citizens to exclude discrimination of minorities or other parts of the population. These rights are an important part of civil liberties and are considered as an essential element for effective citizenship. Arbitrary arrest, terror, torture or other serious and unlawful interference, both by state and private actors, significantly affect the well-being of democracy as it affects the very essence of it. In liberal democracies, leaders legitimized by the people must be involved within the norms and principles of the rule of law in order to establish a healthy relationship between the state and the citizen. This relationship is considered to be damaged in non-liberal democracies as it is affected by the suspension of individual freedoms and rights. This paper aims to analyze whether these individual rights are guaranteed and protected in Albania, considering from the perspective of the legal framework as well as in the political reality. This study aims to analyze the development of human rights, judicial rights and their implementation in our country to come to the conclusion, whether our system is that of a liberal democracy or not.

Anti-Foundationalism, Deliberative Democracy and Universal Human Rights

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Fabrizio Trifiro

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The paper argues that an approach to democracy that combines an anti-foundationalist epistemology and a deliberative political and moral stance will enable us to solve the increasing tensions between the universalistic claims of human rights and the particularistic claims to autonomy coming from different cultural groups. The anti-foundationalist conception of normative authority I put forth is centered on the distinction between universal grounds for and universal scope of normativity. It maintains that the universalistic normative force of our norms and practices remains uncompromised by the acknowledgment of the ultimate circularity of our justifications, thus eschewing the pitfalls of both foundationalism and relativism. My main contention is that only by ensuring inclusive and self-reflexive practices of collective decision-making we will be able to address the tensions between universalism and cultural relativism, and produce more flexible models of democratic governance, citizenship and cultural membership suitable to face the challenges of the global processes of integration and differentiation. این مقاله استدلال می‌نماید که رویکردی به دموکراسی که معرفت‌شناسی ضد مبناگرایانه را با دیدگاه اخلاقی و سیاسی مشورتی ترکیب می‌نماید، ما را قادر خواهد ساخت تنش‌های فزآینده بین مطالبات عام‌گرایانه حقوق بشر و مطالبات خاص‌گرایانه استقلال را که از سوی گروه‌های مختلف فرهنگی مطرح می گردد، حل و فصل نماییم. برداشت ضد مبناگرایانه از اعتبار اقتدار هنجاری که من ارائه می‌نمایم، حول محور تمایز بین زمینه‌های جهانی هنجار محوری و گسترة جهانی آن می‌گردد. این ایده معتقد است که �

Örgütsel Demokrasi( Organizational Democracy

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Pınar ERKAL COŞAN

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The understanding of democracy that is shaped by contemporary economic, political, social and cultural developments makes us re-consider organizational life. The number of studies on organizational democracy rises exponentially whereby contributions to and complexities for the organization are discussed. In this context, this study begins with a conceptualization of organizational democracy from modern business management perspective, which is followed by respectively; a discussion of previous research on organizational democracy, the causes behind the new departure towards organizational democracy, the contributions to organizations, the complexities and problems faced during practical implementation, and finally a literature review on the ways and means of ensuring organizational democracy. With this study, the following questions will be raised to scholarly discussion; is organizational democracy just an ideal emphasizing the human element and employee satisfaction, or is it a strategy that needs managerial attention for attainment of organizational goals in 21 st century?

Human rights and the requirement for international medical aid.

Science.gov (United States)

Tolchin, Benjamin

2008-08-01

Every year approximately 18 million people die prematurely from treatable medical conditions including infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies. The deaths occur primarily amongst the poorest citizens of poor developing nations. Various groups and individuals have advanced plans for major international medical aid to avert many of these unnecessary deaths. For example, the World Health Organization's Commission on Macroeconomics and Health estimated that eight million premature deaths could be prevented annually by interventions costing roughly US$57 bn per year. This essay advances an argument that human rights require high-income nations to provide such aid. The essay briefly examines John Rawls' obligations of justice and the reasons that their applicability to cases of international medical aid remains controversial. Regardless, the essay argues that purely humanitarian obligations bind the governments and citizens of high-income liberal democracies at a minimum to provide major medical aid to avert premature deaths in poor nations. In refusing to undertake such medical relief efforts, developed nations fail to adequately protect a fundamental human right to life.

Deliberative Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Kasper Møller

Deliberative democracy is the current Buzz-word in contemporary democratic thinking. However deliberative democracy is deeply rooted in the republican tradition of democracy.  Nevertheless these democratic roots are often forgotten when researchers "jump on the bandwagon". This paper will shows how...... deliberation appear within the writing of five important political thinkers within the republican tradition of democracy. Secondly it will investigate the rise of deliberative democracy and explain why the deliberative turn suddenly occurred. However, first a brief general account of deliberative democracy...... is presented in order to outline the focus of deliberative democracy....

Demography, Education, and Democracy: global trends and the case of Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Lutz, Wolfgang; Cuaresma, Jesús Crespo; Abbasi-Shavazi, Mohammad Jalal

2010-01-01

Reconstructions and projections of populations by age, sex, and educational attainment for 120 countries since 1970 are used to assess the global relationship between improvements in human capital and democracy. Democracy is measured by the Freedom House indicator of political rights. Similar to an earlier study on the effects of improving educational attainment on economic growth, the greater age detail of this new dataset resolves earlier ambiguities about the effect of improving education as assessed using a global set of national time series. The results show consistently strong effects of improving overall levels of educational attainment, of a narrowing gender gap in education, and of fertility declines and the subsequent changes in age structure on improvements in the democracy indicator. This global relationship is then applied to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Over the past two decades Iran has experienced the world's most rapid fertility decline associated with massive increases in female education. The results show that based on the experience of 120 countries since 1970, Iran has a high chance of significant movement toward more democracy over the following two decades.

Power, Democracy--and Democracy in Education

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Ken

2012-01-01

This article addresses questions of workplace democracy, particularly in relation to school education. Following Luciano Canfora in treating democracy as "the rule of the many", it traces the post-1945 rise of workplace democracy, and its post-1979 decline. Analysing the constitution of contemporary schooling in England, the article…

Protecting the human right to freedom of expression in international law.

Science.gov (United States)

Howie, Emily

2018-02-01

Since its inclusion in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to freedom of opinion and expression has been protected in all of the relevant international human rights treaties. In international law, freedom to express opinions and ideas is considered essential at both an individual level, insofar as it contributes to the full development of a person, and being a foundation stone of democratic society. Free speech is a necessary precondition to the enjoyment of other rights, such as the right to vote, free assembly and freedom of association, and is essential to ensure press freedom. However, there is a clear and worrying global trend, including in western democracies, of governments limiting vibrant discussion and debate within civil society and among civil society, political leaders and government. Two examples illustrate this trend. First, anti-protest laws in Australia and the United States threaten the ability of people to stand together and express views on issues they care deeply about. Secondly, metadata retention laws jeopardise press freedom by undermining the confidentiality of journalists' sources and dissuading people from speaking freely on matters of public importance.

institutional mechanisms for human rights protection in nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mofasony

Commission, the Public Complaints Commission and the Truth and .... The Legislative and Institutional Framework of Environmental Protection in the Oil … ... includes strategies targeted at promoting democracy and good governance, rights of ... administrative action of any public authority and companies or their officials ...

Democracy's Jewish and Christian Roots: What World History Textbooks Don't Tell You.

Science.gov (United States)

Gagnon, Paul

1987-01-01

Discusses the fact that although Jewish (along with Greek ideas) and Christian ideas make up the roots of Western culture, they are hardly mentioned in recent historical textbooks. This shortchanges students because they fail to learn the religious sources of human rights and democracy. (PS)

LAW DEMOCRACY & DEVELOPMENT

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HP27975994114

the routine of daily business”.21 In the Court's view, this is so because, in a ..... tendency to be disruptive of deliberative processes and to rely on slogans and ... of a deliberative model of democracy for understandings of fundamental rights.

Inclusive Democracy: Franchise Limitations on Non-Resident Citizens as an Unjust Restriction of Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julie Fraser

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG advises parties in peace negotiations, on drafting post-conflict constitutions, and assists in prosecuting war criminals. As part of this work, PILPG assists States in establishing and implementing electoral systems that meet international standards for democratic elections, and undertakes election monitoring. Free and fair elections are crucial for the legitimacy of democratic States and are protected by human rights law. The present article focuses on the issue of the franchise and on the restrictions permitted under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR. Specifically, this article addresses franchise restrictions on non-resident citizens across ECHR member States. Setting out the protections for the franchise in Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 ECHR, this article analyses the permissible limitations on those rights according to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR. The article presents a comparative analysis of other voting rights cases, such as the limitations on prisoners’ franchise. After considering whether residency-based limitations pursue legitimate and proportionate aims, it questions whether blanket restrictions disenfranchising non-resident citizens should be permissible today. The article concludes by advocating the importance of an inclusive franchise for the legitimacy of democratic systems as well as the protection of individual rights, and inviting the ECtHR to revisit its jurisprudence on this topic.

Mitigated Democracy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doomen, J.

2016-01-01

Militant democracy is an attempt to defend democracy against totalitarian parties that would use democratic procedures to rise to power. This article is focused on the consistency of the concept of 'militant democracy'. I argue that what militant democracy defends is not the democratic procedure

The Democratic Gap. Transcultural Confrontations of German Immigrants and the Promise of American Democracy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mehring, F.

2014-01-01

Why has the promise of American democracy been so persuasive to immigrants despite prejudice regarding cultural inferiority, a history of slavery and genocide, violations of human rights, media manipulations, and imperial self-righteousness? How can we analyze, understand, and evaluate the response

Dementia and representative democracy: Exploring challenges and implications for democratic citizenship.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonnicksen, Jared

2016-05-01

Despite growing recognition of the rights of people with dementia for full citizenship, issues related to democracy, whether from theoretical or practical perspectives, remain neglected. Especially since discourses on dementia have expanded to this rights-based approach, it is imperative to begin to examine the meanings and practices of democracy within a context of dementia. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to assess implications of dementia in the context of democracy. Rather than surveying the variety of democratic concepts, it will focus the analytical framework on representative democracy and then outline several challenges to and for representative democracy and citizens with dementia. The intention is to begin to identify paths for ensuring representation, inclusion and participation for those who have dementia. © The Author(s) 2016.

Policy evaluation and democracy: Do they fit?

Science.gov (United States)

Sager, Fritz

2017-08-05

The papers assembled in this special issue shed light on the question of the interrelation between democracy and policy evaluation by discussing research on the use of evaluations in democratic processes. The collection makes a case for a stronger presence of evaluation in democracy beyond expert utilization. Parliamentarians prove to be more aquainted with evaluations than expected and the inclusion of evaluations in policy arguments increases the deliberative quality of democratic campaigns. In sum, evaluation and democracy turn out to be well compatible after all. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Taking the human out of human rights" human rights or group rights?

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Bojanić Petar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available What interest me are the reasons why “human” or “human rights” could be important or possibly most important in constituting a group (hence the introduction of the complicated word “group” and “group right(s” in the subtitle. If I had to justify the existence of the latest debates on nature, justification and universality of human rights, on their distinction from other normative standards, on the philosophy and (legal foundation of human rights, on “Human Rights without (or with Foundations” (Raz, Tasioulas, Besson, then I would immediately conclude that this “process of grandiose concretization” of a complete fabrication is far from over. Despite the innumerable pacts and international conventions established after World War II, the slew of obligations to which states have agreed in the last few decades, the establishment of rights to secession or humanitarian intervention it is as if the constitution of classification of basic human rights and their universality is far from over. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 43007

Onwards! Reinforcing Democracy for the 21st Century

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Ismail Serageldin

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Universal suffrage has been the primary goal of democratic evolution. Despite elections and other measures taken to ensure democratic rights, some desired outcomes such as equality and transparency are not being met. The current mode of our democratic system is archaic in addressing the world’s multifaceted global crises. So, there’s a dire need to incorporate new elements of democratic governance to address the issue. Humanity now lives in a transition period, so the path may not be easy. But the scientific and technological revolution underway is rapidly changing the mindsets of people and helping them exercise their rights. The article thus focuses on how democracy serves as the best system to ensure human rights and provide for a better society and also, how current models of democratic governance which matured in the last century can be improved in the 21st century, which is instrumental for meeting the challenges humanity confronts today. – Editor

The Populist Conception of Democracy beyond Popular Sovereignty

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Pepijn Corduwener

2014-11-01

Full Text Available With populist parties making electoral progress across the European continent, the question of what their electoral success means for contemporary democratic systems has gained increasing significance. This article investigates how two populist radical right parties, the Austrian FPÖ and the Dutch PVV, conceptualise democracy, based on a wide range of party documents released over recent decades. It builds upon recent academic consensus that the relationship between populism and democracy is best understood from a ‘minimalist’ perspective, seeing populism not as antagonistic to democracy, but as an ideology that conceptualises democracy primarily in terms of popular sovereignty. The article adds to the existing literature by demonstrating that we can extend this understanding of the populist conception of democracy in three aspects: the populist emphasis on state neutrality; a two-fold notion of equality; and the extension of the political sphere in society. Based upon these three issues, the article concludes by exploring how the populist conception of democracy relates to the most dominant form of democracy practised nowadays, liberal democracy, and to what extent it reflects changes in our democratic political culture.

The role of human development in the transition to democracy after the Arab Spring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rapanos, Grigorios

2017-01-01

Tunisia has had a rather smooth transition from dictatorship to democracy, in contrast to other countries where the uprisings either failed or led to civil wars (Syria and Libya) or there was a return to autocracy (Egypt). Our analysis shows that Tunisia had a much better performance in all human...

Regional confidence-building by means of disarmament and democracy: Review of the first ASEAN regional forum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umebayashi, Hiromichi

1997-01-01

Not a single word about disarmament or arms reduction appears in the ASEAN Regional Forum 'Chairman's Statement' issued in 1994. Similarly, not a single word about human rights or democracy can be found in the document. This paper deals with the idea that disarmament and human rights must be central issues of discussion in any Asia-Pacific regional security mechanism and that the roles of non-governmental organizations must be emphasized in this process

Flavor Democracy in Particle Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sultansoy, Saleh

2007-01-01

The flavor democracy hypothesis (or, in other words, democratic mass matrix approach) was introduced in seventies taking in mind three Standard Model (SM) families. Later, this idea was disfavored by the large value of the t-quark mass. In nineties the hypothesis was revisited assuming that extra SM families exist. According to flavor democracy the fourth SM family should exist and there are serious arguments disfavoring the fifth SM family. The fourth SM family quarks lead to essential enhancement of the Higgs boson production cross-section at hadron colliders and the Tevatron can discover the Higgs boson before the LHC, if it mass is between 140 and 200 GeV. Then, one can handle 'massless' Dirac neutrinos without see-saw mechanism. Concerning BSM physics, flavor democracy leads to several consequences: tanβ ≅ mt/mb ≅ 40 if there are three MSSM families; super-partner of the right-handed neutrino can be the LSP; relatively light E(6)-inspired isosinglet quark etc. Finally, flavor democracy may give opportunity to handle ''massless'' composite objects within preonic models

A New Index of Democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús M. de Miguel

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The present paper analyses and revises the latest Democracy Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit in the United Kingdom. We analyze the changes produced in the index from 2006 to 2011, as well as in the five basic factors that constitute the index: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. The analysis of these factors ?measured by sixty variables? has made it possible to develop a new index, based on the data from 167 countries, and calculate a revised ranking. Countries have been classified into four types: democracies, flawed democracies, mixed systems, and authoritarian/totalitarian regimes. The new index permits a better understanding of the impact of the crisis through variables such as economic growth, human development, quality of life, corruption, and violence.

Latin American intra-party democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aldo Adrián Martínez Hernández

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Research proposes to determine the level of internal democracy of political parties in Latin America from perception of its members, allowing the creation of an index that has parameters for the measurement and comparison of the parties according to its democratic features. At the same time, research supports designing a profile of the parties by subjecting to analysis the relationship between ideology and internal democracy, stressing that despite the differences between left and right, parties in Latin America do not have dichotomous democratic features, while maintaining low levels despite their ideological location.

Democracy and Human Rights. The Abolition of Regulated Prostitution in Germany and Italy 1918-1958

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malte König

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The essay explores the connections between the abolition of legalized prostitution and the processes of democratization in Germany and Italy, starting from the history of human rights and its interaction with the political system. The main sources are the parliamentary debates and the laws that brought about the closedown of brothels and the abolition of the surveillance system in Germany in 1927 and in Italy in 1958. The debates on prostitution also pose a question of equality and gender justice. In particular, the problem of the regulation of prostitution, whose efficiency has been verified by an ever growing number of researchers during the XX century, deploys factors of sanitary policy, human rights and morals, aspects of social policy and security, questioning not only the gender hierarchy, but also the social one.

Andrei Sakharov Prize: Human Rights and Peace - A Personal Odyssey

Science.gov (United States)

Lerman, Zafra

2016-03-01

For more than 30 years, I have devoted my life to promoting scientific freedom and human rights around the world. This devotion led me to put pressure on the American Chemical Society (ACS) to become active in the fight for human rights. Due to this pressure, in 1986, ACS established the Subcommittee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights, which I chaired since its' inception for over 25 years. In 1988, I met with Andrei Sakharov who advised me to never stop pressuring governments or organizations that abuse human rights. Based on his council, I took a crash course in Russian before traveling to the Soviet Union several times to meet with dissidents, despite the risk to my own safety. After the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989, I worked diligently on the issue of human rights in China. Traveling often to work on the release of pro-democracy prisoners, I met with several dissidents of China, including physicist Xu Liangying who was under house arrest. In my lecture, I will discuss additional cases of my fight for human rights. After 9/11/2001, I expanded my work on scientific freedom and human rights to the Middle East by organizing the Malta Conferences, which use science for diplomacy and as a bridge to peace. These conferences bring together scientists from 15 Middle East countries including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, etc. with 6 Nobel Laureates to work for 5 days on solving regional problems. Although acts of war and terrorism have destabilized the political and economic climate in the Middle East, the Malta Conferences have made it possible for scientists from countries that are on the opposing sides of political and cultural conflicts to meet in a politically neutral environment. There they can work to forge relationships that bridge the deep chasms of mistrust and intolerance. Scientists who normally don't have the opportunity to speak with one another are able to discuss their research and issues of mutual concern. In a time when the

Frontex Working Arrangements: Legitimacy and Human Rights Concerns Regarding ‘Technical Relationships’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie Fink

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Practices of extraterritorialisation have become cornerstones of the European Union member states' border control. Most of them are highly dependent on the willingness of third countries to cooperate. An increasingly important phenomenon is that cooperation is secured through relationships established by administrative authorities. This article deals with the challenges arising from the active engagement of Frontex in setting up cooperation structures.It is argued that the so-called working arrangements concluded between Frontex and the respective authorities of third countries, in their current form, show considerable deficiencies from the perspectives of the rule of law, democracy and human rights protection. They are not open to judicial review, the Parliament is not involved in their conclusion and they are not disclosed to the public. Furthermore, the human rights record of cooperating authorities is not considered. Concerns in this respect are frequently attempted to be dispelled by recourse to the 'technical' as opposed to 'political' nature of working arrangements. Likewise, it is assumed that merely 'technical relationships' cannot affect individuals. These arguments are not convincing. Quite the contrary, the political implications of working arrangements and their operation in a highly human rights sensitive field demand conformity with the fundamental values the European Union is based on.

Direct Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beramendi, Virginia; Ellis, Andrew; Kaufman, Bruno

While many books on direct democracy have a regional or national approach, or simply focus on one of the many mechanisms associated with direct democracy, this Handbook delves into a global comparison of direct democracy mechanisms, including referendums, citizens' initiatives, agenda initiatives...... learned. In addition, the uniquely comprehensive world survey outlines direct democracy provisions in 214 countries and territories and indicates which, if any, of these provisions are used by each country or territory at both the national and sub-national levels. Furthermore, the world survey includes...

Beating Social Democracy on Its Own Turf

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arndt, Christoph

2014-01-01

-right parties to flourish in contexts where welfare issues have a natural salience as in the case of universal welfare states. In contrast, Scandinavian universal welfare states ought to benefit social democracy when it comes to issue voting on welfare issues. It is argued in this article that centre......-right parties can beat social democrats by credibly converging to its social democratic opponent on issues of universal welfare. Issue ownership voting to the benefit of centre-right parties will then be strongest among voters perceiving the centre-right to have converged to social democracy and perceiving...... the centre-right as issue-owner. Using Danish National Election Studies, 1998–2007, the article shows that the Danish Liberal Party outperformed the Social Democrats on traditional welfare issues among those voters perceiving the Liberals to be ideologically close to the social democrats. The findings help...

Democracy, Citizen Sovereignty and Constitutional Economics

OpenAIRE

Vanberg, Viktor J.

2006-01-01

This paper is an exercise in conceptual clarification. Its purpose is to explore the contribution that constitutional economics can make to the theory of democracy. Constitutional economics as the economics of rules is concerned with the study of how the choice of rules in the social, economic and political realm affects the nature of the processes of human interaction that evolve within these rules. The theory of democracy is concerned with institutionalorganizational problems of self-govern...

Cambodia’s Façade Democracy and European Assistance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Karbaum

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Although Cambodia adopted a modern democratic constitution in 1993, Prime Minister Hun Sen has consolidated an autocratic regime in which elections are the only way political competition plays out, and even that competition is limited. Freedom of expression, horizontal and vertical control mechanisms, and civil participation have been reduced to almost zero by the Royal Government of Cambodia. Irrespective of the deinstitutionalization of liberal principles, the European Commission and some EU member states still perceive Cambodia as moving toward democratization. In the case of Cambodia, the difficulty of external democracy promotion is compounded by the limited impact of formal state institutions, which are completely undermined by kinship relations, personal networks, clientelism and nepotism. However, one can observe not only non-effective efforts toward European democracy promotion, but also increasing human rights violations due to trade facilitations, namely the EU’s “Everything But Arms” initiative.

Designing For Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knutz, Eva; Markussen, Thomas; Mårbjerg Thomsen, Signe

2014-01-01

there are already a number of approaches available which in one way or the other address the relationship between design, democracy and power. We provide an account of participatory design, adversarial design and design activism thereby pointing towards design?s potential for re-distributing power and authority......n this paper we focus on ?patient-democracy? and ?shared decision-making? seen from the perspective of design practice and design research. In the research on democracy in healthcare it is rarely questioned what forms of democracy underlies these concepts. We have examined three different theories...... of democracy and the democratic practices that belong to each of these. For designers working to increase patient democracy it is of vital importance to be able to distinguish different structures underlying democratic practices and to work out methods for prototyping democracy. In design research...

From Liberal Democracy to the Cosmopolitan Canopy

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Jon Van Til

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Liberalism is that ideology, that worldview, which values, in an ever-evolving set of intelligently intermingled thoughts:  democracy, freedom (liberty, equality (justice, fraternity (solidarity, the pursuit of happiness, pluralism (diversity, and human rights--and explores the ever-open ever-possible futures of their rediscovery and advance. The study of ways in which social movements relate to Third sector/nonprofit or voluntary organizations can be structured, if we choose, as a liberal endeavor.  That is the message I receive from Antonin Wagner’s (2012 telling of the emergence of a field that focuses its study and developmental energies on place of intermediate associational life in modern society, from Adalbert Evers’ efforts to sustain the welfare state in an era of untrammeled capitalism (2013, and from Roger Lohmann’s (1992 comprehensive vision of a social commons capable of assuring the values of liberal society. This paper sets the theory of liberal democracy in a contemporary cosmopolitan context, drawing on case material from Hungary, Northern Ireland,  and the United States.

Taiwan’s Democracy: Towards a Liberal Democracy or Authoritarianism?

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Dafydd J. Fell

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines how Taiwan moved from being viewed as a model Asian democracy to one allegedly suffering from democratic reversal. The reasons for the declining domestic and international reputation of Taiwan’s democracy are discussed. Lastly, some key political challenges facing Taiwan’s democracy are outlined.

Human Rights/Human Needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Canning, Cynthia

1978-01-01

The faculty of Holy Names High School developed an interdisciplinary human rights program with school-wide activities focusing on three selected themes: the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in conjunction with Human Rights Week; Food; and Women. This article outlines major program activities. (SJL)

Democracy and Sense

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Bent Erik

Democracy and sense questions practically all that happens in society today. Its aim is to raise a debate on the most urgent problems of economy, democracy, sustainable conduct and the framework for industry and business. A number of untraditional solutions are suggested, but without support...... to either rightwing or leftwing politics. In fact, one of the key points is that political parties have reduced democracy to one day of voting followed by four years of oligarchy. To regain a functioning democracy we must strengthen direct democracy and make the distance between population and government...

AMBIGUOUS JANUS OF MODERN DEMOCRACY

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Volodymyr V. Khmil

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The purpose of the research is to analyze ambiguous concept of  democracy as a phenomenon of political and social formation based on political and instrumental approach. As a result, some deep fundamentals of  human social existence and values as social life basis are blurred. Task. The task of  this investigation is to reveal the concept of democracy in its invariative philosophical  meaning and find the consequences of global social transformations towards social entropy. Methods of investigation. To implement the task an activity approach has been used with further possibility to single out two approaches - politological and philosophical. The focus on democracy from philosophic point of view makes possible to anticipate negative entropic processes that lead  to future ambiguity. Subject matter. Chaotic social processes can result in  ruined family, spiritual, legal and moral formations. Regulatory and legal paradigms are becoming less effective and entail disintegration of spiritual and value constituents of worldview causing necessary conditions for social entropy. Originality and Findings. Possible threats for human freedom that hinder the way to targeted  prospects of mankind have been considered in the paper. Thus, taking into account all positive aspects of democracy, it is simultaneously becoming the tool of continuous differentiation of society into tiny autonomous communities similar to nomadic atomization of society. The concept based on moral substantial existence basis as in “axis time” by K. Jaspers that can prevent social entropy resulting in world anthropologic catastrophes has been grounded in the present research.

Democracy and shareholder's participation

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Radulović Vuk

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Democracy and participation of shareholders or the demand for their active participation in the meetings of the Assemblyhas increasingly gained in importance in modern conditions. This is because, negative trends of passivation, the limitations of democratic potential of shareholders and shareholders' rights abuse by the management body, especially in the work control and compensation policy of shareholders, have been observed in a detailed analysis of the application and results of the Shareholder Rights Directive. The passivity of shareholders, as one of the most striking features of their position in the joint stock company today, is the biggest problem and threat to democratic processes within the company. If we bear in mind that the most common definition of shareholder democracy is 'ability of shareholders to influence the management of the company', we can notice a clear picture of the seriousness and importance of the lack of shareholder participation. This is the reason why the author of this paper gradually examines the causes and consequences of the passivity of shareholders, the proposed changes in this context in the Law of the European Union and the practical implications of such solutions in practice. In addition, the author examines contemporary forms and conditions for shareholder democracy and the legal framework in the European Union and the Republic of Serbia. In this way, we analyze the situation in this area and point out shortcomings of certain solutions, as well as the implications they cause in practice. The main thesis from which starts the scientific work and which will be gradually proven through theoretical and practical analysis is that the wider social processes directly reflect on the state of the joint-stock companies, or the state of corporate governance. This means that the negative trends of modern democracy (in the constitutional sense are almost mirrored in economic capital (EC and our attempt in this paper

Land, ecology, and democracy. A twenty-first century view.

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, Julianne Lutz; Freyfogle, Eric T; Sullivan, William C

2006-01-01

Land is necessary for human flourishing, and its use remains a compelling concern for every society, even those wherein industrialization has sharply diminished people's awareness of land. Here, we consider land's influence on political thinking, particularly thinking about democratic governance, and ask if this influence might be made more beneficial by the application of lessons drawn from ecological research. We identify five such lessons and apply them in six ways to the institution of private-property rights in nature--the main legal institution that allocates and perpetuates power over land--and to modern assumptions about liberal individualism and rights to health. We conclude that people can live well on land, promoting both human and land health, only in governmental forms engaging more citizens more deliberatively than now typical even in democracies. Implications for political institutions and human welfare are discussed under conditions of globalizing interdependence.

Human Right of the Good use of Science and Drugre Search: Cristicism to the Scientific Method and Power Over the Body

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Diego fonseca Mascarenhas

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This paper has the objective of evaluate the possibility of development of human right to good science or good science development through the bioethics, analyzing the conjecture marketable pharmaceuticals, debating the violence on fundamental rights that the pharmaceutical industry tends to cause, discussing the framework of law and democracy as an element of protection of fundamental rights and observing thought of exercise of power over the body control behaviors, as well as the need to reintroduce an ethical debate over the truth of science and its development.

Democracy, Participation and Citizenship : A Fundamental Value Trídua to Tutela Legal Environment Ecologically Balanced in Iberoamericano Law

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Greice Patrícia Fuller

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the triad and conceptual discussions related among democracy, participation and citizenship in front of an ecologically balanced environment, enshrining the idea that their definitions include multifaceted aspects, interrelated, interdependent and indispensable for the legal protection by itself. The development topic begins with the concept of democracy (equal opportunities in its different aspect to be submitted in the environmental context; subsequently the study referred to in a logical and sequential order the issue with regard to the participation of the environment, characterized as an essential factor of democracy; and also encompass to the right of information, and the right to defense plans, projects and environmental programs as part of the collective. It’s means as an important guide for the practice of citizenship, which it’s one of the constitutional foundations, of principle for dignity of the human person, and the responsibility that every human being possesses. In this range, and finally, the study raises the question about the environmental governance as a measurement of instrumentation, the participation and citizenship in a democratic state with rule of law.

Philosophical Foundations for Democracy: A Ukrainian Perspective

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Yuriy Myelkov

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The article intends to conduct a philosophical analysis of democracy as it is presented by democratization processes in societies under globalization. Turbulent political life or contemporary Ukraine with its recent ‘revolution’ provides an excellent example of such a process. The authors demonstrate that the processes in question could be denoted as rather manipulation and political technologies than democratic transition. They argue that democracy can only be understood correctly as the self-organization of society composed of free and conscious human personalities. They show that personality as the subject of democracy, opposed to crowds led by contemporary demagogues, is the only possibility to achieve real changes for a better society.

Democratising Democracy, Humanising Human Rights. European Decolonial Movements and the “Alternative Thinking of Alternatives"

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Suárez-Krabbe, Julia

2013-01-01

des Indigènes de la République (PIR) in France, the Dutch Black Movement, the Islamic Human Rights Commission in the UK, and the Studies Group of the Andalusian Workers' Union (Grupo de Estudios - Sindicato Andaluz de Trabajadores; GE-SAT). These movements all point to two fundamental crises of longue...

Does the digital age require new models of democracy? : lasswell's policy scientist of democracy vs. Liquid democracy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jelena Gregorius

2015-01-01

This essay provides a debate about Lasswell’s policy scientist of democracy (PSOD, 1948) in comparison to the model of liquid democracy (21st century) based on the question if the digital age requires new models of democracy. The PSOD of Lasswell, a disciplinary persona, is in favour of an elitist

The contradictions of democracy globalization

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Avramović Zoran

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The author deals with the problem of European (global democratization and not with its goals. The author defines the first group of problems as internal contradictions of modern democratic states. In addition to the existing historical-political criticisms of democratic rule, the author refers to critical analysis of democracy in John Keane’s works. According to Keane, modern democratic state gets involved in several ways in the field of free circulation of public opinion. Based on this and other analyses (Bobio, Dahl, the author concludes that in contemporary European democratic societies there also exist profound contradictions that are transferred to globalization of democracy, too. The author identifies the second problem concerning European democratization in its anthropological assumptions. With reference to Tocqueville’s book Democracy in America, the author states that American democracy man develops personality characteristics oriented to the acquisition of material goods (enrichment. The expansion of Euro-American picture of man to other democracies creates the tension between universal institutions and national cultural anthropology. The third problem concerning democracy is defined from the viewpoint of political relativism. The history of the world is the history of cultural differences. The short-term experience in European democratization proves that political relativism is not respected and that tendency to imposing Euro-American model is gaining in strength. This process endangers political identity of a nation, which becomes the source of confrontation and conflicts inside and between the states. In summary, the author suggests the solution of the problem in the spirit of political liberalism. States (or groups of states do not have the right to prescribe for other states how to define their public good, except in case they endanger other states (or in case they conduct massive killing of their own citizens.

Mapping Deviant Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seeberg, Michael

2014-01-01

A number of countries have emerged as stable (though minimalist) democracies despite low levels of modernization, lack of democratic neighbouring countries and other factors consistently related to democratic stability in the literature. The study of these deviant democracies is a promising new...... research field but it is afflicted by a notable problem, viz. the lack of a consensus as to which countries are actually instances of deviant democracy. The present article attempts to solve this problem by carrying out a comprehensive mapping of deviant democracies. First, I review the existing literature...... to provide an overview of the cases most often identified as deviant democracies. Second, I use a large-N analysis to systematically map deviant democracies. The analysis includes 159 countries covering the time period 1993–2008. The analysis points to 12 cases that merits further attention, viz...

Human Rights Texts: Converting Human Rights Primary Source Documents into Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Fariss, Christopher J; Linder, Fridolin J; Jones, Zachary M; Crabtree, Charles D; Biek, Megan A; Ross, Ana-Sophia M; Kaur, Taranamol; Tsai, Michael

2015-01-01

We introduce and make publicly available a large corpus of digitized primary source human rights documents which are published annually by monitoring agencies that include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and the United States Department of State. In addition to the digitized text, we also make available and describe document-term matrices, which are datasets that systematically organize the word counts from each unique document by each unique term within the corpus of human rights documents. To contextualize the importance of this corpus, we describe the development of coding procedures in the human rights community and several existing categorical indicators that have been created by human coding of the human rights documents contained in the corpus. We then discuss how the new human rights corpus and the existing human rights datasets can be used with a variety of statistical analyses and machine learning algorithms to help scholars understand how human rights practices and reporting have evolved over time. We close with a discussion of our plans for dataset maintenance, updating, and availability.

The Populist Conception of Democracy Beyond Popular Sovereignty

OpenAIRE

Corduwener, Pepijn

2014-01-01

With populist parties making electoral progress across the European continent, the question of what their electoral success means for contemporary democratic systems has gained increasing significance. This article investigates how two populist radical right parties, the Austrian FPÖ and the Dutch PVV, conceptualise democracy, based on a wide range of party documents released over recent decades. It builds upon recent academic consensus that the relationship between populism and democracy is ...

Participation, Democracy and Citizenship of Indigenous Peoples in the International Context Through the European systems and Inter-American Human Rights

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Roberto Luiz Silva

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article presents the global democratization for the protection of minorities through the global promotion of European systems and Inter-American Human Rights. At the level of international human rights law, these ideas are the basis of so-called “speci- fication process rights of individuals”, according to which, in addition to general universal rights extended to all, there is need to recognize specific rights to certain groups vulne- rable in society. With the goal of achieving real equality, or at least reduce the existing factual inequalities. Thus, consolidation of protection of minorities reflects the situation of need access to fair legal system to ensure the effectiveness of fundamental rights and the full consolidation of access to justice through the international courts of justice, aimed at protection of human rights the international context.

What Is Education For? A Discussion of Nussbaum's "Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities"

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jing

2016-01-01

This article provides a discussion of the book, "Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities" by Martha C. Nussbaum from the perspective of a visiting scholar to the United States from China. It begins by addressing two critical topics discussed by Nussbaum: consequences of focusing only on economic growth and the importance of…

Reforming the family code in Tunisia and Morocco - the struggle between religion, globalisation and democracy

OpenAIRE

Dalmasso, Emanuela; Cavatorta, Francesco

2010-01-01

There is no doubt that one of the most contentious terrains of contestation in the supposed clash of values between Islamism and western values is the role of women in society. Thus, the issue of women's rights has become the litmus test for Arab societies with respect to the current zeitgeist of human rights in the age of democracy and liberalism. There is today a stereotypical view of debates surrounding women's rights in the Arab world where two distinct camps are in conflict with each oth...

More democracy through plebiscite?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evers, T.

1986-01-01

The author has the opinion, a plebiscite means only a limited enlargement of democracy. The plebiscite should be formed out as a right of veto, which prohibits concrete political measures of the government or legal projects (Kalkar, Wackersdorf). The winning of time to continue the discussion is an advantage. Finally a general change of consciousness is possible. (CW) [de

"Clutching a knifeblade": human rights and development from Asian women's perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Sancho-liao, N

1993-06-01

A brief, vivid portrait of the human rights conditions for women in Asia was presented: "kapit sa patalim" or utter despair, urban migration, export processing zones, tourism and prostitution, political repression, and military sexual slavery. Advocates of women's human rights for Asian women must contend with patriarchal and male-dominated systems that oppress and exploit women to a much greater extent than men. Liberation from these systems and the domination and exploitation by wealthier nations must be a goal of a new economic world order. Unjust and repressive structures must be destroyed, and equitable distribution of wealth and democracy and popular initiatives promoted. The status of women must be raised to coequal status with men. The most important objective of human rights advocates should be the empowerment of women at the individual, community, national, regional, and international level. The Asian Women's Human Rights Council was established as an addition to 3 already operating regional commissions of women's organizations. The aim was not just to describe women as victims, but to pressure development activity to account for women's human rights. Sex tribunals have been scheduled between 1993 and 1994 to address the following issues: 1) sex trafficking (Japan, May 1993); 2) violence against women (Pakistan, December 1993); 3) militarism, environment, and violence against women (Korea, March 1994); 4) crimes of development against women in Asia (India); 5) religion and violence against women (Malaysia, 1994); and 6) indigenous women (December 1994). Women were victims when Filipino domestic workers were stranded and raped in Iraq during the chaos of war, when girls from landless peasant families migrated near Clark Air Force Base to earn a living as prostitutes for US servicemen, when women were forced to work 36-hour shifts in foreign-owned garment factories in Bataan, when women migrated for work, and when women were abused and battered in

Homegrown Democracy, Homegrown Democrats

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Norman K. Denzin

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Written on the eve of the 2004 American presidential election, this political narrative offers a critical reading of two models of democracy: Instant-Mix imperial democracy (bring to a boil, add oil, then bomb, criticized by Arundhati Roy, and Garrison Keillor’s Homegrown Democrat. Keillor’s pastoral view of democracy is anchored in LakeWobegon, his imaginary utopian community. His homegrown democracy is narrow, provincial, and White. The author concludes that he must look elsewhere for his alternative view of democracy.

Democracy in Crisis?

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neill, Brenda

2006-01-01

This article discusses the state of Canadian democracy. Although calling Canadian democracy as something to be in a crisis is still debatable, the author expresses worry over the declining turnout levels in recent elections. Canada--along with a number of other liberal democracies--has experienced a significant and consistent decline in election…

The Right, the Liberty and Democracy

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Ioan Alexandru

2011-05-01

Full Text Available I have asked myself many times, next to other colleague professors from the law or administrative sciences faculties if it is sufficient for students, in the profession they have chosen, to know only the matters of practical immediate use as some officials vested with the destiny of the high education allege. The answer I am trying to argue in this intervention is NO. It is not enough. For example the legal bone structure of the conception regarding the modern democracy finds its fundament in the social contract which is the meta-juridical principle. So to speak, philosophical. Apart from this permanent appeal to philosophy in general, I personally had a permanent concern studying the administrative phenomenon to underline the intrinsic link between juridical and political. I am trying also through this summary intervention to provoke the preferment of a critical spirit, much absent from our academic environment, which could question the too neat roads of the science of the current law and the creation of an intellectual emulation so necessary for the ones who research the legal phenomenon as well as the administrative one. Without philosophy, any research of law or of the administrative phenomenon is lacked of grounds. Or, without fundaments any intellectual attempt is destined to superficiality and, finally, to failure.

Globalization and democracy

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DEEPAK NAYYAR

2015-09-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTThe gathering momentum of globalization in the world economy has coincided with the spread of political democracy across countries. Economies have become global. But politics remains national. This essay explores the relationship between globalization and democracy, which is neither linear nor characterized by structural rigidities. It seeks to analyze how globalization might constrain degrees of freedom for nation states and space for democratic politics, and how political democracy within countries might exercise some checks and balances on markets and globalization. The essential argument is that the relationship between globalization and democracy is dialectical and does not conform to ideological caricatures.

Schooling for Democracy

Science.gov (United States)

Noddings, Nel

2011-01-01

There is a widespread movement today to prepare all students for college, and it is promoted in the name of democracy. I argue here that such a move actually puts our democracy at risk by forcing students into programs that do not interest them and depriving them of courses at which they might succeed. We risk losing the vision of democracy that…

THE RIGHT TO SECRECY OF COMMUNICATIONS - SITUATIONS AND CHALLENGES

OpenAIRE

Biljana Karovska-Andonovska

2014-01-01

In this paper, the basic elements of the right to secrecy of communications are presented. We analyzed the treatment of this fundamental right in international documents on human rights and in the constitutions of modern democracies. Also, we established the scope of protection of the confidentiality of certain types of communication. Moreover, we have identified the parts of the process of speech and written communication whose secrecy is protected in accordance wi...

Democracy as the Rule of Nobody. Does It Make Sense Today?

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Tonči Kursar

2012-01-01

Full Text Available I would like to contribute to the ongoing debate on democracy by discussing the notion of the rule of nobody. I first address Rosanvallon's theory of counter-democracy and Keane's concept of monitory democracy. Keane writes about 'monitory democracy' not only as a new phase in the development of democracy on a global scale, but primarily as an abolishment of all domination in human relations. His idea that in a monitory democracy 'no body rules', has been criticized by John Dunn and John Gray. They consider it meaningless to claim that in democracy 'no body rules', since every form of rule needs rulers. I would like to show that both this supposedly realistic criticism and Keane's version of the rule of nobody are too literal and superficial. If we consider democracy to be a kind of sentiment rather than a set of political institutions, we get closer to the puzzling idea that 'no body rules'. This idea, namely, is not about abolishing the rule of men over men, but about being aware of the contingency of all forms of mastery. This was well known to Plato and has been convincingly revived in the works of the French philosopher Jacques Rancière.

An Agreement to Disagree: The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration and the Absence of Regional Identity in Southeast Asia

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Mathew Davies

2014-01-01

Full Text Available ASEAN’s engagement with human rights culminated in the creation of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration in 2012. The Declaration is fascinating in three ways: Its institutional origins are surprising, it was agreed upon by states with very different positions on the role of human rights domestically, and it both contains commitments far in advance of some members and is at the same time dangerously regressive. The three leading frameworks that currently interrogate the Declaration fail to provide convincing insights into all three of those dimensions. To correct these shortcomings, this article applies the notion of an “incompletely theorized agreement” to the study of the Declaration, arguing that member states understand the Declaration in very different ways and agreed to it for similarly diverse reasons. Further, I argue that the Declaration neither articulates a shared regional identity relating to respect for human rights, nor can it be understood as marking an early point towards the creation of this identity. Instead, the current diversity of regional opinions on human rights and democracy is perceived as legitimate and will endure. The article concludes by considering whether this denudes the Declaration of value, arguing that its importance will vary: The more progressive the member state, the more important the Declaration will be in the future.

Democracy and identity

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Milović Miroslav

2007-01-01

Full Text Available It might be that the crisis of democracy is crisis of thinking. Modern metaphysics affirms the monologue of the subject with respect to the problem of rationality, as well as in the social realm. It thus affirms liberal egoism. Such metaphysics structures modernity as a monologue. Thus the question arises: how to think the democracy within this monologue? Democracy appears to be a modern project impossible to achieve.

Democracy and Historical Writing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Baets, Antoon

2015-01-01

In this essay, we try to clarify the relationship between democracy and historical writing. The strategy is first exploring the general relationship between democracy and historical awareness, and then, studying the relationship between democracy and historical writing itself to find out whether

[Participatory potential and deliberative function: a debate on broadening the scope of democracy through the health councils].

Science.gov (United States)

Bispo Júnior, José Patrício; Gerschman, Sílvia

2013-01-01

This article reflects upon the relation between democracy and health councils. It seeks to analyze the councils as a space for broadening the scope of democracy. First, some characteristics and principles of the liberal democratic regime are presented, with an emphasis on the minimalist and procedural approach of decision-making. The fragilities of the representative model and the establishment of new relations between the Government and society are then discussed in light of the new social grammar and the complexity of the division between governmental and societal responsibilities. The principles of deliberative democracy and the idea of substantive democracy are subsequently presented. Broadening the scope of democracy is understood not only as the guarantee of civil and political rights, but also especially, of social rights. Lastly, based on discussion of the participation and deliberation categories, the health councils are analyzed as potential mechanisms for broadening the scope of democracy.

(PostMaterialism, Satisfaction with Democracy and Support for Democracy in Eastern Europe

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Pavlović, Zoran

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The materialist-postmaterialist value dimension, understood as assigning priority to self-expression and quality of life as opposed to physical and economic security, has been one of the most important heuristic tools in the analysis of the changes of predominant values in cross-cultural and comparative studies in past decades. In recent elaboration of self-expression and emancipative values (in both cases, with postmaterialism as the most important component, postmaterialist values have been viewed as an essence of democratic political culture and a cultural precondition of effective democracy. This study was aimed at analysing the relation between postmaterialist values (understood as a political/thick culture variable, satisfaction with country’s democracy (institutional/thin culture variable and support for democracy. The data from the European Values Survey (EVS, conducted on the nationally representative samples in twenty East European countries on the total of twenty countries and 30,393 respondents, were used. It is shown that postmaterialism is an important aspect of democratic political culture in Eastern Europe; in general, the most supportive of democracy are postmaterialists. On the other hand, there is a mixed pattern between the postmaterialist values and satisfaction with democracy – in some countries, citizens satisfied with democracy are more prone to choose postmaterialist items compared to the dissatisfied ones, while in some other countries the reverse is true. Both are, however, important predictors of the support for democracy as well as the country’s level of democracy development (measured by the EIU Democracy index. The relevance of postmaterialist values for the promotion of democratic political culture in Eastern Europe, possible alternative mechanisms of value change as well as the materialist-postmaterialist conception are discussed.

Democracy from Islamic law perspective

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Mubarak Abdulkadir

2016-01-01

Full Text Available It is frequently argued that because many Muslim states are monarchies or dictatorships or because of certain events that have taken place within their borders, Islamic law is not compatible with democracy and democracy is even neglected in the provisions of the holy Qur'an. Islamic law, according to what can be traced in its primary sources, not only supports democracy and people's participation in the state affairs but even possesses provisions in the Qur'an verses which encourage counselling and consultation and some scholars deem that to be democratic representation. Islamic Law, according to the provisions of some verses from the holy Qur'an encourages democracy but not liberal democracy like that of the western world. The religious democracy that can go with our modern time and solve many contemporary problems of the Muslim world is the model which was introduced by late Ayatollah Imam Khomeini after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. The author in this research work concludes by showing that the ideal democracy enshrined in the holy Qur'an, as the primary source of Islamic law, is not liberal democracy of the western world, but rather a religious democracy.

Intelligence, democracy, and international environmental commitment.

Science.gov (United States)

Obydenkova, Anastassia; Salahodjaev, Raufhon

2016-05-01

This paper investigates the determinants of nations' commitment to environmental protection at the international level by focusing on the role of national intelligence and the level of democracy. The national intelligence is measured by nation's IQ scores. The findings based on a sample of 152 nations provide strong evidence that intelligence has statistically significant impact on ratification of international environmental agreements, and the countries with IQ 10-points above global average are 23% more likely to sign multilateral environmental agreements than others. The findings also demonstrate that it is the combination of high-level of intelligence of nations and democracy, that likely result in international environmental commitments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Contemporary theories of democracy

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Mladenović Ivan

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is two-fold: first, to analyze several contemporary theories of democracy, and secondly, to propose a theoretical framework for further investigations based on analyzed theories. The following four theories will be analyzed: pluralism, social choice theory, deliberative democracy and participatory democracy.

[Sociology of health, social ecology and media democracy].

Science.gov (United States)

Julesz, Máté

2012-05-27

The correlation of the sociology of health, social ecology and media democracy is demonstrated in the study. In societies of today, the role of the media is unquestionable in disseminating information relating to health and the environment. According to Paragraph (1) of Article XXI of the Hungarian Constitution of 2011, everyone has the right to a healthy environment. An environmentalist media democracy may forward environmental justice, environmental education, and environmentalist economy, etc. All these are required in order to establish a society where the healthy environment is an objective value.

Inclusive Democracy: Franchise Limitations on Non-Resident Citizens as an Unjust Restriction of Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights

OpenAIRE

Fraser, Julie

2017-01-01

The Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG) advises parties in peace negotiations, on drafting post-conflict constitutions, and assists in prosecuting war criminals. As part of this work, PILPG assists States in establishing and implementing electoral systems that meet international standards for democratic elections, and undertakes election monitoring. Free and fair elections are crucial for the legitimacy of democratic States and are protected by human rights law. The present arti...

Democracy, Citizenship and Youth: Towards Social and Political ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2009-10-12

Oct 12, 2009 ... Democracy, Citizenship and Youth: Towards Social and Political ... the successful media-relations strategy, and the rewarding partnerships ... Birth registration is the basis for advancing gender equality and children's rights.

Ideological conditionings of the social protest criminalization and the support to democracy in a Lima sample

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Rottenbacher de Rojas

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The influence of right-wing political conservatism on support for democracy and the criminalization of social protest is analyzed in a sample of university students from the city of Lima (N = 201. As indicators of the right-wing political conservatism, measures of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA, social dominance orientation (SDO and right-wing political orientation were used. Two path diagrams were proposed: the second diagram showed a proper degree of fit and proposes a positive covariance between RWA, SDO and right-wing political orientation. The diagram also suggests that RWA, SDO and right-wing political orientation exert a direct influence on the criminalization of social protest, while SDO and RWA exert an indirect influence on support for democracy. Finally, support for democracy present an inverse correlation with the criminalization of social protest.

Human rights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gaay Fortman, B. de

2006-01-01

Human rights reflect a determined effort to protect the dignity of each and every human being against abuse of power. This endeavour is as old as human history. What is relatively new is the international venture for the protection of human dignity through internationally accepted legal standards

Democracy, Resistance, and the Practice of Literature: Introduction

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Arka Chattopadhyay

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Recent world politics has witnessed the rise of a certain style of authoritarianism. It can be roughly characterized with a cult of masculine leadership, a popular rhetoric of foreign investment and development, and a phobia of the illegal immigrant made into an ethical obligation. These contradictory forms of politics – the paean to multinational corporations, free trade, and the ‘bloc’-ing of power and the simultaneous mobilization of hyper-nationalism in the form of censoring books and throttling subversive aesthetic practices – characterize the conception and practice of what may be called “authoritarian democracy.” Considering the democratically elected basis of this authoritarianism, it becomes all the more important to ask if democracy paves the way for it. In that case, where do we locate democracy today? Is it right to say that the real democratic space unfolds itself in people’s movements and not in the electoral process? If this is the case, a radical conception of democracy would have to account for a shift of emphasis from the locus of governance to that of resistance and co-option. Historically speaking, democracy may not always be the means but it has been one of the ends for the various acts of resistance such as the working class, anti-colonial, nationalist, feminist, LGBT, or constitutional multiculturalism. In our sour and hungry times, when state aggression is overpowering the geographical marking (Russia’s in Ukraine or Israel’s in Palestine, or strangling the voice of internal resistance (North Eastern regions in India, not to mention religious fundamentalism, we need to rethink the old questions of democracy and resistance. With the ISIS, Boko Haram or the Taliban practice, we have seen how resistance itself can produce a dangerous authoritarianism which further complicates the relations between democracy, authoritarianism, and resistance. How do we historicize and ethically theorize resistance in

Theoretical Models of Deliberative Democracy: A Critical Analysis

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Tutui Viorel

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract: My paper focuses on presenting and analyzing some of the most important theoretical models of deliberative democracy and to emphasize their limits. Firstly, I will mention James Fishkin‟s account of deliberative democracy and its relations with other democratic models. He differentiates between four democratic theories: competitive democracy, elite deliberation, participatory democracy and deliberative democracy. Each of these theories makes an explicit commitment to two of the following four “principles”: political equality, participation, deliberation, nontyranny. Deliberative democracy is committed to political equality and deliberation. Secondly, I will present Philip Pettit‟s view concerning the main constraints of deliberative democracy: the inclusion constraint, the judgmental constraint and the dialogical constraint. Thirdly, I will refer to Amy Gutmann and Dennis Thompson‟s conception regarding the “requirements” or characteristics of deliberative democracy: the reason-giving requirement, the accessibility of reasons, the binding character of the decisions and the dynamic nature of the deliberative process. Finally, I will discuss Joshua Cohen‟s “ideal deliberative procedure” which has the following features: it is free, reasoned, the parties are substantively equal and the procedure aims to arrive at rationally motivated consensus. After presenting these models I will provide a critical analysis of each one of them with the purpose of revealing their virtues and limits. I will make some suggestions in order to combine the virtues of these models, to transcend their limitations and to offer a more systematical account of deliberative democracy. In the next four sections I will take into consideration four main strategies for combining political and epistemic values (“optimistic”, “deliberative”, “democratic” and “pragmatic” and the main objections they have to face. In the concluding section

Politics and population health: Testing the impact of electoral democracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Andrew C; Veenstra, Gerry

2016-07-01

This study addresses questions of whether and why electoral democracies have better health than other nations. After devising a replicable approach to missing data, we compare political, economic, and health-related data for 168 nations collected annually from 1960 through 2010. Regression models estimate that electoral democracies have 11 years of longer life expectancy on average and 62.5% lower rates of infant mortality. The association with life expectancy reduces markedly after controlling for GDP, while a combination of factors may explain the democratic advantage in infant health. Results suggest that income inequality associates independently with both health outcomes but does not mediate their associations with democracy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cosmopolitan Democracy: A Restatement

Science.gov (United States)

Archibugi, Daniele

2012-01-01

Can democracy be expanded beyond borders? For many years, it was taken for granted that the norms and values of democracy could be applied within the boundaries of a state only. But over the last 20 years, it has been increasingly argued that democracy can also inform international organizations and global politics. This article recapitulates the…

Philosophical foundations of human rights

CERN Document Server

Liao, Matthew S

2015-01-01

What makes something a human right? What is the relationship between the moral foundations of human rights and human rights law? What are the difficulties of appealing to human rights? This book offers the first comprehensive survey of current thinking on the philosophical foundations of human rights. Divided into four parts, this book focusses firstly on the moral grounds of human rights, for example in our dignity, agency, interests or needs. 'Secondly, it looks at the implications that different moral perspectives on human rights bear for human rights law and politics. Thirdly, it discusses specific and topical human rights including freedom of expression and religion, security, health and more controversial rights such as a human right to subsistence. The final part discusses nuanced critical and reformative views on human rights from feminist, Kantian and relativist perspectives among others. The essays represent new and canonical research by leading scholars in the field. Each part is comprised of a set...

Foucault and Human Rights: Seeking the Renewal of Human Rights Education

Science.gov (United States)

Zembylas, Michalinos

2016-01-01

This article takes up Foucault's politics of human rights and suggests that it may constitute a point of departure for the renewal of HRE, not only because it rejects the moral superiority of humanism--the grounding for the dominant liberal framework of international human rights--but also because it makes visible the complexities of human rights…

Democracy Aid and Electoral Accountability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heinrich, Tobias; Loftis, Matthew

2017-01-01

for this by analyzing incumbent turnover in elections following poor economic performance – the economic vote – as a measure of voting to achieve performance accountability. In our analysis of over 1,100 elections in 114 developing countries between 1975 and 2010, we find distinct evidence that increasing receipt......Although foreign policies often fail to successfully promote democracy, over a decade of empirical research indicates that foreign aid specifically for democracy promotion is remarkably successful at improving the survival and institutional strength of fragile democracies. However, these measures...... cannot tell us how well democracy aid supports the central promise of democracy: accountable government. Since institutions can be subverted in various ways that undermine accountability, it is vital to know whether democracy aid supports accountability to assess its overall success. We provide evidence...

Democracy and non-profit housing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anne Vorre; Langergaard, Luise Li

2017-01-01

Resident democracy as a special form of participatory democratic set-up is fundamental in the understanding, and self-understanding, of the non-profit housing sector in Denmark. Through a case study, the paper explores how resident democracy is perceived and narrated between residents and employees....... The tensions are related to representative versus participatory democracy; collectivity versus individuality; and service versus welfare. The tensions elucidate how resident democracy is squeezed between different logics, which result in an ambiguous setting for practising democracy. Based on the results...... at a housing association. The study indicates that the meta-story of democracy is disconnected from practice and the lived lives of residents. Three analytical tensions structure the analysis, which relate to the conditions for realizing the democratic ideal embedded in the structure of the sector...

Special Section: Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Frydenlund, Knut; And Others

1978-01-01

Eleven articles examine human rights in Europe. Topics include unemployment, human rights legislation, role of the Council of Europe in promoting human rights, labor unions, migrant workers, human dignity in industralized societies, and international violence. Journal available from Council of Europe, Directorate of Press and Information, 67006…

Democracy and Development – A Disputed Pair1

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... rising incomes. (based on economic growth), but also longer lives, higher levels of literacy .... the integrated human development measure (HDI) as a valid or meaningful ... Just like the minimalist, the substantialist definition holds democracy.

Democracy predicts sport and recreation membership: Insights from 52 countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Balish, Shea M

2017-03-01

Although evidence suggests sport and recreation are powerful contributors to worldwide public health, sizable gender differences persist. It is unknown whether country characteristics moderate gender differences across countries. The primary purpose of this study was to examine if countries' levels of democracy and/or gender inequality moderate gender differences in sport and recreation membership across countries. The secondary purpose was to examine if democracy and/or gender inequality predicts overall rates of sport and recreation membership for both males and females. This study involved a nested cross-sectional design and employed the sixth wave (2013) of the world value survey (n Ss =71,901, n countries =52). Multiple hierarchal nonlinear Bernoulli models tested: (1) if countries' levels of democracy moderate gender differences in sport and recreation membership; and (2) if democracy is associated with increased sport and recreation membership for both males and females. Countries' level of democracy fully moderated gender differences in sport and recreation membership across countries. Moreover, democracy was positively associated with both male and female membership, even when controlling for individual and country-level covariates. Democratic political regimes may confer health benefits via increased levels of sport and recreation membership, especially for females. Future research should test mediating mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Participatory Democracy in Theory and Practice: A Case Study of Local Government in South Africa

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Ntsikelelo Breakfast

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The idea of democracy is a curious oneand puzzling. There is reason for this;everyone talks about democracy no matter whether their views are on the left, centreor right of the political spectrum. Various politicians, regimes, whether in Africa, Europe or America claim to be democratic;yet what each says and does is usuallydifferent. Democracy as a practice is supposed to bestow rules, laws and decisions that are justifiable on democraticgrounds. Democracy also has evolved through social struggles. This article examines the practice of democracy withinthe context of local government in South Africa, and is an attempt to explore the concept of democracy without escaping other historical aspects of the idea and practice. From a methodological standpoint, this article is based on a literature assessment. Lastly and most importantly, this paper has made a scholarly contribution to the scholarship of Political Science and Public Administration with regard to the nexus between democracy and public participation at local government level in South Africa.

Democracy, Support for Democracy and Corruption. A Longitudinal Study of Latin American Countries

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Davide Grassi

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Although often unable to satisfactorily solve the problem, democracy (especially enduring democracy is commonly believed to reduce corruption. Yet, both Transparency International and the World Bank continue to attach a high risk of corruption to Latin American countries: corruption and impunity remain prevalent in the area, despite consolidating democratic regimes and recent anticorruption reforms. Using level of democracy and its endurance, as well as information on the perceptions of democratic performance and corruption obtained from the Latinobarometro, we analyzed a panel data covering the period 2005-2010 in 14 Latin American countries. Our main results show that levels of democracy and citizens' assessment of government fairness have a positive impact on corruption. However, satisfaction towards democracy has the opposite effect: when citizens believed democratic governments and public administrations to be efficient, they also perceived that gains against corruption had significantly decreased.

The Discourse on Human Rights and the International Regime of Human Rights

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Eyassu Gayim

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The international regime of human rights governs the kinds of freedoms, liberties, benefits, autonomy and protection which human beings are entitled to, what kind of obligations we have in this connection and what the roles of states are in recognizing and protecting these rights. Yet, the sources, foundation and justifications for these rights and who we are by nature to deserve some rights has been contentious over the centuries, not least because we live in social context, which requires balancing rights by meeting the broader community interests: political order, stability, and satisfying the general welfare. This paper re-visits the major contentious positions in the discourse on human rights for purposes of explaining how the international community has navigated when shaping the contours of the international regime of human rights. Has this regime endorsed, rejected or avoided some of these positions? Does it follow a clear political ideology?

Multilingualism and Education for Democracy

Science.gov (United States)

Biseth, Heidi

2009-01-01

This essay attempts to show the importance of linguistic issues in education for democracy and the close relationship between democracy and multilingualism. Increasingly nation-states are having to adapt to linguistic diversity within their borders and to recognize that democracy requires the participation of all citizens, including those belonging to linguistic minorities. Democracy also requires that all linguistic groups share a sense of community. The author argues the need for educational policies that address these challenges.

South American Youth : Regional Democracy-Building Dialogue ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

This project will undertake a comparative analysis of South American youth in the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and their perception of rights, democracy and regional integration. Researchers will examine the meaning that young people, adults and mediators of youth demands attribute to ...

On children's right to pluralism in education

OpenAIRE

Englund, Tomas

2011-01-01

The starting points of this paper imply a use from one article (Englund 2010) published within the project (Education as a citizenship right – parents’ rights, children’s rights or …..) in which the parental right to educational authority is questioned. Using deliberative democracy as an ideal I am putting the question if it is possible to create a deliberative democracy without future citizens growing into a pluralist, deliberative culture developing deliberative capabilities, with schools s...

Cosmopolitan democracy: conceptual deficits and political errors

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Sérgio Costa

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Both the appeal to some universal ethics and the evocation of a global civil society constitute the core of the "cosmopolitan democracies" theories, presented as either reality data or political desideratum. The paper aims at showing that in the terms formulated by the cosmopolitan democrats both ideas rely on evolutionist presuppositions. Institutions, values, and cultural ways of life effective on societies situated in the northern hemisphere end up being regarded as both per se superior and models for general application. Against such reorganization of the world, the paper indicatively cites necessary precautions in order to have both the international cooperation of social actors and the globalisation of human rights contribute towards overcoming particularisms in the several regions, taking into consideration, at the same time, the cultural particularities of the different regional contexts.

Technocracy and Democracy: The Challenges to Development in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Reginald M. J. Oduor

from the vantage point of appropriate knowledge and experience. They seek ... Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held by the .... This analysis to some, rightly or otherwise, implies that technocrats are anti- ...

Punishment, Democracy and Transitional Justice in Argentina (1983-2015

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Diego Arturo Zysman Quirós

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Latin America has neither suffered the majority of mass atrocities in the contemporary world nor the worst of them but, after a sustained period of transition to democracy, it holds the record for the most domestic trials for human rights abuses. Argentina is an emblematic case in Latin America and the world. Due to the early development of its human rights trials, their social impact and their scale, it has a leading role in what is known as ‘the justice cascade’. Until recently, leading scholars in sociology of punishment have studied the penality of ‘ordinary crimes’ through causally deep and global narratives largely from the perspective of the Global North. State crimes and regional paths of transitional justice have been neglected in their accounts. This paper will question this state of affairs – or ‘parallelism’ – through an exploration of the punishment of both ‘common crimes’ and ‘state crimes’ in Argentina, thus contributing to the growing body of scholarship on southern criminology.

UN human rights council

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Vuksanović Mlrjana

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the structure, mechanisms, practices and perspectives of the Human Rights Council, the UN body that, at universal level is the most important body in this area. Introductory section provides for a brief overview of the origins of human rights and the work of the Commission on Human Rights, in whose jurisdiction were questions of human rights before the establishment of the Council. After the introductory section the author gives an analysis of the structure, objectives, mandate and main procedures for the protection of human rights within the united Nations. In the final section the authorpoints out the advantages of this authority and criticism addressed to it, with emphasis on the possibility and the need for its reform.

Evolving International Practices for Protection of Human Rights- the UN Human Rights Advisory Panel and EU Human Rights Review Panel

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Remzije ISTREFI

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This article analyses the unique development of the international human rights non judicial protection mechanism in Kosovo. Since 1999 Kosovo has been placed under international supervision carried out by international organizations, namely the United Nations and the European Union. The UN’s Mission in Kosovo (UNMK was unprecedented both in scope and structural complexity. After the Declaration of Independence by Kosovo authorities on 17 February 2008, the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo EULEX took over to assist and support the Kosovo authorities in the rule of law area, specifically in the areas of the police, the judiciary and customs. The UNMIK’s extensive mandate and EULEXs limited executive powers in practice have affected human rights of Kosovars as a consequence of the UNMIK and EULEX actions and inactions in the course of exercise of their mandates. This study will try to reveal the processes that lead to establishment of these two unique international human rights Panels and their impact on human rights protection of individuals under international administration. The main question to be addressed is if these two human rights panels are providing the adequate remedy for addressing human rights violations by international actors in a post conflict Kosovo.

Human rights of persons with mental disabilities. The European Convention of Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Gostin, L O

2000-01-01

It is not necessary to recount the numerous charters and declarations ... to understand human rights.... All persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Everyone ... is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the international human rights instruments without discrimination, such as the rights to life, liberty, security of the person, privacy, health, education, work, social security, and to marry and found a family. Yet, violations of human rights are a reality to be found in every corner of the globe.

Multilingualism and Education for Democracy

Science.gov (United States)

Biseth, Heidi

2009-01-01

This essay attempts to show the importance of linguistic issues in education for democracy and the close relationship between democracy and multilingualism. Increasingly nation-states are having to adapt to linguistic diversity within their borders and to recognize that democracy requires the participation of all citizens, including those…

Democracy Squared

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rose, Jeremy; Sæbø, Øystein

2005-01-01

On-line political communities, such as the Norwegian site Demokratitorget (Democracy Square), are often designed according to a set of un-reflected assumptions about the political interests of their potential members. In political science, democracy is not taken as given in this way, but can...... be represented by different models which characterize different relationships between politicians and the citizens they represent. This paper uses quantitative and qualitative content analysis to analyze the communication mediated by the Democracy Square discussion forum in the first ten months of its life......-Republican model. In the qualitative analysis the discourse is analysed as repeating genres – patterns in the communication form which also reflect the conflict of interest between citizens and politicians. Though the analysis gives insight into the nature of the discourse the site supports, little is known about...

Human rights at work: Physical standards for employment and human rights law.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Eric M

2016-06-01

This review focuses on the human rights dimensions of creating and implementing physical standards for employment for prospective and incumbent employees. The review argues that physical standards for employment engage two fundamental legal concepts of employment law: freedom of contract and workplace human rights. While the former promotes an employer's right to set workplace standards and make decisions of whom to hire and terminate, the latter prevents employers from discriminating against individuals contrary to human rights legislation. With reference to applicable human rights legislative regimes and their judicial interpretation in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, this review demonstrates the judicial preference for criterion validation in testing mechanisms in the finding of bona fide occupational requirements. With particular attention to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Meiorin, this review argues that an effective balance between workplace safety and human rights concerns can be found, not in applying different standards to different groups of individuals, but in an approach that holds employers to demonstrating a sufficient connection between a uniform physical standard of employment and the actual minimum requirements to perform the job safety and efficiently. Combined with an employer's duty to accommodate, such an approach to lawful physical standards for employment conceives of worker and public safety and workplace diversity as emanating from a shared concern for human rights.

Deuteronomy and Human Rights

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G. Braulik

1998-08-01

Full Text Available If one compares the articles of the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" dated December 10th, 1948, with the regulations of the book of Deuteronomy, one detects a surprising abundance of correspondences, or at least of similar tendencies, between them. As the social theorists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the architects of the catalogue of Human Rights, knew the Scripture very well. References to Deuteronomy are historically well probable and factually hardly coincidental. Deuteronomy rightly boasts about its social laws (4:8 that are unique in the Ancient Near East. The paper orientates itself to the short formula of Human Rights and at the same time to the normative basic character of each human right, as it is formulated in the first article of the declaration: "liberty", "equality", "fraternity". Each of these basic categories are concretised in terms of several Deuteronomic regulations and prove themselves to be central matters of concern within the YHWH religion. Finally, it is outlined how the connection between Deuteronomy and modem expressions of human rights might be explained, and further it is shown what actually makes up the peculiarity of biblical thinking on human rights.

Nietzsche, Democracy and Transcendence | von Tongeren | South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Socialism, utilitarianism and democracy are, according to Nietzsche, secularised versions of Christianity. They have continued the monomaniac onesidedness of the Christian idea of what a human being is and should be, and they have even strengthened this monomania through its 'immanentisation'. The article shows that ...

A Democracy of All Learners: Ethical Rationality and the Affective Roots of Democratic Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Philip A.

2006-01-01

This article contends that it is important for educational leaders to understand and reown the historical roots of modern democracy. In particular, it highlights a foundational human capacity for shared ethical insight which characterizes the rich conception of democracy that can be traced in this historical development. Implications for…

Human Rights, History of

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Baets, Antoon; Wright, James

2015-01-01

In this article, six basic debates about human rights are clarified from a historical perspective: the origin of human rights as moral rights connected to the natural law doctrine and opposed to positive rights; the wave of criticism of their abstract and absolute character by nineteenth-century

Measure and collapse of participatory democracy in a two-party system

Science.gov (United States)

Sznajd, Jozef

2015-10-01

Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so (Galileo Galilei). According to the above sentence we do not ask why we need to measure democracy but if it is possible to measure something which is not unequivocally defined. Although, it is unlikely a final agreement on the definition of democracy, the idea that it is a form of governance based on collective decision making seems to be uncontested. On the premise that in the high-quality democracy citizens (agents) not only must have equal participation rights but must want to participate in shaping decision, as an effective measure of democracy in a two party political system we propose the percentage of the total population that actually voted in a given elections only for two major parties. Thus, we disregard not only nonvoters but also smaller parties voters whom votes will not have a substantial impact on the election and consequently they will not be in the loop, even theoretically. To describe such a system a sociophysics model based on the $S=1$ Ising model (Blume-Capel) is proposed. The measure of democracy, V_D index, as a function of inter-party conflict is analyzed.

Recognition of Laborers as Citizens: First Worker Democracy versus Liberal Capitalist Democracy

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Brabec, Martin

2016-01-01

Roč. 15, 1/2 (2016), s. 157-165 ISSN 1569-1500 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA14-19416S Institutional support: RVO:67985955 Keywords : Athenian democracy * capitalism * citizenships * demos * exploitation * liberal democracy * peasants Subject RIV: AA - Philosophy ; Religion

The nature of human rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krivokapić Boris

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the first part of the paper, the author points out that, unlike in the past, in our time human rights developed into a fair legal institution, and even a special system. They are formulated and protected both internally and internationally. The second part deals with the approach according to which human rights are part of the so-called. natural law. The author notes that the theory of natural law can not be accepted for many reasons. It is pure construction, which is far from reality, and besides it is unnecessary. Law and thus human rights as a part of it, is a social creation, developing along with the society itself, whereby, in the longer term, advanced norms in the matter of human rights replace obsolete ones. Life and human needs are the ones who impose such development. In the third part the writer notes that since under human rights one can have in mind various things, at least such a special concept and, on the other hand, specific rights, it is not possible to give a single answer to what is the nature of human rights. It is even harder as human rights, have a variety of dimensions - legal, philosophical, ideological, political, economic, social, educational, etc. However, he gives his view of the main characteristics of the modern concept of human rights. In the fourth part, the author notes that, speaking not about the concept, but human rights as such, their main characteristics are that they are: 1 source - belong to anyone on the grounds that he is a human being (general rights or a member specific vulnerable groups (special rights; 2 universal - belong to everyone or all members of vulnerable groups, without any discrimination based on personal characteristics, and on the other hand, the most important such rights shall be recognized in all states; 3 inalienable - one can not give up or else share his basic human rights, such as the right to life, the right to vote, etc.; 4 somewhat different - although, in principle, all

Quality of democracy in Venezuela

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Daniel H. LEVINE

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Discussions of democracy in contemporary Venezuela lack a settled definition of the subject, how to study it, or indeed of what counts as «democracy» in the first place. The regime has been described as everything from participatory democracy, hybrid, mixed, and personalist to populist, illiberal, or no longer democratic but rather competitive authoritarian. The goal of this article is to measure the quality of democracy in Venezuela, within the terms of a procedural concept of democracy as detailed in our earlier work. Empirical measurement of the quality of democracy on five dimensions (electoral choice, participation, responsiveness, accountability, sovereignty reveals a low level overall and deep institutional weakness under a personalist leadership, with little change from 2005 to 2010. Future scenarios, after the 2012 presidential election result, include reinforcement of authoritarian trends, open militarization, liberalization and institutional strengthening, or long term volatility and polarized conflict. All scenarios are contingent on the health of President Chávez, who is a central unifying factor for his movement and regime

Deweyan Democracy: The Epistemic Context

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Jón Olafsson

2014-03-01

Full Text Available John Dewey famously argued that we should think of democracy as a “way of life”. What this consists in he described as participating according to capacity in public decisions and participating according to need or desire in forming values. He also characterized democracy as “a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience” (Dewey 1966 p. 87; 1954 p. 147; 1957 p. 209. Such and other passages in Dewey’s works show that his conception of democracy is complex. He did not think of it simply as a way of decision-making, nor is democratic procedure of particular importance to him. Concepts such as “associated living” or “communicated experience” point to the social dimensions Dewey was particularly interested in. Dewey also repeatedly claims that democracy demands “social return” from every individual and that democracy enables everyone to develop “distinct capacities” (Dewey 1966, p. 122. A related claim emphasizes how, in a democracy, “all share in useful service and enjoy a worthy leisure” (Dewey 1966, p. 256.

Human Rights: The Essential Reference.

Science.gov (United States)

Devine, Carol; Hansen, Carol Rae; Wilde, Ralph; Bronkhorst, Daan; Moritz, Frederic A.; Rolle, Baptiste; Sherman, Rebecca; Southard, Jo Lynn; Wilkinson, Robert; Poole, Hilary, Ed.

This reference work documents the history of human rights theory, explains each article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, explores the contemporary human rights movement, and examines the major human rights issues facing the world today. This book is the first to combine historical and contemporary perspectives on these critical…

Conceptions of "Nordic Democracy" and European Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Uffe

Reluctance towards European integration in the Nordic countries is doubtlessly more connected to ideas on democracy than elsewhere. This goes not only for the (empirical) practicability of democracy but also for the (normative) desirability of democracy in the EU. After the Second World War, when...... and reborn after the Second World War as genuine democracy. However, a third narrative developed in which democracy was seen as having its roots in the Nordic countries dating back to the Viking Age or earlier. In the period from the 1940s to the 1980s, a number of Nordic anthologies contained articles...... the process of contemporary European integration was approaching, and the concept of democracy at the same time was heavily contested in public debates and among academics, two conceptions of democracy were struggling: On one hand, democracy was recognized as a European value developing in the form...

Human Rights and Human Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohsen Javadi

2006-03-01

Full Text Available This paper firstly explores some theories of Human Rights justification and then assents to the theory that Human Rights is based on justified moral values. In order to justify moral values, Aristotle’s approach called “Function Argument” is reviewed. Propounding this argument, the writer attempts to show that all analysis of human identity will directly contribute to the man’s view of his rights. Not only Human rights is really determined by human function or human distinguishing characteristic i.e. human identity, but in the world of knowledge the proper method to know human rights is to know human being himself. n cloning violates man’s rights due to two reasons: damage of human identity and violation of the right to be unique. Attempting to clarify the nature of human cloning, this article examines the aspects to be claimed to violate human rights and evaluates the strength of the reasons for this claim. این مقاله پس از بررسی اجمالی برخی از نظریه‌های توجیه حقوق بشر، نظریة ابتنای آن بر ارزش‌های اخلاقی موجّه را می‌پذیرد. دربارة چگونگی توجیه ارزش اخلاقی، رویکرد ارسطو که به «برهان ارگن» موسوم است، مورد بحث و بررسی قرار می‌گیرد. مؤلف با طرح این برهان می‌کوشد نشان دهد ارائه هرگونه تحلیل از هویت انسان در نگرش آدمی به حقوق خود تأثیر مستقیم خواهد گذاشت. حقوق آدمی نه فقط از ناحیة کارویژه یا فصل ممیز وی (هویت انسان تعیّن واقعی می‌گیرد، بلکه در عالم معرفت هم راه درست شناخت حقوق بشر، شناخت خود انسان است.

Towards a Critique of Political Democracy

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Mario Tronti

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Starting from the idea that democracy always binds together a practice of domination and a project of liberation, Tronti formulates the conditions for a critique of democracy that would permit a rebirth of political thought in the current conjuncture. Bringing the heterodox Marxist traditions of ‘workerism’ and the ‘autonomy of the political’ together with the feminist thinking of difference, Tronti underscores the identitarian tendencies of democracy and the difficulties of combining democracy with a genuine notion of freedom. For Tronti, democracy is increasingly synonymous with the pervasiveness of capitalism understood as ‘bourgeois society’, and the victory of ‘real democracy’ (as one might speak of ‘real socialism’ is the sociological victory of the bourgeoisie. The homo oeconomicus and the homo democraticus are fused into the dominant figure of democracy, the ‘mass bourgeois’. Against the depoliticizing consequences of ‘democratic Empire’, Tronti proposes a profound rethinking of our notion of politics, one which should not shy from reconsidering the elitist critiques of democracy.

The betrayal of democracy: Tiananmen's shadow over Japan

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Jing Zhao

2008-12-01

Full Text Available La heroica lucha del pueblo chino por la libertad política en 1989 estimuló a la Europa del Este y a la URSS a abandonar su sistema de partido único. La Guerra Fría terminó abruptamente bajo el acicate del incidente de la Plaza Tiananmen. Este artículo explora el otro lado oscuro del incidente de Tiananmen en el escenario internacional: su profunda sombra sobre Japón. En base a la experiencia personal del autor, el artículo revisa y analiza el fracaso de Japón en su transformación política en la región durante este período histórico desde dos aspectos: 1 ¿Por qué y cómo el gobierno japonés tuvo que seguir a China económicamente? 2 ¿Por qué y cómo el gobierno japonés traicionó la democracia y los derechos humanos? El artículo concluye que las relaciones Chino-japonesas deberían basarse en los  principios de derechos humanos y democracia._________________ABSTRACT:The Chinese people's heroic struggle for political freedom in 1989 encouraged East Europe and the USSR to abandon their single-party system. The Cold War ended abruptly under the stimulus of the Tiananmen Square Incident. This article explores the other dark side of the Tiananmen Incident in the international stage: its deep shadow over Japan. Based on the author's personal experience, the article records, reviews and analyzes Japan's failure in its political transformation in the region during this historical period from two aspects: 1 Why and how the Japanese government had to engage China economically?; 2 Why and how the Japanese government betrayed democracy and human rights regarding China? The article concludes that Sino-Japanese relations should be based on principles of human rights and democracy.

Freedom and the Non-Instrumental Value of Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rostbøll, Christian F.

This paper is an intervention in two debates, one concerning the instrumental vs noninstrumental value of democracy, the other concerning the relationship between freedom and democracy. I reject the purely instrumental justification of democracy and defend the idea that democracy has noninstrumen......This paper is an intervention in two debates, one concerning the instrumental vs noninstrumental value of democracy, the other concerning the relationship between freedom and democracy. I reject the purely instrumental justification of democracy and defend the idea that democracy has...... noninstrumental value. I see the noninstrumental value of democracy in terms of freedom rather than the now more common reference to equality or fairness. The freedom argument can better show the noninstrumenal value of democracy and can better respond to some core objections to democratic noninstrumentalism than...... the equality argument. A main aim of this paper is to show that freedom and democracy are not merely instrumentally linked but, rather, intrinsically related. I argue this mainly via a critical engagement with Philip Pettit’s conception of freedom as nondomination. My defense of the noninstrumental value...

Turkey’s New Citizenship and Democracy Education Course: Search for Democratic Citizenship in a Difference-Blind Polity?

OpenAIRE

Kenan Çayır

2011-01-01

The paper introduces and critically evaluates the new Citizenship and Democracy Education course in the Turkish curriculum. This course has been introduced as a mandatory subject in grade 8 per one hour a week in the 2011-2012 academic year. Following the comprehensive 2005 curriculum reform, Citizenship and Human Rights Education courses had been abolished and these themes had been distributed to the curriculum of different courses. However, recommendations of academics and international bod...

Power and democracy in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jørgen Goul; Jørgensen, Torben Beck; Valgårda, Signild

the numerous projects under the Power Study, and this book is a short presentation of these conclusions.The main focus of the book is the state of democracy in Denmark at the dawn of the 21st century. How has democracy fared, has the development made things better or worse, and to which extent does......In 1997, the Danish Parliament decided to launch a power study, officially An Analysis of Democracy and Power in Denmark. A steering committee consisting of five independent researchers was assigned responsibility for the project. The Steering Committee has gathered the overall conclusions from...... contemporary democracy live up to our democratic ideals? The answer is that in many ways democracy is doing better than we might have expected, considering the intense pressure on the nation state and the democratic institutions in the postwar period. The Danish population is still full of democratic life...

Education for democracy in the Republic of Serbia

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Minić Vesna Lj.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Considering to the fact that democracy, especially in the societies in transition, today has become the key question of their functioning and development, the discussion about this question have different reasons. The school as the educational institution in Serbia has numerous and responsible tasks in founding and developing of democratic relationships, mutual relations of the tolerance, respecting, peaceful solutions ect. By acquiring of needed knowledge and democratic values, students become competent for living with social differences, for taking responsibility and active functioning which is directed to the constructive way. Democracy is not just the form of political system, but also the mean for realizing of practical goals. Democratic consciousness and knowledge are mostly acquired in schools, in which the specific way of thinking, communication and readiness for practical acting are developing and that is the precondition for education for democracy. But, it is important to understand democracy in the proper way, because it is not meaning the absolute freedom, but respecting of rules and obligations which means harmonious living in the given social environment. Democratization in the Republic of Serbia is connected to the general process of globalization and appearing of new values such as tolerance, solidarity, personal rights ect. In school, it means learning about dialog and tolerance. Beside, it prepares students for living and working in democratic society, that is learning about democratic values, forming attitudes about and making the environment in which they can take participance in some social activities related to democratic relationships in school. By democratic knowledge and values, the student can learn about living in social, cultural and political differences, in conflict of interests, about taking of rights and obligations, taking of responsibility for decisions in which making one is taking part. Education for

Speaking Truth to Power: Women's Rights as Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Crocco, Margaret Smith

2007-01-01

The author considers the treatment of women's rights as human rights in the social studies curriculum. She discusses the role of the United Nations in promoting women's rights since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. She also reviews the treatment of women's rights within social studies curriculum today through a…

Socialization and Political Regimes: the Impact of Generation on Support for Democracy in Latin America

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Mario Fuks

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Studies on democratic attitudes in Latin America indicate that older citizens are more likely to express a preference for democracy. This contradicts part of the literature, which suggests that the greatest support should come from younger generations, who were socialized under democratic regimes. One possible explanation for the greater support for democracy among the older generation is that they experienced the repression of political and civil rights under authoritarian rule, thus creating an aversion to such regimes. In this article, we replicate tests conducted by other studies in evaluating the effect of generation on support for democracy, using data from the 2012 Americas Barometer. In addition, we add a new factor to the analysis: the country's authoritarian legacy, measured as to the duration and intensity with which individual and political rights were curtailed in the past. The results show a complex picture. First, they confirm that the generations that have lived under authoritarian regimes are more likely to support democracy. However, we find no evidence of an increase in the difference in support between generations in countries where the authoritarian legacy is stronger. Finally, the data indicate that countries with stronger authoritarian legacies exhibit less support for democracy, while stronger democratic legacies have the opposite effect.

A Human Rights Glossary.

Science.gov (United States)

Flowers, Nancy

1998-01-01

Presents a human rights glossary that includes definitions of basic terms, treaties, charters, and groups/organizations that have been featured in previous articles in this edition of "Update on Law-Related Education"; the human rights terms have been compiled as part of the celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights…

Democracy, education, and economics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Emami, Z.; Davis, J.

2009-01-01

This paper examines the connections between democracy and education, particularly as it concerns economics. We adopt a pluralist proceduralist view of democracy, and argue that this requires a view of individuals as active decision-makers able to deliberate and reflect on their different ideas and

Constructing Citizenship through War in the Human Rights Era

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Timothy William Waters

2017-01-01

Full Text Available War’s historical relationship to the creation of territorial nation-states is well known, but what empirical and normative role does war play in creating the citizen in a modern democracy? Although contemporary theories of citizenship and human rights do not readily acknowledge a legitimate, generative function for war – as evidenced by restrictions on aggression, annexation of occupied territory, expulsions, denationalization, or derogation of fundamental rights – an empirical assessment of state practice, including the interpretation of international legal obligations, suggests that war plays a powerfully transformative role in the construction of citizenship, and that international law and norms implicitly accept this. Dominant discourses on citizenship in the liberal and cosmopolitan traditions focus on the individual as the unit of analysis and normative concern, and on his rights against the state. At the same time, the choice of how to construct citizenship – to whom to grant it or from whom to withhold it, and what content to give citizenship – is closely linked to questions of security and identity: citizenship either presupposes or purports to create some measure of common identity among citizens, and implies obligations as well as rights. This chapter argues that, in assessing legal and moral positions, this role – if not necessarily approved – must be accounted for to achieve a fuller understanding of how peace, war and rights are related. Human rights may be conceptualized as universal, but their application and specific content are often mediated through the state, and therefore understanding how states retain the ability to define the contours of citizenship, including through the effects of war, is critical to an understanding of the actual scope of human rights as a legal enterprise and a lived experience. The article will examine the formal limits placed on war as an instrument that could affect citizenship; then

392 Domesticating Representative Democracy: Re-Inventing the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

2011-07-21

Jul 21, 2011 ... It is also important for us to note that the democracy in question, as it reflects in the ... interest groups in order to try to influence the actions of parties ... office, politicians act like entrepreneurs and brokers, .... The communitarians, for instance, believe that a social conception of human .... unity and identity.

Teaching Human Rights Law.

Science.gov (United States)

Berman, Howard R.

1985-01-01

The international community has developed a system of human rights law relevant to many areas of legal encounter, which American law schools have been slow to incorporate into curricula. Teaching human rights law provides an opportunity for law schools to enrich the learning process and contribute creatively to the respect for rights in society.…

Discursive Framings of Human Rights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

What does it mean to be a subject of human rights? The status of the subject is closely connected with the form and rhetoric of the framing discourse, and this book investigates the relationship between the status of the subject and the form of human rights discourse, in differing aesthetic...... and social contexts. Historical as well as contemporary declarations of rights have stressed both the protective and political aspects of human rights. But in concrete situations and conflictual moments, the high moral legitimacy of human rights rhetoric has often clouded the actual character of specific...... interventions, and so made it difficult to differentiate between the objects of humanitarian intervention and the subjects of politics. Critically re-examining this opposition – between victims and agents of human rights – through a focus on the ways in which discourses of rights are formed and circulated...

From Deliberative Democracy to Communicative Democracy in the Classroom. A Response to "Education for Deliberative Democracy: A Typology of Classroom Discussions"

Science.gov (United States)

Weasel, Lisa

2017-01-01

This response to Samuelsson's typology for assessing deliberative democracy in classroom discussions views his analysis through an equity lens. It offers Young's model of communicative democracy as a resource and argues that incorporating that model's emphasis on greeting, rhetoric, and storytelling into the typology can help to promote more…

An African Perspective on Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiman, David

1992-01-01

Presents a series of classroom activities comparing differing views of human rights in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights. Includes excerpts from the African Charter on Human and People's Rights and the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (CFR)

Human Rights and Cultural Identity

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John-Stewart Gordon

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Universal human rights and particular cultural identities, which are relativistic by nature, seem to stand in conflict with each other. It is commonly suggested that the relativistic natures of cultural identities undermine universal human rights and that human rights might compromise particular cultural identities in a globalised world. This article examines this supposed clash and suggests that it is possible to frame a human rights approach in such a way that it becomes the starting point and constraining framework for all non-deficient cultural identities. In other words, it is possible to depict human rights in a culturally sensitive way so that universal human rights can meet the demands of a moderate version of meta-ethical relativism which acknowledges a small universal core of objectively true or false moral statements and avers that, beyond that small core, all other moral statements are neither objectively true nor false.

The Humanities, Human Rights, and the Comparative Imagination

OpenAIRE

McClennen, Sophia A.

2007-01-01

In her paper "The Humanities, Human Rights, and the Comparative Imagination" Sophia A. McClennen argues that understanding the relationship between culture and human rights depends on humanist perspectives attentive to the relationship between storytelling and identity, mass culture and ideology, text and audience, critical thinking and engaged citizenship. After briefly considering how the divide between the humanities and human rights advocates developed and how it might best be overcome, s...

Deliberative Democracy and Adult Civic Education

Science.gov (United States)

Carcasson, Martin; Sprain, Leah

2012-01-01

Adult education programs should turn to the deliberative democracy movement in order to help their communities better address the "wicked problems" they face. The authors contend that due to the "wicked" nature of problems in the diverse democracies, communities must develop and sustain their capacity for deliberative democracy and collaborative…

“GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS”: : THE FRAMING OF NEW INTERPRETATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holzhacker, Ron

2014-01-01

“Gay Rights are Human Rights” may have begun as a slogan chanted in the street, but academics and human rights organizations began to use the international human rights frame systematically in the 1990s to argue for universal human rights to fully apply to LGBT persons. This framing gradually began

Conceptualizing and Measuring the Quality of Democracy: The Citizens’ Perspective

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Dieter Fuchs

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, several measurements of the quality of democracy have been developed (e.g. Democracy Barometer, Varieties of Democracy Project. These objective measurements focus on institutional and procedural characteristics of democracy. This article starts from the premise that in order to fully understand the quality of democracy such objective measurements have to be complemented by subjective measurements based on the perspective of citizens. The aim of the article is to conceptualize and measure the subjective quality of democracy. First, a conceptualization of the subjective quality of democracy is developed consisting of citizens’ support for three normative models of democracy (electoral, liberal, and direct democracy. Second, based on the World Values Survey 2005–2007, an instrument measuring these different dimensions of the subjective quality of democracy is suggested. Third, distributions for different models of democracy are presented for some European and non-European liberal democracies. They reveal significant differences regarding the subjective quality of democracies. Fourth, the subjective quality of democracy of these countries is compared with the objective quality of democracy based on three indices (electoral democracy, liberal democracy and direct popular vote developed by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem Project. Finally, further research questions are discussed.

3 CFR 8464 - Proclamation 8464 of December 9, 2009. Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, And Human Rights...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... culture is unique, certain rights are universal: the freedom of people—including women and ethnic and... 3 The President 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proclamation 8464 of December 9, 2009. Human Rights Day, Bill of Rights Day, And Human Rights Week, 2009 8464 Proclamation 8464 Presidential Documents...

Democracy and Teacher Education: Setting Priorities

Science.gov (United States)

Goodman, Jesse H.

2009-01-01

As John Dewey noted in his last book, each generation, in its turn, must assume responsibility as caretaker of democracy. He noted that one should never take democracy for granted. Everyone lives in an imperfect democracy, and teacher educators should play their part in protecting, nurturing, and advancing democratic ideals, rituals, values, and…

Communication rights: Fundamental human rights for all.

Science.gov (United States)

McLeod, Sharynne

2018-02-01

The right to communicate includes the right to "freedom of opinion and expression" and rights and freedoms "without distinction of … language". The 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a time to celebrate and reflect on communication as a human right, particularly with respect to Article 19 and its relationship to national and international conventions, declarations, policies and practices. This review profiles articles from the special issue of International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (volume 20, issue 1) addressing communication rights from four perspectives: (1) communication rights of all people; (2) communication rights of people with communication disabilities; (3) communication rights of children and (4) communication rights relating to language. Divergent perspectives from across the globe are considered. First-hand accounts of people whose right to communicate is compromised/upheld are included and perspectives are provided from people with expertise and advocacy roles in speech-language pathology, audiology, linguistics, education, media, literature and law, including members of the International Communication Project. Three steps are outlined to support communication rights: acknowledge people - adjust the communication style - take time to listen. Future advocacy for communication rights could be informed by replicating processes used to generate the Yogyakarta Principles.

Women's rights are human rights : The practice of the United Nations Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Leeuwen, F.C.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/265778646

2009-01-01

‘Women’s rights are human rights!’ This notion may seem self evident, as the international system for the promotion and the protection of human rights that was installed under the auspice of the United Nations (UN) builds on the idea of equality in dignity and rights of men and women. Yet, as was

Biotechnology and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Feuillet-Le Mintier, B

2001-12-01

Biotechnology permits our world to progress. It's a tool to better apprehend the human being, but as well to let him go ahead. Applied to the living, biotechnologies present the same finality. But since their matter concerns effectively the living, they are the sources of specific dangers and particularly of that one to use the improvements obtained on the human to modify the human species. The right of the persons has to find its place to avoid that the fundamental rights of the human personality shall undergo harm. This mission assigned to the right of the persons is as so much invaluable that the economical stakes are particularly important in the domain of the biotechnologies.

Corruption, democracy and bureaucracy

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Aviral Kumar TIWARI

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the relationship of corruption with democracy and bureaucracy in the 82 countries in a panel framework. For the analysis we use rule of law, regulatory quality, control over corruption and secondary school enrollment ratio as control variables. We find that democracy, rule of law and control over corruption decreases the level of corruption. When we allowed for interaction effect among independent variables we find the evidence of strong interaction effect between all of the explanatory variables. We also find that, surprisingly, higher democracy and rule of law are positively associated with the level of corruption while higher bureaucracy negatively.

Radical Right-Wing Parties in Former Communist Countries: Challenges to Liberal Democracy or a Socio-Economic Protest?

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Vedran Obućina

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Economic and social crises provide an opportunity for protest parties to raise their voices and to win new positions in the political arena. Many analysts deem that the parties of the radical Right gained momentum exactly with the protests by citizens against globalisation, economic deprivation and the impact of the economic crisis. A more detailed study of the radicalisation of politics reveals that the simplification of this thesis does not have a particularly strong justification. In the absence of clear methodologies, political scientists and other social scientists seek to formulate theories based on empirical research. One of the frequent theoretical frameworks is the attitude of populist parties toward the socio-economic situation in the country. According to this thesis, in the period of a global crisis, the percentage of voters of radical political options increases, mostly out of protest, and not as an anti-systemic phenomenon. This paper also examines the situation in Central Europe, as well as the outcomes of this year's elections in Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia as countries with a strong radical Right. By analysing the cases of these countries, the author seeks to establish whether the socio-economic theory can be applied, or whether these countries are facing greater challenges to liberal democracy posed by the far-right pole.

Human Rights Here and Now: Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Flowers, Nancy, Ed.

Although December 10, 1998, marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), most people living in the United States remain unaware of this document, the foundation stone of all human rights. Intended for use by both community groups and teachers in elementary and secondary schools, this educational…

Child rights, right to water and sanitation, and human security.

Science.gov (United States)

Pink, Ross

2012-06-15

The article explores the intersection between child rights, water scarcity, sanitation, and the human security paradigm. The recognition of child rights has been advanced through the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international legal instruments, while water rights are increasingly affirmed in international law and through the historic July 2010 United Nations General Assembly resolution that strengthened the legal foundation for water security and human rights. Yet there remains a development gap in terms of child access to clean and secure water sources for basic human development needs. The human security paradigm provides a legal and humanitarian foundation for the extension of child rights related to water and sanitation. Copyright © 2012 Pink.

Oil companies and human rights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandler, Geoffrey

1997-01-01

This article highlights the need for oil companies in the future to take into account human rights in corporate decision making. The influence oil companies can bring to bear on government violating human rights, excuses for not voicing condemnation of abuses, and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights are discussed. (UK)

Democracy and development in Nigeria

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Tolu Lawal

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Democracy and development are global phenomena. Every country in the world aspires and claims to be democratic. This is because of the role of the latter in developmental process. This paper examined the linkage between democracy and development in Nigeria, using ethics as the yardstick for democratic adherence. The paper adopted content analysis approach to source its data and concluded that democracy is an ingredient of development. It must therefore be sustained to evolve and ensure sustainable development.

The limit between freedom of expression and hate speech: an analysis of the European Court of Human Rights judgements

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María García Santos

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The current situation in Europe and the Western world is to some extent a reflection of the latent conflict between the rise of hate speech and freedom of expression. Phenomena such as globalization and the increase of immigration to Europe have generated a wave of rejection and anxiety towards a changing reality, mainly due to aggravating factors such as the refugee crisis and terrorism. This trend highlights the debate about the limits of freedom of expression on the continent, a right that represents one of the most fundamental pillars of European democracies. In this way, this article analyses the state of the debate within the regional institutions, through a series of judgments from the European Court of Human Rights, to illustrate the current tug of war between freedom of expression and the limitation of hate speech.

Pursuing the Right to an Effective Remedy for Human Rights ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Undoubtedly, global and regional human rights instruments clearly entrench the right to an effective remedy for a human rights violation. The substantive nature of the right to an effective remedy makes it relevant to the realisation of the right to equality as well as the right to equal protection under the law. Cameroon, as a ...

Human Rights and Public Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bowring, Bill

2012-01-01

This article attempts a contrast to the contribution by Hugh Starkey. Rather than his account of the inexorable rise of human rights discourse, and of the implementation of human rights standards, human rights are here presented as always and necessarily scandalous and highly contested. First, I explain why the UK has lagged so far behind its…

Urbanization and human rights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mihr, A.

Urban governance on the basis of human rights can help to set up problem solving mechanisms to guarantee social peace, economic growth and political participation.If states both integrate more in international or regional human rights regime and give more autonomy to urban governments and local

Dewey's Participatory Educational Democracy

Science.gov (United States)

Višnovský, Emil; Zolcer, Štefan

2016-01-01

In this essay, Emil Višnovský and Štefan Zolcer outline John Dewey's contribution to democratic theory as presented in his 1916 classic "Democracy and Education." The authors begin with a review of the general context of Dewey's conception of democracy, and then focus on particular democratic ideas and concepts as presented in…

Human Rights, Mineral Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This view of the company is often described under the concept of corporate social responsibility. This Paper assesses the nature of corporate social responsibility in Ghana primarily focusing on the mining industry. The Paper outlines the various human rights and mineral rights in Ghana and the effects of mining on human ...

The human rights and the terrorism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamidreza Rafiei Fanood

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Regarding Human rights has been emphasized by governments through universal declaration human rights and its violations faced the global reaction in any case. From this perspective; the necessity of observing human rights against terrorism has been emphasized by many resolutions of the General Assembly, the Security Council and many regional resolutions. But, today especially after the September 11 events and America unilateral attacks by resorting to human rights and of course by considering the lack of international agreement on the norms, strategies and principles of human rights, the campaign against terrorism has started on the basis of its obligations, regardless to existing norms. So it would be said that today; the war against terrorism more than any other terrorist attacks threatens the security and human rights. However, human rights framework has never prevented effective and legitimate actions to the terrorist attacks. In other words; in the human right framework, there is no conflict with the campaign against terrorism, it emphasizes on identifying and fighting and even it guarantees the effectiveness of such a fight. As a result, Human rights violations at the expense of security, certainly associated with the destruction of both.

Human Rights, Human Needs, Human Development, Human Security

OpenAIRE

Gasper, Des

2009-01-01

Human rights, human development and human security form increasingly important, partly interconnected, partly competitive and misunderstood ethical and policy discourses. Each tries to humanize a pre-existing and unavoidable major discourse of everyday life, policy and politics; each has emerged within the United Nations world; each relies implicitly on a conceptualisation of human need; each has specific strengths. Yet mutual communication, understanding and co-operation are deficient, espec...

Fundamental Human Rights under the Nigerian Constitution: Right ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It is almost tempting to apologise for returning to the subject of human rights, but the temptation ought to be resisted. The question of the recognition and protection of Human rights, a perennial, worldwide problem since the immediate aftermath of the Second World War in particular, has played a leading role in international, ...

Democracy and development: the Nigerian experience | Ebohon ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The conventional notions on the relationship between democracy and development are that democracy accelerates development. Based on the Nigeria experience, this paper argues that both democracy and authoritarianism are social system based political ideologies that derives their character from the wider society, ...

Teachers and Human Rights Education

Science.gov (United States)

Osler, Audrey; Starkey, Hugh

2010-01-01

Why do teachers need to be familiar with human rights? In multicultural societies, whose values take precedence? How do schools resolve tensions between children's rights and teachers' rights? Campaigners, politicians and the media cite human rights to justify or challenge anything from peaceful protest to military action. The phrase "human…

Human rights to in vitro fertilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zegers-Hochschild, Fernando; Dickens, Bernard M; Dughman-Manzur, Sandra

2013-10-01

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (the Court) has ruled that the Supreme Court of Costa Rica's judgment in 2000 prohibiting in vitro fertilization (IVF) violated the human right to private and family life, the human right to found and raise a family, and the human right to non-discrimination on grounds of disability, financial means, or gender. The Court's conclusions of violations contrary to the American Convention on Human Rights followed from its ruling that, under the Convention, in vitro embryos are not "persons" and do not possess a right to life. Accordingly, the prohibition of IVF to protect embryos constituted a disproportionate and unjustifiable denial of infertile individuals' human rights. The Court distinguished fertilization from conception, since conception-unlike fertilization-depends on an embryo's implantation in a woman's body. Under human rights law, legal protection of an embryo "from conception" is inapplicable between its creation by fertilization and completion of its implantation in utero. © 2013.

The Myth of Bourgeois Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mulvad, Andreas Christian Møller; Stahl, Rune Møller

representative democracy - not abolish it. Third, we highlight how Leninists and liberals have unknowingly colluded to sustain the myth that parliamentary democracy is essentially liberal. Finally, turning our attention to the current neoliberal conjuncture, we argue that Badiou’s and Žižek’s notion......This paper argues that the Left should move beyond the commonplace understanding – upheld by Alain Badiou and Slavoj Žižek - that parliamentary democracy is essentially of a bourgeois nature. We show first how the introduction of parliamentary democracy – defined as constitutionalization of state...... power under a legislative body, with regular elections and universal suffrage – was everywhere a result of the pressure of social movements from below against the aspirations of both conservatives and liberals. Second, we reread Marx on the Paris Commune to discover how Marx wanted to radicalize...

Understanding of Democracy among Young People in Croatia

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Vladimir Vujčić

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The task of this paper was to explore how young people understand the values of democracy, how much they believe in democracy as a political system, how much they are satisfi ed with the way democracy works (“constitution at work”, and how much they trust government institutions. It is important to analyse the understanding of democracy, for democracy is dependent on the citizens’ opinions and the level of their political culture rather than on its normative constitution and formal value system. Thus, this analysis joins in the debate between foundationalists and antifoundationalists on democracy and its functioning. The present model of research has provided insights into the relationship between so-called diff use and specifi c support of democracy (D. Easton and an explanation of that which R. Dahl defi nes as the “democratic paradox” in contemporary democracies. This scrutiny shows that young people in Croatia understand democracy within the framework of liberal values, but also that they largely tend towards so-called consensual democracy and a socialist syndrome involving a prevalent aspiration to social equality and an economically interventionist state. Moreover, the analysis shows that young people in Croatia have a low level of democratic legitimation and an even lower level of trust in government institutions. This is not a good basis for the development of stable and well-functioning democracy in Croatian society. It all warns against serious shortcomings in the political education of young people in Croatia and in the development of democratic political culture and democratic citizenship.

Teaching Human Rights: Confronting the Contradictions

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John L. Hammond

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Teaching human rights means taking on a series of controversies over what human rights are, how they are determined, and how they are (or are not upheld.  The "possession paradox" is that often human rights are declared but many, or even most, people do not actually enjoy them.  In teaching human rights we must convey both the promise of human rights and the discrepancy between that promise and their fulfillment.  I review a number of controversies in the current application of human rights, many of which arise from that discrepancy.  I then suggest the use of literary works and simulation games that can sometimes convey meanings more effectively than expository material.

Human trafficking in Germany: strengthening victim's human rights

OpenAIRE

Follmar-Otto, Petra; Rabe, Heike

2009-01-01

The first study - "A human rights approach against human trafficking - International obligations and the status of implementation in Germany" - analyses how the prohibition of human trafficking and the resulting state obligations are anchored in human rights. The more recent specialised international agreements on human trafficking and law-making in the European Union are then presented. The emphasis is on the Council of Europe Convention, which professes to treat human trafficking in a human...

The Human Right to Peace

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Carlos Villán Durán

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The international codification of the human right to peace was brought to the United Nations by civil society organizations. The draft declaration submitted to the States has a holistic nature, is very rooted in the international human rights law, and considers peace as the absence of all forms of violence (Santiago Declaration on the Human Right to Peace of 10 December 2010. A working group appointed by the UN Human Rights Council should achieve a new and consensual text to bridge the existing gap between developed and developing States in this field, the former being more supportive of the thesis maintained by civil society.

Problem of Democracy Promotion in the of Postcolonial Feminism

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Vladislav A. Muzalevskiy

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the problems of democratization as a neocolonial practice. The author argues that the spread of democracy is similar in many respects to colonialism and civilizing mission as universal and even messianic phenomena. He notes that both of these phenomena, despite the similarity of their origin, have different "gender basis" (colonialism has characteristics of masculinity and civilizing mission - of femininity. The author reviewed the history of transforming the concepts of "colonialism" and "civilizing mission". Results parallels between the two phenomena are analyzed as a specific intellectual and public discourse in a particular era influenced the formation of both phenomena. Examples of national civilizing projects, their intellectual potential and influence on contemporary world politics are also considered. The echoes of colonialism and civilizing mission are visible in US and the EU doctrines of democracy promotion. Examining the evolution of approaches to democratization, the author finds the differences in strategic culture of the United States and the European Union: if the American establishment have a propensity to masculine practice of democracy promotion ("democratic enlargement", the project "Greater Middle East", etc., and European leadership prefers feminine practices. In terms of the post-colonial feminism, this approach does not give these actors any special benefits, as it offers the ineffective governing strategy of the local population, not taking into account, and often denying the specific cultural environment of democracy promotion, paying more attention to institutional characteristics (lack of certain civil rights and freedoms, lack of transparency in the work of public authorities, etc.. The author notes that the current strategy of democracy promotion, though being more complex, creates the effect of "double discrimination", when both the local people and local women (imposing image of "a free and

Bioethics and deliberative democracy: five warnings from Hobbes.

Science.gov (United States)

Trotter, Griffin

2006-06-01

Thomas Hobbes is one of the most ardent and thoroughgoing opponents of participatory democracy among Western political philosophers. Though Hobbes's alternative to participatory democracy-assent by subjects to rule by an absolute sovereign-no longer constitutes a viable political alternative for Westerners, his critique of participatory democracy is a potentially valuable source of insight about its liabilities. This essay elaborates five theses from Hobbes that stand as cogent warnings to those who embrace participatory democracy, especially those (such as most bioethicists) advocating for deliberative democracy based on a rational consensus model. In light of these warnings, the author suggests an alternative, modus vivendi approach to deliberative democracy that would radically alter the current practice of bioethics.

Human rights abuses and concerns about women's health and human rights in southern Iraq.

Science.gov (United States)

Amowitz, Lynn L; Kim, Glen; Reis, Chen; Asher, Jana L; Iacopino, Vincent

2004-03-24

Although human rights abuses have been reported in Iraq, the full scope of these abuses has not been well documented. To assess the prevalence of human rights abuses since 1991 in southern Iraq, along with attitudes about women's health and human rights and women's rights and roles in society, to inform reconstruction and humanitarian assistance efforts in Iraq. Cross-sectional, randomized survey of Iraqi men and women conducted in July 2003 using structured questionnaires. Three major cities in 3 of the 9 governorates in southern Iraq. A total of 1991 respondents representing 16 520 household members. Respondent demographics, information on human rights abuses that occurred among household members since 1991, women's health and human rights, opinions regarding women's rights and roles in society, and conditions for community health and development. Respondents were a mean age of 38 years and were mostly of Arab ethnicity (99.7% [1976/1982]) and Muslim Shi'a (96.7% [1906/1971]). Overall, 47% of those interviewed reported 1 or more of the following abuses among themselves and household members since 1991: torture, killings, disappearance, forced conscription, beating, gunshot wounds, kidnappings, being held hostage, and ear amputation, among others. Seventy percent of abuses (408/586) were reputed to have occurred in homes. Baath party regime-affiliated groups were identified most often (95% [449/475]) as the perpetrators of the abuses; 53% of the abuses occurred between 1991 and 1993, following the Shi'a uprising, and another 30% between 2000 and the first 6 months of 2003. While the majority of men and women expressed support for women's equal opportunities for education, freedom of expression, access to health care, equality in deciding marriage and the number and spacing of children, and participation in community development decisions, there was less support among both men and women for women's freedom of movement, association with people of their choosing, and

The American Dream, Democracy, and Participatory Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, George H.

1983-01-01

America has moved from participatory democracy to protective democracy, with political elites making the decisions. The result has been a culturally disenfranchised people abandoning the political system which does not want them. Calls for a return to participatory democracy and citizenship education programs which foster it. (CS)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Landorf, Hilary

2012-01-01

A study of human rights prepares students for their role as global citizens and their study of practices in the world's countries that relate to the rights of human beings. Today, when one talks of human rights it is usually with reference to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It is the task of teachers to give students the…

Democracy and the Moral Imperative to Philosophize

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Humphrey, J. F.

2008-12-01

Full Text Available An important part of Cornelius Castoriadis’ exploration into the adventure of modernity involves his reflections on democracy. Indeed, in no less than three works [Figures of the Thinkable, Rising Tide of Insignificancy (The Big Sleep, and World in Fragments], Castoriadis devotes a part, entitled Polis, in which he discusses democracy and its relation to modernity by beginning with the Greeks. In World in Fragments, the section, "The Greek and the Modern Political Imaginary" clearly indicates the relation existing between the ancient Greeks and democracy in his mind. In my paper, I have considered Castoriadis’ reflections on democracy and the way in which he employs the Greeks in his attempt to rethink modern democracies. I shall argue that if we are to follow Castoriadis in embracing an authentic emancipation promised by but not delivered by modernity, we will have to look to his understanding of democracy as providing the way beyond both the cynicism of post-modernism and false hopes of neo-modernism.

State Democratic Rights as Current Political Power Limit and a New Culture for Social Promotion of Development and Sustainability

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Cátia Rejane Liczbinski Sarreta

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The proposed study relates to the democracy and political power considering the implementation of sustainability. Presented as theoretical basis the democratic principle itself, as well as the realization of human and fundamental rights. Exploring the possibility of re (construction of the state and own power and political and social culture of democracy through the promotion of development and sustainability. In a democratic state the appropriate political power embodies the rights of the citizen. A key element that should be considered is education for training social actors capable of promoting the transformation of dominant practices and that take important roles in politics and influence the state and society. The method used is deductive.

Inconvenient Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Natasha

2017-01-01

Abstract Following an increase in Roma migration under the European “freedom of movement” laws, Swedish municipalities initiated more than 80 evictions of informal Roma settlements on the grounds of poor sanitation between 2013 and 2016. These evictions echo policies from earlier in the 20th century, when Roma living in Sweden were often marginalized through the denial of access to water and sanitation facilities. The recent Swedish evictions also follow similar government actions across Europe, where Roma settlements are controlled through the denial of access to water and sanitation. However, access to water and sanitation—central aspects of human health—are universal human rights that must be available to all people present in a jurisdiction, regardless of their legal status. The evictions described here violated Sweden’s obligations under both European and international human rights law. More positive government responses are required, such as providing shelters or camping sites, setting up temporary facilities, and directly engaging with communities to address water and sanitation issues. The authors conclude by providing guidance on how states and municipalities can meet their human rights obligations with respect to water and sanitation for vulnerable Roma individuals and informal settlements in their communities. PMID:29302163

Translating Human Rights Principles into Classroom Practices: Inequities in Educating about Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Carol

2017-01-01

The overarching aim of this paper is to explore how key principles inherent in human rights declarations and conventions are translated into practices associated with human rights education within school contexts. It is argued that this translation from discourse to practice opens up the potential for children and young people to encounter…

The role of science in deepening democracy: the case for water in post-Apartheid South Africa

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Anthony Turton

2009-04-01

Full Text Available South Africa is a water constrained country with a complex history of resource capture and human rights abuses. Science, as practiced by the national science councils, could play a significant role in deepening our democracy. This paper explores two possible paradigms - one where science is divorced from the national constitution, and the other where our science is embedded in the national constitution. The paper argues that the latter approach would make our national science more relevant, but of necessity would embroil it in issues of historic legacy and therefore become “messy”.

Deliberative Democracy V. Politics of Identity

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OSCAR PÉREZ DE LA FUENTE

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The defenders of deliberative democracy insist in the idea that for searching political truths is necessary to use values as universality, rationality and fairness. The defenders of the politics of identity distrust from this deliberative approach because, the interests of the powerful groups of the society are often behind those values. The common approach of deliberative democracy misunderstands the proper role, language, expression and actual interests of the members of the minorities. Deliberative democracy isn't really compromised with pluralism –social, cultural, ethnic, racial…– because it is more compromised with formal and substantial rules of decision that finally determine the result of the deliberation. Minorities claim for a new understanding of the democracy from the difference, from the identity. Thus, democracy is the result of a dialogue, not from abstractions, but from the particularity. In this sense, it is important the notion of ethics of alterity as a moral effort to understand the Other. This exercise excludes all kind of alterophobia (misogyny, xenophobia, racism, homophobia... and it is against relativist approach. An identity is legitimate in the way it includes the alterity. The minorities claim to think, other time, topics as democracy from the dynamics between identity/alterity, inclusion/exclusion, equal dignity/differentiated identity.

Relation between Art Education and Democracy from Antique Greece to the Present Day

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Ali OZTÜRK

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Education is a set of activities that are done in order to ensure the development of knowledge, skills and abilities in human behaviours. Art emphasizes the connection between emotion and thought. Also it has an effective role in the process and development of learning. But art education is a specific process of aesthetic changes in individuals’ behaviours through their own experience. It is known that art and art education are based on very old times such as the humanity history and the reality of it’s been continuously argued from Platon up to date. Democracy which is the other concept of this research is a form of an administration whereas the art is a form of existence. While the artist exists by creating, the democracy tries to exist by will. When it’s looked from the art, certainly, the art does not have the power that brings the freedom and the truth on its own, however without art; this power cannot take a form, because the democracy cannot look at the human’s pains and beauties as sensitive as the art. Aim of this research is to discuss the relation of art education and democracy as a form of implementation and functionality from antique Greece to the present day. The method of the study is descriptive and references in literature are interpreted.

The Political Sociology of Human Rights

OpenAIRE

Nash, Kate

2015-01-01

The language of human rights is the most prominent 'people-centred' language of global justice today. This textbook looks at how human rights are constructed at local, national, international and transnational levels and considers commonalities and differences around the world. Through discussions of key debates in the interdisciplinary study of human rights, the book develops its themes by considering examples of human rights advocacy in international organisations, national states and local...

Climate science, truth, and democracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Evelyn Fox

2017-08-01

This essay was written almost ten years ago when the urgency of America's failure as a nation to respond to the threats of climate change first came to preoccupy me. Although the essay was never published in full, I circulated it informally in an attempt to provoke a more public engagement among my colleagues in the history, philosophy, and sociology of science. In particular, it was written in almost direct response to Philip Kitcher's own book, Science, Truth and Democracy (2001), in an attempt to clarify what was special about Climate Science in its relation to truth and democracy. Kitcher's response was immensely encouraging, and it led to an extended dialogue that resulted, first, in a course we co-taught at Columbia University, and later, to the book The Seasons Alter: How to Save Our Planet in Six Acts (W. W. Norton) published this spring. The book was finished just after the Paris Climate Accord, and it reflects the relative optimism of that moment. Unfortunately events since have begun to evoke, once again, the darker mood of this essay. I am grateful to Greg Radick for suggesting its publication. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Overcoming Misinterpretation and Irrationality: Doing Ethics at the Intersection of Social Justice, Liberation, and Civil/Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Rosetta E.

2012-01-01

Historian of religions Charles Long uses the term "American cultural language" to identify discursive challenges to democracy and social justice in the Unites States. The American cultural language, Long says, is the "misinterpretation" of humanness and freedom conveyed when the term "American"--used to signify…

Is Democracy A Prerequisite

OpenAIRE

Abdiweli M. Ali

2011-01-01

The current literature is silent on whether democracies are more fragile or less susceptible to economic and political breakdowns. Using a host of political instability and policy instability variables, this paper explores empirically, whether political freedom (a proxy for democracy) has any effect on the stability of the political order. Furthermore, it also explores the possibility that political freedom explains differences in the stability of economic policies.

Nature of Human Rights

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Carlos López Dawson

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In the formation of a new Constitution the constituents will require to know or reach an agreement on the nature of human rights; then, to determine how the State will enforce the respect to those rights. To do so, it is necessary to resort to the history and evolution of these rights, and the present work aims to contribute to an efficient productive debate about the nature of human rights, so that citizens can decide on the understanding that this is a thoughtful democratic and humanistic founded decision. The analysis is in the actual technical-ideological republican system which correspond to the current state of international law

Practicing Democracy in the NCLB Elementary Classroom

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Davis, Margaret H.

2010-01-01

The practice of teaching democracy in school is diminishing. The implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has forced teachers to teach to the test, and has required some to follow scripted curriculum, leaving little time or incentive for teaching democracy. This study examines the importance of practicing democracy and identifies ways in…

Human Dignity – Constitutional Principle of Fundamental Human Rights

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Lucian Pop

2011-07-01

Full Text Available As a constitutional principle of the human rights, the human dignity is a supreme value, a norm and a right, thus that the reconfiguration of protection standards of fundamental human rights is made by cohesion of the legal, social and moral dimensions of human dignity. With this article, the author argues that legal meaning, social meaning and moral meaning of human dignity, are centerpiece of protection of freedom under law.

Liberty Challenge or Dangers of Liberal Democracy

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Dalia Eidukienė

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The article analyses dialectics of a modern democracy and liberalism through the new (from the quality point of view subsistence of liberty, the priority element of democracy, in liberal democracies. The significance of such discourse is determined by the existing social inequality and its conversion into political domain. Particular attention is paid to the social issue, which was treated by Max Weber already as the reason of death of the old, fanatic German “national liberalism”, since it has not managed to belong to the German environment. Even today, it still lies in the principles of life and reality of “young” democratic post­soviet states. Conversion of a social issue into political domain disorganises the society, and it is hardly capable to socialise its norms and values in order to be obligated with regard to civic goals. In other words, the social issue significantly adjusts the pace and direction of transformation of the society. Therefore, an immature “young” liberal democracy may become “less liberal” or no longer conform to the “strict” definition of liberal democracy. Referring to the above, we conclude that social composition should become the medium of political reconstruction for “young” democracies. This does not mean, however, the change of the genetic code of liberalism. This is a striving to vest it, as an ideology, additional powers for rationalisation of democracy by delivering to it the content and the meaning, which would answer the challenges and problems of the time. Liberalism should create a new, from the quality point of view, hierarchy of values and become a new context for both political thinking and democracy. This would render new impulses to economic and public politics, meanwhile developing new premises for a new, from the quality point of view, democracy that would help to consolidate the society for the becoming of liberal democracy.  

Scientific Freedom and Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Munoz, Elisa

2000-03-01

As part of her ongoing work monitoring issues at the intersection of science and human rights, Ms. Munoz has highlighted violations of academic freedom in Serbia and Iran, the denial of visas and travel licenses to U.S. and Cuban scientists, interference with scientific freedom in Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and the Ukraine, the use of organs from executed prisoners in China, legislation jeopardizing women's health in Iran, and the closure of centers for the treatment of torture survivors in Turkey. Such violations contravene international human rights principles listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights covenants. Ms. Munoz will describe current violations of scientific freedom and the relevant international principles on which these freedoms rest.

Community, Democracy, and Neighborhood News.

Science.gov (United States)

Hindman, Elizabeth Blanks

1998-01-01

Contributes to scholarship on democracy, community, and journalism by examining the interplay between communication, democracy, and community at an inner-city neighborhood newspaper. Concludes that, through its focus on neighborhood culture, acknowledgment of conflict, and attempts to provide a forum for the neighborhood's self-definition, the…

Democracy in the Arab World

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Given that liberalism contains principles that 'have been profoundly hostile to democracy', ..... The challenge posed for Arab democracy by Islamist thought and practice is probably the ..... (2nd edn), London: Malaysian Think Tank London. ...... Thus, the Jordanian treasury was not very dependent on internal taxes, certainly ...

Local democracy in large municipalities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thuesen, Annette Aagaard

2017-01-01

Municipal amalgamations in Denmark in 2007 led to concern for local rural democracy, as the number of politicians from rural areas dropped after the reform. To preserve rural democracy, local councils at the village level were established in some municipalities, and they have begun to prepare local...

The Mirage of Global Democracy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Wilde, J.H.

The literature about global democracy deals with two different types of democratization: Type 1 is about spreading democracy across sovereign states as the basis for good governance. It focuses on the quality of the state/society-nexus: the balance between coercion, reward and identity. Type 2 is

Human Rights in Indonesian Constitutional Amendments

OpenAIRE

Kharlie, Ahmad Tholabi

2013-01-01

Human Rights in Indonesian Constitutional Amendments. Indonesian constitutional amendments incorporated human rights principles into the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia 1945 (UUD NRI), especially in the second amendment in 2000. Under that amendment, the UUD NRI currently stipulates human rights principles as provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). However, there are some important notes, which at its core is a lack of emphasis on the vision and mission of ...

Castoriadis’ Concept of Institution and Democracy

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Dahl Rendtorff, Jacob

2008-12-01

Full Text Available In this article I discuss the relation between institution and democracy in Castoriadis’ philosophy. The paper proposes an outline of the development of Castoriadis’ political philosophy with focus on institutionalization, imagination and self-limitation of democratic institutions as central elements in Castoridis’ thought. We begin with a short introduction to the concept of institution and institutionalization. Then we discuss the elements of Castoridis’ critique of bureaucracy as a way to distinguish between totalitarian society and democracy. This is the basis for understanding the relation between the imaginary, freedom and autonomy as basic elements of democracy. Finally the paper discusses Castoridis’ new notion of democracy as a kind of self-limitation and creation of collective meaning as the basis for social legitimacy.

Globalization and democracy: international immigration and limits of national citizenship.

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Helcio Ribeiro

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Although democracy has become an endlessly widespread idea around the world in recent decades, is also verified in specialized literature and opinion research that the democratic regime is in crisis. This apparently paradoxical process stems from the fact that the new democracies that emerged at the end of the twentieth century are challenged by two important factors: economic globalization and increasing social complexity. With the decline of the nation- state brought by the restructuring of capitalism at a global scale, political and legal mechanisms of economic intervention, income distribution, national development and protection of the citizens’ rights, undergo a radical weakening. On the other hand, globalization intensifies and facilitates population displacement and international migration.

Social Justice in Music Education: The Problematic of Democracy

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Gould, Elizabeth

2007-01-01

While social justice concerns of feminist research in music education have been mostly ignored or rejected by the profession, democracy based on paternalist Enlightenment concepts of humanism and liberalism is generally understood and accepted with little or no consideration of its social and economic implications. More nuanced accounts refer to…

Human dignity according to international instruments on human rights

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José Pablo Alzina de Aguilar

2011-01-01

Full Text Available According to international instruments on human rights, the dignity of the human person is the foundation of human rights, and both human dignity and human rights are inherent to the human being, universal and inviolable. This understanding of human dignity is not a fruitless truism, but the solid foundation on which to build a world community under the rule of the new ius gentium: the International Law for Humankind. Moreover, it is the clue to answer many questions raised by the new world of globalization and of the exponential growth of international rules.Consequently, there is a need to a common doctrine on a notion of human dignity which will allow the implementation and adjudication of the aforementioned instruments, at the service of the human person and in conformity with the juridical conscience which they reflect. Philosophy of Law concepts which can be traced back to Aristotle provide that notion. According to these concepts, the demanding nature of “human dignity” sustains the notion of “legal personhood”, and both notions pertain to the realm of Law and Right, not of Morale and Values. Thus, human dignity and human rights are and must be, respectively, a basic principle and a necessary part of any Law system, including international law

The Functions of Selected Human Rights Institutions and Related Role-Players in the Protection of Human Rights in Zimbabwe

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Howard Chitimira

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Various violations of the human rights of ordinary people and human rights defenders have been reported in Zimbabwe since the late 1980s. It is widely acknowledged that such violations have been perpetrated mostly by the government through its different organs for political and other related reasons. Human rights violations were also easily committed against ordinary people and human rights defenders because there was no Constitution that adequately protected such people's fundamental human rights (including their civil and political rights and their socio-economic rights in Zimbabwe. Given this background, the article discusses the protection of human rights in Zimbabwe, in the light of the Zimbabwe Constitution Amendment Act 20 of 2013 (Zimbabwe Constitution 2013. This is done in order to investigate whether the promotion, protection, enforcement and respect for human rights in Zimbabwe has now improved. To this end, the functions of selected national human rights institutions and other related role-players, namely civil society, the judiciary, the law enforcement organs and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, are briefly discussed first. Secondly, the functions of selected regional and international institutions, namely the Southern African Development Community, the African Union and the United Nations are discussed in relation to the protection of human rights in Zimbabwe. Thereafter, concluding remarks and possible recommendations that could be utilised to combat human rights violations and enhance the protection of human rights in Zimbabwe are provided.

THE RISE OF FAR RIGHT IN EUROPE: CHALLENGES AND CONSIDERATIONS RELEVANT TO THE EDUCATIONAL POLICY

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Evaggelia KALERANTE

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The political situation formed across Europe on a political level with the rise of far right and the adoption of attitudes and behaviours representative of the broader acceptance of far right ideologies on a social level is the focal point of this paper. This issue should also be a consideration in terms of education so that an educational model reinforcing democracy and humanism is formed. Concentration is placed on the Greek educational policy aiming at suggesting interventions in the curriculum and the educational school reality, too. This is a period when an increasing number of individuals educate themselves for long years. Therefore, formal education encompassing Primary and Secondary education as well as lifelong education should be emphasized. As regards schools, democracy and humanism should be aligned to the school environment and the formulated juvenile culture. As regards lifelong education, the topics and content offered through seminars should be enriched with theoretical principles which are reinforcing to the association of learners with the democratic operation of society.

Spirituality for democracy: Spiritual resources for democratic participation in the 21st century

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Roderick R. Hewitt

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The topic invites us to explore spirituality for democracy and to identify and critique the spiritual resources that are needed for democratic participation in the 21st century. The statement specifically focused on for and not of democracy. Modern expressions of democracy are in crisis. Every context is teething with challenges and conflicts between government sand their citizens concerning how much influence through participation should be allowed in the decision-making process of governance. This topic is of extreme importance for academic discourse because the malaise that has crept into contemporary forms of democratic governance calls for urgent attention. Democratic forms of governance are not set in stone. Rather, they are formed as a result of human deliberation and praxis and cultural developments and must therefore remain open for further reformation. It is this intrinsic capacity for renewal that opens democracy to converse with spirituality. This article begins with identifying the key terms that constitute the academic building blocks of this study. The inherent contradictions in the use of these terms are noted in order to arrive at a theoretical construct to converse with the key concepts of spirituality, democracy, spiritual resources and democratic participation.Through the use of the post colonial lenses of Rastafari hermeneutics, a theoretical framework will be employed to map a life-giving path for contemporary expressions of spirituality for democracy and to identify the resources needed for democratic participation.

A Hierarchy of Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Brockett, Charles

To establish an objective conception of human rights, one must first identify basic needs intrinsic to all people and then determine whether these needs are or can be hierarchically ordered. Many scholars have conducted research on the concept of human needs, particularly in the area of human rights. Among these scholars are Abraham H. Maslow…

Romanian Democracy, Theory and Method

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Romulus Brâncoveanu

2013-02-01

Full Text Available This is a comment on the type of democracy in Romania, as illiberal democracy. Given the Romanian democratization process, we can hope that, in the future, all populisms and politicization will cease, and a true liberal and constitutional democracy will be installed, which will not be a „Romanian democracy” as Paul Wolfowitz suggested to be exported in Iraq. The question is whether it is good or not to „export” such a political model. „Romanian democracy” could be an exporting model only as an alternative to dictatorship and under the assumption that it will be adjusted in time, under the external pressure.

Where Public Health Meets Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Kiragu, Karusa; Sawicki, Olga; Smith, Sally; Brion, Sophie; Sharma, Aditi; Mworeko, Lilian; Iovita, Alexandrina

2017-01-01

Abstract In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated a process for validation of the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV and syphilis by countries. For the first time in such a process for the validation of disease elimination, WHO introduced norms and approaches that are grounded in human rights, gender equality, and community engagement. This human rights-based validation process can serve as a key opportunity to enhance accountability for human rights protection by evaluating EMTCT programs against human rights norms and standards, including in relation to gender equality and by ensuring the provision of discrimination-free quality services. The rights-based validation process also involves the assessment of participation of affected communities in EMTCT program development, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. It brings awareness to the types of human rights abuses and inequalities faced by women living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV and syphilis, and commits governments to eliminate those barriers. This process demonstrates the importance and feasibility of integrating human rights, gender, and community into key public health interventions in a manner that improves health outcomes, legitimizes the participation of affected communities, and advances the human rights of women living with HIV. PMID:29302179

Democracy Barometer. Methodology. Version 4

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Merkel, Wolfgang; Bochsler, Daniel;; Bousbah, Karima;

2014-01-01

Based on our theoretical concept of democracy, it is feasible to measure a country’s quality of democracy for a given point in time. Nevertheless, the quality of the whole endeavor is not only the result of an adequate theoretical concept but equally depends on the quality of the measurement itse...

Understanding Democracy

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Garcia, Gilberto

1998-01-01

.... Nevertheless, democracy is spreading, and today many countries are called democratic. This paper describes several countries, which are very different because of their history, culture, religion, people, education, and wealth...

Accommodating the Right to Development in Kosovo: A Human Rights Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Remzije Istrefi

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The right to development is the right of individuals and peoples to an enabling environment for development that is equitable, sustainable, and participatory and in accordance with the full range of human rights and fundamental freedoms. A wide range of international law on development exists, and numerous Declarations and Programs of Action from the UN World Conferences have been proclaimed. Nevertheless, due to its nature and its legal status the right to development continues to be one of the most contested rights in academic and political circles. The conflicting interpretation of the right to development and its contested legal status affects realization of development to which every human person is entitled by virtue of the right to development. But, if the right to development is read through the human rights “lenses”, it can result in an interpretation that can be most helpful for its realization in practice. The relevance of interpretation of the right to development as a human right becomes imperative in transitional society such as the one in Kosovo where the environment continues to encounter legal and structural obstacles to development. In light of this situation the present paper analyses the relationship between human rights and development, the relevance of development in post conflict society and its impact on overcoming the transition and securing a lasting peace.

Essay on legitimacy and democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia Kaplanova

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Purpose and Originality: The aim of the paper is to deeply analyze a concept of legitimacy. Based on the classical works of Lipset and Habermas, the paper discusses conditions, efficiency, and presumptions on which a modern democratic political system stands. Method: The paper analyzes a relationship between positivist and normative understanding of legitimacy questioning a democratic political order. By a content analysis of two main theories of legitimacy, the paper examines a sense of democratic legitimacy in modern societies. Results: A legitimacy is a pillar of any democracy. From the structuralist point of view, in societies there are three main types of crises (economic, social, political, which are present constantly and interconnected by nature and implications. Each crisis creates a specific deficit and challenge for democracy. By overcoming, a stability of democracy is strengthened which makes a (crisis of legitimacy inevitable. Society: In a time of post-truth politics and crisis of democracy, there is a lack of research dealing with a legitimacy of the democratic regime. By pointing out classical approaches to a stability of democracy, there should be elaborated a new construct of democratic legitimacy reflecting structural conditions of modern societies. This paper is trying to offer an insight into a normative understanding of this construction. Limitations / further research: A theoretical approach could be verified by an empirical research.

Sexual rights as human rights: a guide to authoritative sources and principles for applying human rights to sexuality and sexual health.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Alice M; Kismödi, Eszter; Cottingham, Jane; Gruskin, Sofia

2015-11-01

This Guide seeks to provide insight and resources to actors interested in the development of rights claims around sexuality and sexual health. After engaging with the vexed question of the scope of sexual rights, it explores the rules and principles governing the way in which human rights claims are developed and applied to sexuality and sexual health, and how that development is linked to law and made a matter of state obligation. This understanding is critical to policy and programming in sexual health and rights, as it supports calling on the relevant range of human rights, such as privacy, non-discrimination, health or other universally accepted human rights, as well as demanding the action of states under their international and national law obligations to support sexual health. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Participatory and Dialogue Democracy in U.S. Mathematics Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Mukhopadhyay, Shiuli

2009-01-01

Teaching math to reflect values of democracy has to begin with some consideration of how democracy is conceptualized. A review of various theories of democracy conducted by Hagen (1992) provides everyone with a good starting point as it identifies three primary forms of democracy: competitive, participatory, and dialogue. In this essay, the author…

Human Rights in The Monotheistic Religions : Justification of Human Rights in the perspective of monotheistic religion according to Human Rights Theories

OpenAIRE

Ali, Sadaqat

2018-01-01

The discourse of human rights has been very prominent in the post-world wars which led various international organizations and institutes to generate awareness on this subject and pave a path for implementation of fundamental human rights in the world. Many theories have been coined and proliferated in the world to look the matter more seriously. The question mark on the role of religion in this regard has led the discussion sidelining divinely revealed monotheistic religions. Thus, religions...

Critical Theory of Human Rights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rensmann, Lars; Thompson, Michael J.

2017-01-01

International human rights have become an important global norm that has increasingly been incorporated into international law and global conventions. Human rights are a key reference point of mobilizations by diverse groups and international nongovernmental organization (INGOs) in global publics

Democracy-based consensus in medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Greco, Massimiliano; Zangrillo, Alberto; Mucchetti, Marta; Nobile, Leda; Landoni, Paolo; Bellomo, Rinaldo; Landoni, Giovanni

2015-04-01

High-quality evidence and derived guidelines, as typically published in major academic journals, are a major process that shapes physician decision-making worldwide. However, for many aspects of medical practice, there is a lack of High-quality evidence or an overload of somewhat contradictory low-quality information, which makes decision-making a difficult, uncertain, and unpredictable process. When the issues in question are important and evidence limited or controversial, the medical community seeks to establish common ground for "best practice" through consensus conferences and consensus statements or guidelines. Such consensus statements are seen as a useful tool to establish expert agreement, define the boundaries of acceptable practice, provide priorities for the research agenda, and obtain opinions from different countries and healthcare systems. This standard approach, however, can be criticized for being elitist, noninclusive, and poorly representative of the community of clinicians who will have to make decisions about the implementation of such recommendations. Accordingly, the authors propose a new model based on a combination of a local core meeting (detailed review and expert input) followed by a worldwide web-based network assessment (democracy-based consensus). The authors already have applied this approach to develop consensus on all nonsurgical interventions that increase or reduce perioperative mortality in critically ill patients and in those with acute kidney injury. The methodology was based on 5 sequential local and web-based steps. Both a panel of experts and a large number of professionals from all over the world were involved, giving birth to a new type of "democracy-based consensus." This new type of "democracy-based consensus" has the potential to increase grass-root clinician involvement, expand the reach to less-developed countries, provide a more global perspective on proposed interventions, and perhaps more importantly, increase

Remembering a sociology of Human Rights

OpenAIRE

Levy, Daniel; Sznaider, Natan

2014-01-01

A sociology of human rights sounds almost like a contradiction in terms. Sociology is about social groups, about particular experiences, about how people, embedded in space and time, make sense of their lives and give meaning to their world. It deals with power and interest and the social bases of our experiences. On the other hand, human rights are about human beings in general, without temporal or spatial references, not about groups and their boundaries. Human rights are about humanity, lo...

Mathematics Education and Democracy Education

Science.gov (United States)

Çetin, Ömer Faruk

2015-01-01

Democracy is a most accepted form of government system and has a great importance for citizens by allowing them equal and active participation in common life. As its development and characteristics are important for all citizens of a country, each democratic country puts much emphasis on democracy education in its educational curricula. In recent…

Democracy and Development: The Nigerian Experience (1999-2010 ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Democracy and Development: The Nigerian Experience (1999-2010). Jebbin Maclean Felix. Abstract. This article is a contribution to the debate on democracy and development. It examines the relationship between democracy and development, using a contextual analysis of the Nigerian democratic experience. The key ...

The concept and institutions of education for democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avramović Zoran M.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The paper comprises three sections: (a the concepts and institutions of democracy, (b the concept of education for democracy, and (c the role of school in democratic education. The concept of 'open society' is critical to the strategy of education for democracy. In addition to general conditions for establishing and functioning of democracy, the author points to some of its basic institutions: structured social groups, political parties, leader elections. The concept of 'education' is considered from the standpoint of goals - social, national and individual. It is pointed to tolerance as a key concept of the theory of education for democracy. School, being the most prominent institution in the process of education for democracy, places student and development of his/he; democratic characteristics and capacities in the focus of its strategy. All elements of teaching: curriculum, methods teacher, student, textbook are in the function of the basic idea of democratic education - tolerance and crisscrossed influences (practicing of getting used to differences. Apart from the development and acquisition of thinking in concepts about democracy, education for democracy should encompass knowledge for life at state and social institutions, for private and public life, acquisition of national values, rational decision-making discussion. The framework of strategy in question is certainly exercising of tolerance and getting used to crisscrossed influences.

Misconceptions about Human Rights and Women's Rights in Islam

Science.gov (United States)

Syed, Khalida Tanvir

2008-01-01

This paper aims to clarify three current misconceptions about the Islamic faith and issues of human rights and women's rights in the West. The first misconception is that Muslims are terrorists because they believe in Jihad. It is factually the case that Islamic teachings stress the value of peace and prosperity for all human beings. The second…

The Advocate’s Dilemma: Framing Migrant Rights in National Settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Lorena Cook

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This article identifies and explores the dilemma of migrant advocacy in advanced industrial democracies, focusing specifically on the contemporary United States. On the one hand, universal norms such as human rights, which are theoretically well suited to advancing migrants' claims, may have little resonance within national settings. On the other hand, the debates around which immigration arguments typically turn, and the terrain on which advocates must fight, derive their values and assumptions from a nation-state framework that is self-limiting. The article analyzes the limits of human rights arguments, discusses the pitfalls of engaging in national policy debates, and details the challenges for advocates of advancing the cause of policy reform and shifting the frame for thinking about migration over the long term.

A Democratic Framework for Educational Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Anne

2012-01-01

Educational theorists frequently invoke rights claims to express their views about educational justice and authority. But the unyielding nature of rights claims presents a significant quandary in democratic contexts, given the tension between rights claims and majoritarian democracy. Educational theorists have given limited attention to this…

Disability in a Human Rights Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theresia Degener

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD is a modern human rights treaty with innovative components. It impacts on disability studies as well as human rights law. Two innovations are scrutinized in this article: the model of disability and the equality and discrimination concepts of the CRPD. It is argued that the CRPD manifests a shift from the medical model to the human rights model of disability. Six propositions are offered why and how the human rights model differs from the social model of disability. It is further maintained that the CRPD introduces a new definition of discrimination into international public law. The underlying equality concept can be categorized as transformative equality with both individual and group oriented components. The applied methodology of this research is legal doctrinal analysis and disability studies model analysis. The main finding is that the human rights model of disability improves the social model of disability. Three different models of disability can be attributed to different concepts of equality. The medical model corresponds with formal equality, while the social model with substantive equality and the human rights model can be linked with transformative equality.

The Non-Instrumental Value of Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rostbøll, Christian F.

2015-01-01

rejected in this debate. But in order to understand the intrinsic value of democracy, we cannot ignore the relationship between freedom and democracy. Moreover, the freedom argument can better respond to the epistemic challenge to intrinsic accounts than can the equality argument. However, the freedom......A current debate in democratic theory concerns whether we can explain democratic legitimacy purely with reference to the intrinsic value of the public affirmation of equality, or whether we must invoke extra-democratic epistemic standards to do so. The freedom side of democracy is ignored or even...

Elementary Students' Metaphors for Democracy

Science.gov (United States)

Dundar, Hakan

2012-01-01

The purpose of the research was to reveal elementary 8th grade students' opinions concerning democracy with the aid of metaphors. The students were asked to produce metaphors about the concept of democracy. 140 students from 3 public schools in Ankara (Turkey) participated in the research. 55% of the students were females and 45% were males. The…

Teaching Strategy: Using the Human Rights Poster.

Science.gov (United States)

Update on Law-Related Education, 1998

1998-01-01

Describes a lesson focusing on a human-rights poster that provides visual reinforcement of the second article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that enforces freedom from discrimination. Presents students with examples of human-rights situations to assist them in understanding that all people are entitled to human rights. (CMK)

Democracy against the odds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seeberg, Michael

Why have a number of poor countries sustained electoral democracy against the odds? The extant literature on democracy and democratization consistently points to the importance of socioeconomic development and democratic neighboring countries, in particular, as important prerequisites for a stable...... demonstrates the enormous potential of political parties and civil society in processes of democratization. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hvorfor opretholder en række fattige lande en demokratisk styreform imod alle odds? Demokratiforskere forventer, at et land må have et...

Islam, Demokrasi, dan HAM Sebuah Benturan Filosofis dan Teologis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Najid Jauhar

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Currently, the procedural democracy has been institutionalizing around developing countries whose lslam is major belief. Human rights also become main issues among each Islamic developing country. lslamic value produced historical background of Islamic leadership, the concept of human relation; theological transcendence, individuality, and sociality. Democracy also produced their regulation of power relation, freedom, equality, humanity and sociality. In those democratic countries, human right also produced the practical conceptualization of human right values of individuality and sociality. The philosophical and theological contestntion has been standing different interpretation and belief among lslamic values, democracy and human rights of political actors. This paper will explore the philosophical and theological contestation of Islamic value, democracy and human rights.

National Institutions and Global Public Goods: Are Democracies More Cooperative in Climate Change Policy?

OpenAIRE

Bättig, Michèle B.; Bernauer, Thomas

2017-01-01

This article examines whether democracies contribute more to the provision of global public goods. It thus contributes to the debate on the effects of domestic institutions on international cooperation. The focus is on human-induced climate change, in Stern's words "the biggest market failure the world has ever seen.” Using new data on climate change cooperation we study a cross-section of 185 countries in 1990-2004. The results show that the effect of democracy on levels of political commitm...

‘Gay Rights are Human Rights: The framing of new interpretations of international human rights norms’

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holzhacker, Ron

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the development of the framing of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons and sexual orientation and gender identity in terms of a human rights paradigm. This decades-long process involved many actors, from within academia, gay

‘Gay Rights are Human Rights: The framing of new interpretations of international human rights norms’

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holzhacker, Ron

2014-01-01

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the development of the framing of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons and sexual orientation and gender identity in terms of a human rights paradigm. This decades-long process involved many actors, from within academia, gay

‘Democracy always comes first’ : Adolescents’ views on decision-making in everyday life and political democracy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nieuwelink, H.; Dekker, P.; Geijsel, F.; ten Dam, G.

2016-01-01

Research shows adolescents to be positively oriented towards democracy, but little is known about what it actually means to them and what their views are on decision-making in both everyday situations and political democracy. To gain insight into these aspects of adolescents’ democratic views, we

Human Rights in National Administrative Law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Næsborg-Andersen, Ayo

rights law is visible in the case-law of institutions performing reviews of Danish administrative decisions. The book consists of three parts. The first part contains the introduction, research question, methodological considerations and delimitations. The second part is an in-depth look at the theory...... developed using the theory of legal capability and communication theories. Discussing new ways of analysing the application of human rights, this book is relevant for scholars and professionals primarily working with human rights law, but also administrative law, both nationally and internationally.......Human rights are increasingly debated in the public sphere, yet discussions of human rights law are traditionally all but invisible in the discussions on national administrative law. This is at least the case in Denmark. This book sets out to analyse if, and in what way, the application of human...

The Dialectics of Democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sari Roman-Lagerspetz

2012-03-01

Full Text Available ”Thinking publicly otherwise” is one of the foundations of democracy. The task of the opposition in a democratic system is to express distrust, to criticize the actions of the government and to provide an alternative. The opposition institutionalizes distrust, and, paradoxically, the presence of this institutionalized distrust is, for the citizens, one important reason to trust the democratic system. The claim defended here is that the relationship between the government and the opposition can be understood in terms of Hegel’s dialectics. Although Hegel’s political theory as formulated in his Philosophy of Right emphasizes the unifying role of the State, his earlier philosophy contains more democratic potential.

Why Choice Matters: Revisiting and Comparing Measures of Democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heiko Giebler

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Measures of democracy are in high demand. Scientific and public audiences use them to describe political realities and to substantiate causal claims about those realities. This introduction to the thematic issue reviews the history of democracy measurement since the 1950s. It identifies four development phases of the field, which are characterized by three recurrent topics of debate: (1 what is democracy, (2 what is a good measure of democracy, and (3 do our measurements of democracy register real-world developments? As the answers to those questions have been changing over time, the field of democracy measurement has adapted and reached higher levels of theoretical and methodological sophistication. In effect, the challenges facing contemporary social scientists are not only limited to the challenge of constructing a sound index of democracy. Today, they also need a profound understanding of the differences between various measures of democracy and their implications for empirical applications. The introduction outlines how the contributions to this thematic issue help scholars cope with the recurrent issues of conceptualization, measurement, and application, and concludes by identifying avenues for future research.

(Public) Health and Human Rights in Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Annas, George J; Mariner, Wendy K

2016-02-01

Public health's reliance on law to define and carry out public activities makes it impossible to define a set of ethical principles unique to public health. Public health ethics must be encompassed within--and consistent with--a broader set of principles that define the power and limits of governmental institutions. These include human rights, health law, and even medical ethics. The human right to health requires governments not only to respect individual human rights and personal freedoms, but also, importantly, to protect people from harm from external sources and third parties, and to fulfill the health needs of the population. Even if human rights are the natural language for public health, not all public health professionals are comfortable with the language of human rights. Some argue that individual human rights--such as autonomy and privacy--unfairly limit the permissible means to achieve the goal of health protection. We argue that public health should welcome and promote the human rights framework. In almost every instance, this will make public health more effective in the long run, because the goals of public health and human rights are the same: to promote human flourishing. Copyright © 2016 by Duke University Press.

DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE: INGREDIENTS FOR ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

status on democracy, good governance and socio-economic development. Democracy is being embraced across the globe by most civilized and ... amenities and infrastructure, employment, health, security and constant power ... based on life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic ..... In some Asian.

The right to health of prisoners in international human rights law.

Science.gov (United States)

Lines, Rick

2008-01-01

This paper explores the health rights of prisoners as defined in international law, and the mechanisms that have been used to ensure the rights of persons in detention to realise the highest attainable standard of health. It examines this right as articulated within United Nations and regional human rights treaties, non-binding or so-called soft law instruments from international organisations and the jurisprudence of international human rights bodies. It explores the use of economic, social and cultural rights mechanisms, and those within civil and political rights, as they engage the right to health of prisoners, and identifies the minimum legal obligations of governments in order to remain compliant with human rights norms as defined within the international case law. In addressing these issues, this article adopts a holistic approach to the definition of the highest attainable standard of health. This includes a consideration of adequate standards of general medical care, including preventative health and mental health services. It also examines the question of environmental health, and those poor conditions of detention that may exacerbate health decline, disease transmission, mental illness or death. The paper examines the approach to prison health of the United Nations human rights system and its various monitoring bodies, as well as the regional human rights systems in Europe, Africa and the Americas. Based upon this analysis, the paper draws conclusions on the current fulfilment of the right to health of prisoners on an international scale, and proposes expanded mechanisms under the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment to monitor and promote the health rights of prisoners at the international and domestic levels.

The Human Rights of Minority Women:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ravnbøl, Camilla Ida

2010-01-01

. These challenges go beyond the Romani issue only and into larger issues of women and minorities. It raises questions as to whether the historical separation between categories of gender and race/ethnicity within the international community in practice has become a gap that isolates Romani women from the human...... rights attention that they claim. It is argued that in order to strengthen the validity of human rights in the lives of Romani women, as a framework that ensures their full and equal protection, special attention needs to be given to interrelated grounds and forms of discrimination. “Intersectionality......This article explores the complexities surrounding the human rights of minority women. With analytical focus on Romani women in Europe it seeks to contribute with new insight into the grey areas of rights issues, where groups within special rights categories share different human rights concerns...

Business and Human Rights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buhmann, Karin

2015-01-01

This article analyses the United Nations (UN) Guidelines on Business and Human Rights adopted in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council from the perspective of transnational business governance interactions (TBGI) analytical framework.1 The article identifies and discusses dimensions of interaction...... in several areas of relevance to transnational business governance interaction and indicates the relevance of the TBGI approach to public regulatory transnational business governance initiatives. The analysis of the Guiding Principles as interactional transnational business governance suggests that this form...

The Problem of Citizens: E-Democracy for Actually Existing Democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Kreiss

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This article argues that many contemporary e-democracy projects, particularly in the United States, have at their heart a model of atomistic, independent, rational, and general-interest citizens. As such, these projects, variously grouped under the labels of e-governance, online deliberation, open government, and civic technology, often assume a broad shared consensus about collective definitions of “public problems” that both does not exist and sidesteps debates over what these problems are and what potential solutions can and should be. Drawing on recent theories of political parties, social identity, and cultural cognition, this article argues that e-democracy efforts need to account for the fact that the citizens practitioners appeal to see themselves by default as members of social groups, and that this has implications for politics and what Jasanoff calls “civic epistemology.” Presenting the case of attempting to change Republican opinions about climate change, I argue that e-democracy initiatives should seek to foster collaboration and deliberation within , not between, parties and among partisans. To do so, e-democratic reformers need to explicitly structure the collaborative and deliberative environment so there is a range of intra-party opinions and beliefs as part of the consultative and policy-making process.

Kant, Freedom as Independence, and Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rostbøll, Christian F.

2016-01-01

While the influence of Kant’s practical philosophy on contemporary political theory has been profound, it has its source in Kant’s autonomy-based moral philosophy rather than in his freedom-based philosophy of Right. Kant scholars have increasingly turned their attention to Kant’s Rechtslehre......, but they have largely ignored its potential contribution to discussions of democracy. However, Kant’s approach to political philosophy can supply unique insights to the latter. His notion that freedom and the public legal order are co-constitutive can be developed into a freedom argument for constitutional...

Media Education and the Practice of Democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Ferguson

2006-02-01

Full Text Available They do say that all ideas have their time, and in media education it seems that it is the time for democracy. Books and papers begin to appear and there are conferences with democracy in their titles to replace a focus on the postmodern, or identity. There seems to be a general consensus that democracy is a ‹good thing›. But, as with most other significant terms which hold centre stage for a while, they need to be interrogated with some care. For some more critical educators democracy takes its place alongside Gandhi’s comment when asked about Western Civilisation – he said it would be a good idea. The ‹practice› of democracy takes on a poignant, ironic, desperate or cynical cloak in the light of recent world events and the rise of terrorism as a political weapon. It depends where you stand. Democracy is not something that thrills the hearts and minds of the vast majority of citizens who live in nations who declare themselves to be democratic. Apathy and cynicism work together against democratic growth. But so do governments whose declared democratic aims pay scant attention to the people they are supposed to represent. And then there are the ‹democratic› exercises which supposedly involve the people in a conversation (‹we are listening› they say which results in the status quo being implemented by politicians with morally superior physiognomies. After all, they say, we did ask your opinions. We did ask you to participate. And so democracy staggers from crisis to disaster...

Redefining Democracy for the Modern State.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahe, Paul A.

1992-01-01

Draws distinctions between classical and modern concepts of democracy. Contrasts Pythagoras' dislike of factions with Madison's support for economic differentiation and religious toleration. Discusses Aristotle's and Noah Webster's ideas on addressing class tensions. Examines early U.S. theorists' suspicions of direct democracy and support for…

Malawi's Traditional Leadership and Democracy Consolidation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

is that the tendency to brand traditional leadership as undemocratic masks debate on its great potential for the promotion of democracy. The article contends that efforts towards democracy consolidation require foregoing harmonious power relations and linkages between traditional leaders and elected local governments; ...

Duality and 'particle' democracy

Science.gov (United States)

Castellani, Elena

2017-08-01

Weak/strong duality is usually accompanied by what seems a puzzling ontological feature: the fact that under this kind of duality what is viewed as 'elementary' in one description gets mapped to what is viewed as 'composite' in the dual description. This paper investigates the meaning of this apparent 'particle democracy', as it has been called, by adopting an historical approach. The aim is to clarify the nature of the correspondence between 'dual particles' in the light of a historical analysis of the developments of the idea of weak/strong duality, starting with Dirac's electric-magnetic duality and its successive generalizations in the context of (Abelian and non-Abelian) field theory, to arrive at its first extension to string theory. This analysis is then used as evidential basis for discussing the 'elementary/composite' divide and, after taking another historical detour by analyzing an instructive analogy case (DHS duality and related nuclear democracy), drawing some conclusions on the particle-democracy issue.

Human Rights in Prisons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jefferson, Andrew M.; Gaborit, Liv Stoltze

Drawing on participatory action research conducted in Sierra Leone, Kosovo and the Philippines, Human Rights in Prisons analyses encounters between rights-based non-governmental organisations and prisons. It explores the previously under-researched perspectives of prison staff and prisoners...

Review of Cold war social science: Knowledge production, liberal democracy, and human nature, and Working knowledge: Making the human sciences from Parsons to Kuhn.

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Paul

2013-11-01

Reviews the books, Cold War Social Science: Knowledge Production, Liberal Democracy, and Human Nature by Mark Solovey and Hamilton Cravens (2012) and Working Knowledge: Making the Human Sciences From Parsons to Kuhn by Joel Isaac (see record 2012-13212-000). Taken together, these two important books make intriguing statements about the way to write the histories of fields like psychology, sociology, anthropology, and economics in the Anglo American world during the 20th century. To date, histories of these fields have drawn on a number of fairly well-established punctuation marks to assist in periodization: the shift from interwar institutionalism in economics to postwar neoclassicism, with its physics-like emphasis on mathematical theory-building; the transition from the regnant prewar behaviorism through a postwar "cognitive revolution" in American psychology; and the move in fields like sociology and anthropology away from positivism and the pursuit of what has sometimes been called "grand theory" in the early postwar era toward a period defined by intellectual and political fragmentation, the reemergence of interpretive approaches and a reaction to the scientistic pretensions of the earlier period. These books, by contrast, provide perspectives orthogonal to such existing narrative frameworks by adopting cross-cutting lenses like the "Cold War" and the working practices of researchers in the social and behavioral sciences. As a result, they do much to indicate the value of casting a historiographical net beyond individual disciplines, or even beyond the "social sciences" or the "human sciences" sensu stricto, in the search for deeper patterns of historical development in these fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Rethinking Populism: Peak democracy, liquid identity and the performance of sovereignty

OpenAIRE

Blühdorn, Ingolfur; Butzlaff, Felix

2018-01-01

Despite the burgeoning literature on right-wing populism, there is still considerable uncertainty about its causes, its impact on liberal democracies and about promising counter-strategies. Inspired by recent suggestions that (1) the emancipatory left has made a significant contribution to the proliferation of the populist right; and (2) populist movements, rather than challenging the established socio-political order, in fact stabilize and further entrench its logic, this article argues that...

Democracy, political participation and good governance in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dare E. Arowolo

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The practice of democracy in Nigeria over a decade ago has not yielded much needed good governance. This is because democracy is practiced in such a way that responsible and competent people are scared away. Scholars and keen observers have attempted at unraveling the factors militating against translating democracy into good governance. The paper revealed that democratisation in Nigeria is pervaded by electoral violence, manipulation of election results and political participation constraints. These identified challenges have made it impossible to attain consolidated democracy that can, in turn, facilitate good governance. Democracy is a catalyst for accountability, transparency and responsive government which brings about good governance. The paper insisted that governance collapse in Nigeria is reflexive of the perfunctory role of the political actors and it adopted elite theory to reinforce this argument. The paper adopted content analysis as a means of data gathering. It dwelt extensively on the synergy between democracy, political participation and good governance but queried the artificial gulf between them in Nigeria. It concluded by putting forth viable and pragmatic way forward.

Popular democracy and waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallis, L.R.

1986-01-01

The US has moved from representative democracy to popular democracy and public scrutiny is unrelenting. Any hope of success on their part in resolving the nuclear waste question hinges on their ability to condition themselves to operate in a popular democracy environment. Those opposed to the siting of high- and low-level waste repositories have already developed a set of recurring themes: (1) the siting criteria are fatally flawed; (2) the criteria are not adequate; (3) the process is driven by politics not science; (4) unrealistic deadlines lead to dangerous shortcuts; (5) transportation experience is lacking; (6) the scientific community does not really know how to dispose of the wastes. They must continue to tell the public that if science has brought us problems, then the answer can be only more knowledge - not less. Failure by their profession to recognize that popular democracy is a fact and that nuclear issues need to be addressed in humanistic terms raises the question of whether America is philosophically suited for the expanded use of nuclear power in the future - or for that matter for leadership in the world of tomorrow

Is inclusive education a human right?

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, John-Stewart

2013-01-01

In this article, I question the general idea that inclusive education--i.e., to teach all students in one class--is a moral human right. The following discussion shows that the widespread view in disability studies that there is a moral human right to inclusive education can be reasonably called into question by virtue of the proposed counter arguments, but without denying that inclusive education is of utmost importance. Practically speaking, the legal human right to inclusive education is of great practical value for impaired students, and for their basic right to be free from discrimination in education, since their concern thereby gains great legal and moral force. But, theoretically speaking, this particular human right lacks an attainable consensus concerning proper moral justification. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Business and Human Rights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buhmann, Karin

2015-01-01

This article analyses the United Nations (UN) Guidelines on Business and Human Rights adopted in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council from the perspective of transnational business governance interactions (TBGI) analytical framework.1 The article identifies and discusses dimensions of interaction...... and components of regulatory governance which characterize the Guiding Principles, focusing in particular on rule formation and implementation. The article notes that the Guiding Principles actively enrolled other actors for the rule-making process, ensuring support in a politically and legally volatile field...

US Human Rights Conduct and International Legitimacy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keating, Vincent Charles

Did the Bush administration fundamentally harm the international human rights system through its rejection of human rights norms? This is the central question explored within US Human Rights Conduct and International Legitimacy, which analyses the practices of legitimacy between the Bush...... nations have followed in America's footsteps, and that the Bush administration's deviation from international norms has served to reaffirm worldwide commitment to human rights....

Democracy as a social technology on schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofod, Kasper

2009-01-01

" democracy. The democratic influence in schools thus spans from "big" parliamentary democracy to small participatoruy democracy - a dichotomy schooll leadership must maneuvre within using democratic procedures and leadership as social technologies. This article argues that a positive coinnectiion exists...... between strong leadership and having wello-functioning democratic processes in schools and the introduction of tests, quality reports and these approaches does not weaken democratic processes in schools. This connection is nonetheless changing the logics of the state, market, and the civil society vectors.......On a formal level, the influence og "big" parlamentary democracy is enhanced because parliamentary control in individual schools has become stronger; and the formal democratic influence of parents has been strengthned by their membership on school boards, the latter being an example of "small...

How Terrorism Affects Attitudes toward Democracy: Tunisia in 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Robert; Brym, Robert

2017-11-01

Tunisia is the only country that emerged from the Arab Spring as a democracy. However, Tunisian democracy is threatened by political divisions, economic problems, and the threat of terrorist attacks. We shed light on Tunisia's democratic prospects by examining (1) the degree to which major terrorist attacks in 2015 influenced Tunisian public opinion on democracy and (2) the extent to which preference for a democratic system affected opinions on the prospects for democracy in Tunisia. We use data from three waves of a nationwide survey conducted just before and just after Tunisia's first major terrorist attack, and just after the country's second major terrorist attack. We demonstrate that after the attacks the Tunisian public became less favourable toward democracy and less optimistic that Tunisia would soon be ready for it. Such scepticism was widespread, affecting people who preferred democracy as much as those who did not. We conclude that the prospects for Tunisian democracy are more precarious than is sometimes assumed. © 2017 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie.

Web Resources for Teaching about Human Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Merryfield, Merry M.; Badang, Germain; Bragg, Christina; Kvasov, Aleksandr; Taylor, Nathan; Waliaula, Anne; Yamaguchi, Misato

2012-01-01

The study of human rights is inseparable from social studies. Beyond the basic political, economic, and social freedoms and rights spelled out in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, hundreds of specialized topics have developed that demonstrate the complex nature of human rights in the twenty-first-century world--environmental exploitation…

Human rights literacy: Moving towards rights-based education and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Our theoretical framework examines the continual process of moving towards an open and democratic society through the facilitation of human rights literacy, rights-based education and transformative action. We focus specifically on understandings of dignity, equality and freedom, as both rights (legal claims) and values ...

The Existence of Human Rights Court as a National Effort to Eliminate the Severe Violation of Human Rights in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

- Junaedi

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The law on human rights court has brought the new hopes for certain people have suffered because of the human rights violation happened in the past government (before the law enacted in the years of 2000. The demand of justice has been made by victims, the families of victims and other sympathetic parties by bringing those who have violated human rights in the past. The demand for justice does not only focus on human rights violations, which occurred in the past but also similar human rights violations that will occur in the future. The existence of a permanent Human Rights Court seems to imply that human rights will be upheld and protected. The resolution of past human rights violations via a conflict approach is preferable for the national reconciliation. The resolution of past human rights violations through extra-judicial organizations is an advanced step towards resolving the case, whereas a conflict approach can be used to settle the case. The existence of the Human Rights Law provides a new frontier in implementing the principle of restorative justice in the approach of case settlement. It is hoped that such restorative justice can create a political balance between the past and the future.

Human rights literacy: Moving towards rights-based education and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Hennie

Edu-HRight Research Unit, Faculty of Education Sciences, North-West University Potchefstroom Campus, ... Finally, recommendations are made regarding human rights and rights-based .... serve as guidelines for our actions and attitudes.

Anti-discrimination Philosophy and the Decline of Post-capitalist Democracies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Pavel

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The author is trying to explain the contrasts existing between the expanding universe of anti-discrimination sanctions and the decline in legitimacy of democracy. The declining legitimacy affects both consolidated democracies, and newborn democracies. Inequality in the USA, but also at global level is illustrated with relevant statistics. The convergence between the crisis of democracy and the financial and economic global crisis is a major social and political threat. At the global level, after the Arab Spring, the third wave of democratization continued, while the quality of democracy substantially diminished. In the newborn Islamic democracies, discrimination against women, Christians, Jews, gay & lesbians, etc. continued, leading to arson, torture and killings.

Human rights: implications for patients and staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Dreezen, I; Nys, H

2003-01-01

Originating from wider declarations of fundamental human rights, individual human rights in the field of health care, also called patients' rights, have been elaborated, developed and implemented by most international organisations, including the European Union and the World Health Organisation. The Council of Europe is however, particularly prominent in its work in the field of human rights, having drawn up a number of vital international treaties, among them and most importantly the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, which strengthens internationally the legal position of the patient and the research subject in setting a minimum level of protection in respect of individual human rights and health and is binding upon the member states that have ratified it. Nonetheless, it needs to be examined to see if the European Union would be a better alternative to regulate these patients' rights.

Is There Muslim Exceptionalism in Democracy Research?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hariri, Jacob Gerner

to and between the 16th and 18th centuries are relatively less democratic today. The negative effect of early statehood on current levels of democracy is mediated by European colonization and settlement: Europeans were less likely to colonize and settle in territories with more developed state institutions......, also, to alternative theories of the causes and correlates of democracy. This paper presents evidence against the notion of Muslim exceptionalism in democracy research. Thus, outside the European continent, territories that were governed earlier and more consistently by state organizations up...... and were therefore less likely to bring nascent legalistic and representative institutions to these territories. When we remove the autocratic legacy of early statehood and the influence of European settlement, there is nothing signicantly negative about the degree of democracy in Muslim-majority countries....

Book review - Borderline justice: the fight for refugee and migrant rights by Frances Webber, London, Pluto Press, 2012

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liempt, I.C. van

2013-01-01

Our leaders encourage and treat as heroes those people who are fighting for democracy and human rights, in Burma, in Libya, in Egypt and Syria…But as soon as these heroes seek sanctuary here in the ‘free world’, they are transformed into a hostile alien threat to our culture and our values, to be

Are coups good for democracy?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Derpanopoulos

2016-02-01

Full Text Available A number of recent studies argue that coups can help usher in democracy. We examine this relationship empirically by looking at the political regimes that follow coups in autocracies, as well as the level of repression against citizens. We find that, though democracies are occasionally established in the wake of coups, more often new authoritarian regimes emerge, along with higher levels of state-sanctioned violence.

Conceptual Foundations Of Deliberative Democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Елизавета Васильевна Золотарева

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The article is dedicated to the analysis of theoretical foundations of deliberative model of democracy that is formed on the basis of synthesis of traditionally opposing approaches to research of democracy — liberal political philosophy (J. Rawls and critical social theory (J. Habermas. Special attention is paid to the problems of testing of normative requirements to the public discourse as the basis of deliberative process.

Economic Constitution, social democracy, innovation and economic culture of Basque Cooperativism

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Santiago Larrazabal Basañez

2009-12-01

Full Text Available In the study of Constitutional Law, the author calls for more attention to be paid to the part in which almost all Constitutions set down economic models, the guiding principles of social and economic policy and economic and social rights. He makes this suggestion with a view to going beyond a formal democracy and moving towards a material democracy. For this purpose, he focuses on the values and economic culture of the cooperative movement and advocates inspiration in these values to innovate and search for a fairer economic and social model which will enable us to overcome the present crisis. Lastly, he poses some issues related to innovation in the specific contextof Basque cooperativism.Received: 06.07.2009Accepted: 08.07.2009

Human Rights Arrangement on Indonesian Law

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S. Masribut Sardol

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Article 1 paragraph (3 of the Constitution of 1945 (UUD 1945 stated that Indonesia is a Rule of Law. One feature of the Rule of Law is the existence of human rights in the state administration. Indonesia, since independence on August 17, 1945 has asserted the defense of human rights as stated in the opening clause and in the torso of the 1945 Constitution Article 27-34. In the era of reform, on the Government of President Habibie, the President and the Parliament ratified the UN convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading human dignity into Law number 5 of 1998. Then the MPR also publishes the statutes of MPR No. XVII/MPR/1998 on Human Rights, which was followed up with the appearance of Law No. 39 of 1999 on human rights. In accordance with the law in Indonesia based on the sort of Law No. 12 of 2011, the actual products that have been issued by the Government (the MPR, DPR and President that follow up the substance of Human Rights in the Constitution with established Assembly and the law is already correct. But when the MPR then does the second amendment to the Constitution on August 18, 2000 by adding a special article chapters and contains about Human Rights (as mentioned in Chapter X-A section 28 A-J, have made the complexity hierarchy of law in Indonesia because it is not in accordance with the substance of article 7 of Law No. 12 of 2011. How To Cite: Sardol, S. (2014. Human Rights Arrangement on Indonesian Law. Rechtsidee, 1(1, 85-100. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.21070/jihr.v1i1.105

'Decipio': examining Virchow in the context of modern 'democracy'.

Science.gov (United States)

Reilly, R Gregory; McKee, Martin

2012-04-01

More than 100 years ago Rudolf Virchow advocated for enhanced democracy and socioeconomic reforms in order that the state could empower people to achieve better health. With reference to these now famous assertions this article traces the promises and pit-falls of democracy from ancient Greece to neo-liberal economies, to ascertain if the democratic state is indeed the ideal mechanism for promoting public health. In the end we conclude that contemporary western political systems are not rooted in the interest of the people, but are rather deceptive forces of branding designed to promote underlining agendas. This 'decipractic' (decipo = to deceive) system of politics demands a vigilant analysis and response from those in the health and academic communities to ensure that governments can be a mechanism for positive change in the public's interest. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prolegomena of Human Rights. Historical Roots and Globalization

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Ana-Alina Dumitrache-Ionescu

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The paper Prolegomena of Human Rights. Historical Roots and Globalization analyses the complexity of the history of human rights which revolve around an incessant struggle for the awareness of the value of the human being. It is the history which defends the man, the human being, regarded individually or collectively, who was subjected in the course of time to some atrocities and abuses, confronting itself with exploitation, discrimination, oppression, slavery, torture and even extermination. Moreover, the historical evolution of human rights knows halting places in which the concepts of human rights are accompanied by ambiguity, by different meanings for different people and vary in accordance with the context. By way of resemblance, the problem of human rights in the context of globalization which transforms human rights into rights of the global citizen, rights which acquire new dimensions and significances imposed by the economic, politic and social changes specific of globalization is approached in this paper. The global vision of the new human rights involves both the opportunity to have a say when they are infringed for example, when they are subjected to torture or terror, and where human rights abuses are carried out by the people, for example, trafficking in human beings. (Ritzer, & Dean, 2015, p. 115

Sentimento de democracia Sentiment of democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rubem Barboza Filho

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Este artigo explora o papel que os valores, e um certo modo de vivê-los, pode ter para a consolidação da democracia no Brasil. Na primeira parte, mostra, com o auxílio de Charles Taylor, como a proposta de democracia deliberativa e procedimental de Habermas contempla as idéias de razão e interesse bem compreendidos, mas soterra a importância do ''sentimento bem compreendido'' - dos valores que a originaram historicamente. Na segunda parte, o artigo examina as grandes configurações expressivistas e não racionalistas de valores que conformaram a identidade brasileira - o barroco, o romantismo e o modernismo - e como esta tradição, e os valores que nela habitam, podem ser mobilizados para a nossa plena democratização e para a permanência dos próprios procedimentos democráticos.This article explores the role that values, and a way of experiencing them, may have to consolidate democracy in Brazil. The first part shows, with the assistance of Charles Taylor, how Habermas's procedural and deliberative democracy accounts for the ideas of reason and self-interest rightly understood, but not for the ''sentiment rightly understood'' - the values which have made it historically possible. The second part examines the great expressivist and non-rationalist configurations which have made up the Brazilian identity - Baroque, Romanticism and Modernism - and how this tradition, and the values which inhabit it, may be worked out for our full democratization and the keeping of the democratic proceduralism itself.

Sovereignty transformed: a sociology of human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, Daniel; Sznaider, Natan

2006-12-01

This paper examines how global interdependencies and the consolidation of a human rights discourse are transforming national sovereignty. Social researchers frequently address the supremacy of state sovereignty and the absoluteness of human rights as mutually exclusive categories. However, rather than presupposing that a universal rights discourse is necessarily leading to the demise of sovereignty, we suggest that an increasingly de-nationalized conception of legitimacy is contributing to a reconfiguration of sovereignty itself. Through the analytic prism of historical memories - which refers to shared understandings specific pasts carry for present concerns of a political community - we provide an explanatory factor for the salience of human rights norms as a globally available repertoire of legitimate claim making. While states retain most of their sovereign functions, their legitimacy is no longer exclusively conditioned by a contract with the nation, but also by their adherence to a set of nation-transcending human rights ideals. Legitimacy is mediated by how willing states are to engage with 'judicial memories' of human rights abuses and their articulation in cosmopolitan legal frames. Empirically, we focus on war crime trials and how legal inscriptions of memories of human rights abuses are recasting the jurisdiction of International Law. The readiness of states to engage with rights abuses is becoming politically and culturally consequential, as adherence to global human rights norms confers legitimacy.

Ritual male infant circumcision and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Allan J; Arora, Kavita Shah

2015-01-01

Opponents of male circumcision have increasingly used human rights positions to articulate their viewpoint. We characterize the meaning of the term "human rights." We discuss these human rights arguments with special attention to the claims of rights to an open future and to bodily integrity. We offer a three-part test under which a parental decision might be considered an unacceptable violation of a child's right. The test considers the impact of the practice on society, the impact of the practice on the individual, and the likelihood of adverse impact. Infant circumcision is permissible under this test. We conclude that infant circumcision may be proscribed as violating local norms, even though it does not violate human rights.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND NIGERIAN PRISONERS--ARE PRISONERS NOT HUMANS?

Science.gov (United States)

Joshua, I A; Dangata, Y Y; Audu, O; Nmadu, A G; Omole, N V

2014-12-01

In Nigeria, just like in many other parts of the world, one of the most extensively discussed issues on the public agenda today is the increase in prison population. The aims of imprisonment are protection, retribution, deterrence, reformation and vindication. Investigations revealed that the prison services have been,neglected more than any other criminal justice agency in Nigeria. For example, most of the prisons were built during the colonial era for the purpose of accommodating a small number of inmates. Human Rights are the basic guarantees for human beings to be able to achieve happiness and self-respect; consequently, in most jurisdictions, the Human Rights Act confirms that these Rights do not stop at the prison gates. However, most States fail to meet the Human Rights obligations of their prisoners. As regards to health, for example, every prison should have proper health facilities and medical staff to provide dental and psychiatric care among others. This article discusses the Nigerian Prison System and challenges, trends and the related Human Rights and Ethical issues in Nigerian prisons. Some of the unmet needs of Nigerian prisoners which include, inter alia, living in unwholesome cells, delayed trial of inmates, lack of voting rights, access to information, lack of conjugal facilities for married prisoners, poor and inadequate nutrition, poor medical care, torture, inhumane treatment and the need to protect prisoners in a changing world. The present report has policy implications for reforming prison services in Nigeria, and countries that sing from the same song sheet with Nigeria on prison services, to conform to the Fundamental Human Rights of prisoners in the 21St century.

"Views of democracy and peace” inequality, minorities and radical democracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TizianoTelleschi

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Democracy is a moral and practical system conveying living proximity, including definition of love-AGAPE, conflict, inequality, power. First we highlight “what it is” love and “what it is” power. Then, in order to overcome inequality weapply the love theory to an acknowledgment theory to figure out the mediator figure, that is able to build a social space where love-AGAPE may thrive and power may be restored to its relational nature, that is negotiable. From this point we go on analyzing the distributed power (horizontal. At last, thank to A. Gramsci’s hegemony notion, we point out the ideal of radical democracy as the most fertile along the others, to which a common action from different types of qualified mediators should tend.

Education for Deliberative Democracy: A Typology of Classroom Discussions

Science.gov (United States)

Samuelsson, Martin

2016-01-01

The theory of deliberative democracy places public deliberations at the heart of democracy. In order to participate in democratic deliberations, citizens need certain skills, attitudes, and values. Within the field of education for deliberative democracy, it is assumed that these are learned through participation in democratic deliberation. Thus,…

Human rights approach to health.

Science.gov (United States)

Haigh, Fiona

2002-04-01

Adopting human rights approach to health carries many benefits, because it emphasizes the equality of all persons and their inherent right to health as the foundation of the health care system. It also argues that promotion and protection of health are fundamentally important social goals, focuses particularly on the needs of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, balances individual needs with the common good, and so forth. However, it also raises some practical issues, such as organization of interdisciplinary education and work, and different use of the language, which often goes unacknowledged. The relationship between human rights and health is a reciprocal one, and can be beneficial or harmful. For the relationship to be beneficial and successful, the differences between human rights and public health approach to health, centered around the perspective taking, attitudes, and abilities of health professionals, need to be acknowledged and reconciled, and the need for interdisciplinarity adequately fulfilled.

Inventions and developments of democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Uffe

2010-01-01

In traditional approaches to the history of political ideas, the history of democracy is uniformly studied concerning the point of departure, selection of canonical texts, etc. The paper introduces the Koselleckian conceptual history approach (Begriffsgeschichte) and the principle of a broader...... selection of texts than in the traditional history of ideas to provide a fuller account of usages of the concept, thereby opening up for alternative conceptions of the inventions and development of democracy....

Women's Rights, Human Rights, and Duties: From Domination to Partnership

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lester R. Kurtz

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The idea of women's rights as human rights can facilitate our identifying the causes, consequences, and potential remedies for the current quagmire in which we find themselves, but it needs some reformulation. To the traditional understandings of human rights, I add four conceptual tools: (1 Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of the counterparts of rights and duties, (2 Eisler’s concept of partnership (as opposed to dominator societies, (3 Johan Galtung’s expansion of our conception of violence to include its structural and cultural forms, and, finally, (4 the literature on nonviolence as a path to mobilization and transformation that resists existing social structures and builds new ones.

Human Rights in the Humanities

Science.gov (United States)

Harpham, Geoffrey

2012-01-01

Human rights are rapidly entering the academic curriculum, with programs appearing all over the country--including at Duke, Harvard, Northeastern, and Stanford Universities; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the Universities of Chicago, of Connecticut, of California at Berkeley, and of Minnesota; and Trinity College. Most of these…

The Happy Gardener: on populism, democracy and specters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julián A. Melo

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The present text aims to retake several aspects and debates concerning the relation between populism and democracy. We will expound the main ideas by authors such as Margaret Canovan, Benjamín Arditi and Sebastián Barros in order to rethink the bonds between both terms. We will try not to take populism and democracy as antithetical poles in communitary political associations, since we are interested in pointing out how the ideas of shadow and specter have been crucial in the thought of these authors. Along with this reflection we seek to revisit several discursive keys of the experience of first Peronism in twentieth-century Argentina, just to investigate the ways in which the logic of Peronist populism rethought democracy and set it as a central element of the identity that it claimed to embody. Thus, we think that may be interesting not just to think populism as a specter of democracy but also to think democracy as a specter of populism.

Interpreting the International Right to Health in a Human Rights-Based Approach to Health

OpenAIRE

Hunt, Paul

2016-01-01

Abstract This article tracks the shifting place of the international right to health, and human rights-based approaches to health, in the scholarly literature and United Nations (UN). From 1993 to 1994, the focus began to move from the right to health toward human rights-based approaches to health, including human rights guidance adopted by UN agencies in relation to specific health issues. There is a compelling case for a human rights-based approach to health, but it runs the risk of playing...

Victims’ rights are human rights: The importance of recognizing victims as persons

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Wemmers Jo-Anne

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper the author argues that victims’ rights are human rights. Criminal law typically views victims as witnesses to a crime against the state, thus shutting them out of the criminal justice process and only allowing them in when they are needed to testify. This is a major source of dissatisfaction for victims who seek validation in the criminal justice system. Victims are persons with rights and privileges. Crimes constitute violations of their rights as well as acts against society or the state. While human rights instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, do not mention crime victims specifically, a number of rights are identified, which can be viewed from the victim’s perspective. As individuals with dignity, victims have the right to recognition as persons before the law. However, such rights are only meaningful if they can be enforced.

NGO Duties in Relation to Human Rights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Philips, J.P.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/298979446

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the moral duties that human rights NGOs, such as Amnesty International, and development NGOs, such as Oxfam, have in relation to human rights – especially in relation to the human right to a decent standard of living. The mentioned NGOs are powerful new agents on the global

The International Human Rights Muddle.

Science.gov (United States)

Machan, Tibor R.

1979-01-01

Discusses confusion about the meaning of human rights in the United States. Suggests that welfare rights usurp the more traditional freedom rights of the founding fathers. Contrasts American interpretations with those of the Soviet Union. Journal availability: see SO 507 190. (KC)

Membership ballots and the value of intra-party democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wolkenstein, Fabio

2016-01-01

On the face of it, membership ballots present a clear case in which intra- party democracy comes into collision with core principles of representative democracy: they weaken the autonomy of representatives, and undermine the authority of the voters. In this article, I investigate whether this is ......On the face of it, membership ballots present a clear case in which intra- party democracy comes into collision with core principles of representative democracy: they weaken the autonomy of representatives, and undermine the authority of the voters. In this article, I investigate whether...

Examining Human Rights in a Global Context.

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, Greg; Inoue, Keiko; Orrick, Stefanie

The United Nations' founding in 1945 and the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reflected the international community's growing commitment to the protection and recognition of what is now referred to as human rights. Despite increased international attention, human rights violations continue to occur at the local, regional,…

Protection of asylum seekers and illegal migrants human rights: Practice of the European Court of Human Rights

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Đukanović Anđela

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Protection of asylum seeker and Illegal migrants human rights, has often been difficult due to the need of states to regulate unwanted migration flows. European Court of Human Rights plays an important role in protecting the rights of these individuals, through a set of human rights. Requests for interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court also have great importance. In cases involving illegal migrants and asylum-seekers, Court was often in difficult position, given the contradictions that could arise from the protection of human rights and the legitimate aim of the Contracting States to control the entry, residence and expulsion of aliens. Recent Courts judgment in case of M. S. S. against Belgium is particularly important, because of its remarkable influence on the perception of a common asylum system in the EU, as well as the judgment in the case of Jama Hirsi and Others v. Italy.

THE RIGHT TO SUTURES: SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Science.gov (United States)

Venkatapuram, Sridhar; Bell, Ruth; Marmot, Michael

2013-01-01

The article examines the convergences and contrasts between social epidemiology, social medicine, and human rights approaches toward advancing global health and health equity. The first section describes the goals and work of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health. The second section discusses the role of human rights in the Commission’s work. The third section evaluates, from the perspective of social epidemiology, two rights-based approaches to advancing health and health equity as compared to a view that focuses more broadly on social justice. The concluding section identifies four areas where social epidemiologists, practitioners of social medicine, and health and human rights advocates can and must work together in order to make progress on health and health equity. PMID:21178186

What Democracy Means to Citizens – and Why It Matters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siddhartha Baviskar

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Recent survey research indicates that democracy  means different things to different people. For  some, democracy is a method of selecting leaders,  protecting civil liberties and political rights, and  upholding the rule of law. Other citizens have  more expansive views of democracy, viewing it as  a mechanism for promoting social equality and  economic growth, for example. While such studies provide strong evidence that the concept ‘democracy’ is multidimensional, to date scholars  have not explained why citizens think of democracy in myriad ways, and whether such differences matter. We aim to address these issues  using data gathered from field research in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Guatemala in 2001.  Through open-ended questions, we asked diverse groups of respondents what democracy meant to  them. Relying upon answers to these questions,  we attempt to explain why respondents had such  varying views of democracy, and examine the  implications these conceptualizations of democracy have for regime stability.  Resumen: Qué significa la  democracia para los ciudadanos y por qué es importanteRecientes investigaciones basadas en encuestas de  opinión pública revelan que la democracia significa diferentes cosas según de quién se trate. Para  algunos, la democracia es un método para elegir  líderes, proteger las libertades civiles y los derechos políticos, y mantener el estado de derecho.  Otros ciudadanos tienen visiones más amplias de  la democracia, y la ven, por ejemplo, como un  mecanismo para promover la igualdad social y el  crecimiento económico. Aunque estos estudios  ofrecen pruebas fuertes de que el concepto ‘democracia’ es multi-dimensional, hasta ahora los investigadores no han explicado por qué los ciudadanos piensan de maneras tan variadas, y si  estas diferencias importan. En este estudio, nuestra meta es abordar este tema utilizando datos  recogidos en el trabajo de campo realizado

Just Democracy. A Radical Assessment.

OpenAIRE

Jacquemain, Marc

2012-01-01

This paper is a tentative assessment of the Rawls-Machiavelli program by Philippe Van Paris, who proposes that justice is the main goal of political action (in a Rawlsian perspective) and democracy is only instrumental (the Machiavellian part of the program). The paper adresses three questions to the proposal of Philippe Van Paris : 1) Can democracy be properly defined without a condition of public debate ? 2) Don't "realistic politics" underestimate the margin of possibility we have to chang...

Power and democracy in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jørgen Goul; Jørgensen, Torben Beck; Valgårda, Signild

In 1997, the Danish Parliament decided to launch a power study, officially An Analysis of Democracy and Power in Denmark. A steering committee consisting of five independent researchers was assigned responsibility for the project. The Steering Committee has gathered the overall conclusions from...... the numerous projects under the Power Study, and this book is a short presentation of these conclusions.The main focus of the book is the state of democracy in Denmark at the dawn of the 21st century. How has democracy fared, has the development made things better or worse, and to which extent does......, and the political institutions show considerable democratic robustness. However, not everything has gone or is going well. There are still pronounced social divisions in Danish society, although their nature has changed somewhat. The ideal of an informed public debate does not always enjoy the best conditions...

Business and Human Rights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buhmann, Karin

This article analyses the United Nations (UN) Guidelines on Business and Human Rights adopted in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council from the perspective of Transnational Business Governance Interactions (TBGI) analytical framework (Eberlein et al. 2014). The article identifies and discusses...... that the UN Guiding Principles are unique in several respects of relevance to transnational business governance interaction and indicate the relevance of the TBGI approach to public regulatory transnational business governance initiatives. The analysis of the Guiding Principles as interactional transnational...... business governance suggests that this form of governance offers prospects for public institutions as a means towards regulating global sustainability concerns....

Human Rights Act, 12 February 1987.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-01-01

This document reprints major provisions of the Yukon's (Canada) 1987 Human Rights Act. The Act furthers the public policy that every individual is free and equal in dignity and rights, seeks to discourage and eliminate discrimination, and promotes the underlying principles of Canadian and international human rights instruments. Part 1 contains a Bill of Rights that protects the right to freedom of: 1) religion and conscience, 2) expression, 3) assembly and association, and 4) to enjoyment and disposition of property. Part 2 prohibits discrimination based on ancestry (including color and race), national origin, ethnic or linguistic background or origin, age, sex (including pregnancy), and marital or family status. Discrimination is also prohibited when offering services, goods, or facilities to the public; in connection with employment; in connection with membership in trade unions or trade, occupational, or professional associations; and in negotiation or performance of public contracts. The Bill of Rights lists reasonable causes for discrimination as well as exemptions, including preferential treatment for organization or family members or employment in a private home. Special programs and affirmative action programs are specifically not considered discrimination under this Act. The Act sets forth rules for providing equal pay for work of equal value and creates a Yukon Human Rights Commission to promote human rights and assist adjudication of complaints.

Improving school governance through participative democracy and the law

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius H Smit

2011-01-01

Full Text Available There is an inextricable link between democracy, education and the law. After 15 yearsofconstitutional democracy, the alarming percentage of dysfunctional schools raises questions about the efficacy of the system of local school governance. We report on the findings of quantitative and qualitative research on the democratisation of schools and the education system in North-West Province. Several undemocratic features are attributable to systemic weaknesses of traditional models of democracy as well as the misapplication of democratic and legal principles. The findings of the qualitative study confirmed that parents often misconceive participatory democracy for political democracy and misunderstand the role of the school governing body to be a political forum. Despite the shortcomings, the majority of the respondents agreed that parental participation improves school effectiveness and that the decentralised model of local school governance should continue. Recommendations to effect the inculcation of substantive democratic knowledge, values and attitudes into school governance are based on theory of deliberative democracy and principles of responsiveness, accountability and justification of decisions through rational discourse.

HOW UNIVERSAL ARE THE UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS TODAY?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lia-Alexandra BALTADOR

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to contribute to a constructive debate on human rights. The two World Wars of the last century brought about the creation of the United Nations aimed “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”. Only three years later the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights was elaborated and promoted by the UN, considered to be the foundation of international human rights law. Today, as globalization brings all closer together in a “global village”, one can see that there are many ways to perceive and guarantee human rights, in different states, but also within different states. Poverty, illiteracy, censorship, cruel treatment and even the lack of guarantee for the right to life are, unfortunately, the norm for many people of the world. Such observations bring up questions regarding the legitimacy, universality and coherence of human rights.

Nutrition, health and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Brundtland, G H

1999-07-01

This paper presents the speech delivered by Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of WHO, on issues related to nutrition from a health and a human rights perspective. According to Brundtland, nutrition is a universal factor that both affects and defines the health of all people. It affects not only growth and physical development of a child, but also his cognitive and social development. However, inequity, poverty, underdevelopment, as well as inadequate access to food, health and care still exist which have resulted to the deaths of millions of children and left many more suffering from diseases. Poverty has also been identified as the main obstacle to the attainment of health. The existence of structural poverty and ill health eventually leads to poor development, which includes poor nutrition, poor health, and poor human rights. The impact of poverty on health is further worsened by discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, language, or religion. To address this issue, the WHO will renew their focus on the political and legal links between health and human rights. A human rights perspective provides the international community with an opportunity to support the development of public health policies and practices that promote healthy nutrition as a center of all social and economic development.

Democracy, Corruption and the Politics of Spirits in Contemporary Indonesia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bubandt, Nils Ole

Indonesia has been an electoral democracy for more than a decade, and yet the political landscape of the world’s third-largest democracy is as complex and enigmatic as ever. Indonesia is simultaneous a country that has achieved a successful transition to democracy and a flawed, illiberal......, and predatory democracy. This book provides a portrait of Indonesia’s contradictory democracy through a series of biographical accounts of political entrepreneurs, from the political ‘periphery’ of North Maluku and the ‘political centre’ of East Java respectively. Each biographical account is focused on one...... contentious area of democracy in Indonesia – elections, corruption, decentralization, and regional representation. The chapters explore the intimate ways in which the political world and the spirit world are entangled. The core argument of the book is that Indonesia’s seemingly peculiar problems...

[Human dignity, human rights and bioethics: what is the connection?].

Science.gov (United States)

Andorno, Roberto

2010-12-01

Human rights are closely related to the notion of human dignity, to such a point that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to promote them without appealing, at least implicitly, to the idea that each individual has intrinsic worth simply by virtue of being human. This relationship between dignity and rights is even stronger in the field of bioethics, which deals directly with some of the most basic human rights, such as the rights to life and to physical integrity. It is therefore not by chance that the international norms relating to bioethics give a central role to the concept of human dignity. However, one should not expect from dignity more than it can offer; dignity is a "principle", not a "rule"; it embodies a fundamental value, but it alone does not determine the content of a particular decision.

Information, polarization and term length in democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schultz, Christian

2008-01-01

This paper considers term lengths in a representative democracy where the political issue divides the population on the left-right scale. Parties are ideologically different and better informed about the consequences of policies than voters are. A short term length makes the government more...... accountable, but the re-election incentive leads to policy-distortion as the government seeks to manipulate swing voters' beliefs to make its ideology more popular. This creates a trade-off: A short term length improves accountability but gives distortions. A short term length is best for swing voters when...

Public health nursing, ethics and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, Luba L; Oden, Tami L

2013-05-01

Public health nursing has a code of ethics that guides practice. This includes the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health, and the Scope and Standards of Public Health Nursing. Human rights and Rights-based care in public health nursing practice are relatively new. They reflect human rights principles as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied to public health practice. As our health care system is restructured and there are new advances in technology and genetics, a focus on providing care that is ethical and respects human rights is needed. Public health nurses can be in the forefront of providing care that reflects an ethical base and a rights-based approach to practice with populations. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Internet and Democracy: Global Catalyst or Democratic Dud?

Science.gov (United States)

Best, Michael L.; Wade, Keegan W.

2009-01-01

In this study, we explore the global effect of the Internet on democracy over the period of 1992 to 2002 by observing the relationships between measures related to democracy and Internet prevalence. Our findings suggest that while Internet usage was not a very powerful predictor of democracy when examining full panel data from 1992 to 2002, it was…

Direct Democracy in Local Politics in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensson, Palle

2007-01-01

Elements of  direct democracy at the local level does exist in Denmark, but it is little known, because no formal rules regulate this aspect of political life, because results from popular initiatives and referendums are not recorded in official statistics, and because few systematic analyses have...... been published. This paper, accordingly, has an explorative nature and asks two basic questions: What is the current state of direct democracy at the local level in Denmark, and what are the prospects for a further development of direct democracy at the local level in Denmark? The paper is based...

Internet and Democracy: Is the Internet an Important Predictor for Physical Education Teacher Candidates' Attitudes towards Democracy?

Science.gov (United States)

Ünlü, Hüseyin

2017-01-01

Today, in the digital age, the Internet usage is common among university students. The Internet is also an important platform for actively participating in democracy. This study explores physical education (PE) candidate teachers' attitudes toward the Internet and democracy. It also explores whether the Internet is an important predictor for…

Food Prints on Human Rights Law Paradigms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meulen, van der B.M.J.; Ratescu, I.

2014-01-01

This article discusses the interaction between the development of the doctrine on human rights, in general, and on the right to food, in particular. In 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which listed the rights that were considered to

Populisms and liberal democracy – business as usual?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thompson, Grahame Frederick

2017-01-01

Populism is often thought to mark a sharp break with liberal democracy. But to what extent is this the case? In this contribution the connections between populism and liberal democracy are sketched in the context of several areas where discussions about populisms have stressed their discontinuity...... in these relationships. The contribution ends with a discussion of how it might be possible to defend liberal democracy from a non-liberal position in the face of the critique from populisms....

The Right To Appeal For The Social Insurance As A Human And Constitutional Right

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selita Mirela

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Magna Carat is a highly significant document that found the way into the rights and the constitutions. Magna Carat is a symbol of human and constitutional rights. Social insurance is part of the social security and the recognition of social security as a basic human right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris and furthermore the European Conventions on Human Rights, specially the article 6.

Transformative combinations: women's health and human rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamin, A E

1997-01-01

From the human rights perspective proposed in this article, a woman's good or ill health reflects more than biology or individual behaviors; it reflects her enjoyment (or lack thereof) of fundamental human rights that enable her to exercise basic power over the course and quality of her life. The "structural" view of health that such a human rights perspective suggests is concerned first with identifying the effects of social, economic, and political relations on women's health and then with promoting "interventions" aimed at transforming the laws, institutions, and structures that deny women's rights and well-being. Yet, traditional human rights law and practice have been limited to narrowly defined abuses by public officials against individuals that fail to capture the most pervasive denials of women's rights, which, though rooted in systematic discrimination, are frequently played out in so-called "private" institutions, primarily within the family. The experiences of women's health advocates in addressing complex women's health issues makes it clear that women's lack of access to economic and political power in the public sphere creates the conditions under which they are discriminated against and physically and sexually abused in the private sphere. Combining the pragmatic understanding of women's health professionals with an expansive conception of human rights norms has the potential to transform the fields of women's health and human rights.

Re-Envisioning Human Rights in the Light of Arendt and Rancière: Towards an Agonistic Account of Human Rights Education

Science.gov (United States)

Zembylas, Michalinos

2017-01-01

This article takes up Arendt's "aporetic" framing of human rights as well as Rancière's critique and suggests that reading them together may offer a way to re-envision human rights and human rights education (HRE)--not only because they make visible the perplexities of human rights, but also in that they call for an agonistic…

On Setting Priorities among Human Rights

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Philips, Jos

2014-01-01

Should conflicts among human rights be dealt with by including general principles for priority setting at some prominent place in the practice of human rights? This essay argues that neither setting prominent and principled priorities nor a case-by-case approach are likely to be defensible as

Are (Should) Human Rights (Be) Universal?

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Rhoda E.

1998-01-01

Believes that the purpose of human rights is to change many culturally ingrained habits and customs that violate the dignity of the individual. Expounds the differences between cultural relativism and cultural absolutism. States that "weak" cultural relativism is sometimes an appropriate response to human-rights violations. (CMK)

Turkey’s New Citizenship and Democracy Education Course: Search for Democratic Citizenship in a Difference-Blind Polity?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenan Çayır

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The paper introduces and critically evaluates the new Citizenship and Democracy Education course in the Turkish curriculum. This course has been introduced as a mandatory subject in grade 8 per one hour a week in the 2011-2012 academic year. Following the comprehensive 2005 curriculum reform, Citizenship and Human Rights Education courses had been abolished and these themes had been distributed to the curriculum of different courses. However, recommendations of academics and international bodies such as the Council of Europe on the advantages of having a distinct course on citizenship and human rights have led the Ministry of National Education to reintroduce a compulsory course covering these themes. The new course seems to be a human rights education course with its emphasis on rights and responsibilities. It could be considered a progressive step in this regard. However, the implication that educating people about their rights could be a basis of democratic citizenship might not be realized in present Turkey where internal conflicts based on religious, ethnic and language-based differences are becoming salient. The paper argues that democratization of citizenship in Turkey requires not only an education about rights but also the questioning of the current difference-blind civic republican notion of citizenship. It draws attention to the necessity of the development of a new political framework and a related citizenship course that would allow for peaceful coexistence of cultural differences.

The evolution of human rights in World Health Organization policy and the future of human rights through global health governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Meier, B M; Onzivu, W

2014-02-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) was intended to serve at the forefront of efforts to realize human rights to advance global health, and yet this promise of a rights-based approach to health has long been threatened by political constraints in international relations, organizational resistance to legal discourses, and medical ambivalence toward human rights. Through legal research on international treaty obligations, historical research in the WHO organizational archives, and interview research with global health stakeholders, this research examines WHO's contributions to (and, in many cases, negligence of) the rights-based approach to health. Based upon such research, this article analyzes the evolving role of WHO in the development and implementation of human rights for global health, reviews the current state of human rights leadership in the WHO Secretariat, and looks to future institutions to reclaim the mantle of human rights as a normative framework for global health governance. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

US Human Rights Conduct and International Legitimacy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keating, Vincent Charles

Did the Bush administration fundamentally harm the international human rights system through its rejection of human rights norms? This is the central question explored within US Human Rights Conduct and International Legitimacy, which analyses the practices of legitimacy between the Bush...... nations have followed in America's footsteps, and that the Bush administration's deviation from international norms has served to reaffirm worldwide commitment to human rights....... administration, states, and international organizations in cases of torture, habeas corpus, and rendition. Vincent Keating argues that despite the material power of the United States, there is little evidence that the Bush administration gravely damaged international norms on torture and habeas corpus as few...

Human Rights in the West

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorgen S. Nielsen

1996-12-01

Full Text Available One of the areas of conflict between Islam and the West in today’s world is the concern for human rights. This has sometimes been criticized in the Muslim world as a form of neo-imperialism. It is therefore necessary to understand the various dimensions of human rights, and the various phases through which this concern has grown. In the earliest form, it was an assertion of the rights of the landed aristocracy against those of the monarch. The French revolution, with its emphasis on "liberty, equality and fraternity," for all individuals, provided another dimension. There were many occasions on which individual and organized religion came into conflict during the Middle Ages. The experience of World War II, particularly the atrocities of the Nazis, led to the internationalization of individual rights.

The human rights responsibilities of multinational tobacco companies

Science.gov (United States)

Crow, M

2005-01-01

This article explores various strategies which could be used to hold the tobacco industry accountable for human rights violations precipitated by its conduct. First, a brief overview of the international human rights regime and the tobacco related jurisprudence issued by human rights treaty bodies is provided. The article then explains how tobacco control advocates could promote more systematic consideration of governments' tobacco related human rights violations by reconceptualising the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in the language of rights. The feasibility of using the existing human rights framework to target the tobacco industry directly is analysed with the conclusion that this approach has serious limitations. Emerging human rights norms, which have greater potential to affect the industry's conduct, are presented. Finally, given the questionable authoritativeness of these norms, alternative ways that they could be employed to hold tobacco companies accountable for the rights related consequences of their activities are proposed. PMID:16046696

Science is a gateway for democracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaoua, Mohamed

2014-06-01

The Arab Spring of 2011 has highlighted an unprecedent fact in the region: it was the young and educated population who established the spearheading of change, and led their countries to democracy. In this paper, we try to analyze how science has been a key factor in these moves, in Tunisia as well as in Egypt, and how it can help to anchor democracy in these countries.

Reaching beyond Democracy in Educational Policy Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Leigh

2016-01-01

Educational policy analyses have tended toward either the impact of policies on student achievement or the furthering of progressive ideals, regularly theorized through concepts of democracy. In this theoretical essay, I suggest that democracy has become a vehicle for cauterized projects of individualized and contingent state status rather than…

Human Rights, Human Needs, Human Development, Human Security - Relationships between four international human discourses.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.R. Gasper (Des)

2007-01-01

markdownabstractAbstract: Human rights, human development and human security form increasingly important, partly interconnected, partly competitive and misunderstood ethical and policy discourses. Each tries to humanize a pre-existing and unavoidable major discourse of everyday life, policy and

Human rights, health and the state in Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahman Redwanur M

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This paper broadly discusses the role of the State of Bangladesh in the context of the health system and human rights. The interrelation between human rights, health and development are well documented. The recognition of health as a fundamental right by WHO and subsequent approval of health as an instrument of welfare by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR and the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (ICSECR further enhances the idea. Moreover, human rights are also recognized as an expedient of human development. The state is entrusted to realize the rights enunciated in the ICSECR. Discussion In exploring the relationship of the human rights and health situation in Bangladesh, it is argued, in this paper, that the constitution and major policy documents of the Bangladesh government have recognized the health rights and development. Bangladesh has ratified most of the international treaties and covenants including ICCPR, ICESCR; and a signatory of international declarations including Alma-Ata, ICPD, Beijing declarations, and Millennium Development Goals. However the implementation of government policies and plans in the development of health institutions, human resources, accessibility and availability, resource distribution, rural-urban disparity, the male-female gap has put the health system in a dismal state. Neither the right to health nor the right to development has been established in the development of health system or in providing health care. Summary The development and service pattern of the health system have negative correlation with human rights and contributed to the underdevelopment of Bangladesh. The government should take comprehensive approach in prioritizing the health rights of the citizens and progressive realization of these rights.

Identity and the Hegemony of Universal Human Rights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tony Evans

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Human rights are commonly portrayed as a narrative that passes through several chapters before reaching its inevitable conclusion. This narrative begins with the horror of Nazism, moves to the centrality of human rights in the UN Charter, eulogizes the Universal Declaration, celebrates the achievements of standard setting as set out in the major covenants, offers detailed analysis of methods of monitoring and, finally, speculates on the future of compliance. This narrative is sustained, firstly, by ‘naturalist’ foundationalism and, secondly, by a widely held assumptions about the move towards ‘settled norms’ in the contemporary world order. Although some pessimism is voiced over continued reports of torture, genocide, structural economic deprivation, disappearances, ethnic cleansing, political prisoners, the suppression of trade union rights, gender inequality, religious persecution, and many other violations of internationally agreed human rights, most commentators and activists tacitly adopt an optimistic stance that envisages a future rights based international order. The still prevalent naturalist account of human rights, together with a narrative that boasts ‘settled norms’, suggests that the human rights regime represents a final ‘truth’ about the essential nature of all humankind; a common identity that describes the individual in an increasingly globalized world. This paper interrogates the ‘naturalist-settled norm’ account of human rights from the perspective of power and knowledge. It begins by distinguishing between the international human rights regime and the global discourse of human rights. The former adopts a legal approach, where the neutral, value-free, unbiased and impartial nature of the law is tacitly accepted. The latter refers to human rights as social, political and economic practice, and must therefore include an account of power. From this perspective, the discourse of human rights might be said to

The rapid reproducers paradox: population control and individual procreative rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Wissenburg, M

1998-01-01

This article argues that population policies need to be evaluated from macro and micro perspectives and to consider individual rights. Ecological arguments that are stringent conditions of liberal democracy are assessed against a moral standard. The moral standard is applied to a series of reasons for limiting procreative rights in the cause of sustainability. The focus is directly on legally enforced antinatalist measures and not on indirect policies with incentives and disincentives. The explicit assumption is that population policy violates the fairness to individuals for societal gain and that population policies are incompatible with stringent conditions of liberal democracy. The author identifies the individual-societal tradeoff as the "rapid reproducers paradox." The perfect sustainable population level is either not possible or is a repugnant alternative. 12 ecological arguments are presented, and none are found compatible with notions of a liberal democracy. Three alternative antinatalist options are the acceptance of less rigid and still coercive policies, amendments to the conception of liberal democracy, or loss of hope and choice of noncoercive solutions to sustainability, none of which is found viable. If voluntary abstinence and distributive solutions fail, then frugal demand options and technological supply options both will be necessary.

Technologies of democracy: experiments and demonstrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Laurent, Brice

2011-12-01

Technologies of democracy are instruments based on material apparatus, social practices and expert knowledge that organize the participation of various publics in the definition and treatment of public problems. Using three examples related to the engagement of publics in nanotechnology in France (a citizen conference, a series of public meetings, and an industrial design process), the paper argues that Science and Technology Studies provide useful tools and methods for the analysis of technologies of democracy. Operations of experiments and public demonstrations can be described, as well as controversies about technologies of democracy giving rise to counter-experiments and counter-demonstrations. The political value of the analysis of public engagement lies in the description of processes of stabilization of democratic orders and in the display of potential alternative political arrangements.

Protestant Origins of Human Rights Challenged

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Mogens Chrom Jacobsen

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This paper will challenge common views about Protestantism as the originator or foremost promoter of human rights. The idea of a Protestant origin is launched by Georg Jellinek and disputed by Emile Boutmy. The idea is still current and John Witte can thus claim that Protestantism was in part a human rights movement. The point of departure for this strain of thinking is religious toleration, which is seen as a particularly Protestant achievement. We will argue that a more precise notion of what 18th-century human rights were and a closer look at mainstream Protestant political philosophy will tell another story.

Human Rights, Human Needs, Human Development, Human Security : Relationships between four international 'human' discourses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.R. Gasper (Des)

2007-01-01

textabstractHuman rights, human development and human security form increasingly important, partly interconnected, partly competitive and misunderstood ethical and policy discourses. Each tries to humanize a pre-existing and unavoidable major discourse of everyday life, policy and politics; each

Mexico – A New Narco-Democracy in Latin America?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lidija Kos-Stanišić

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the author analyses the democratic transition and the first decade of the Mexican democracy. She points out that the democratic transition took place parallel with a huge expansion of the drug business, which caused the creation of extraconstitutional actors – drug cartels. The situation is particularly pressing in six Mexican federal states where the drug cartels cause deficiencies in the functioning of the majority of partial regimes of constitutional democracy. The conclusion raises fears that the collapse of democracy might extend to other federal states and that Mexico could turn into a narco-democracy in its entire national territory.

Human rights barriers for displaced persons in southern Sudan.

Science.gov (United States)

Pavlish, Carol; Ho, Anita

2009-01-01

This community-based research explores community perspectives on human rights barriers that women encounter in a postconflict setting of southern Sudan. An ethnographic design was used to guide data collection in five focus groups with community members and during in-depth interviews with nine key informants. A constant comparison method of data analysis was used. Atlas.ti data management software facilitated the inductive coding and sorting of data. Participants identified three formal and one set of informal community structures for human rights. Human rights barriers included shifting legal frameworks, doubt about human rights, weak government infrastructure, and poverty. The evolving government infrastructure cannot currently provide adequate human rights protection, especially for women. The nature of living in poverty without development opportunities includes human rights abuses. Good governance, protection, and human development opportunities were emphasized as priority human rights concerns. Human rights framework could serve as a powerful integrator of health and development work with community-based organizations. Results help nurses understand the intersection between health and human rights as well as approaches to advancing rights in a culturally attuned manner.

Human Rights, Diversity, and Citizenship Education

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, James A.

2009-01-01

The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a propitious time for educators to examine its implications for educating citizens in multicultural nation states. The author argues that students must experience democratic classrooms and schools that reflect their cultures and identities to internalize human rights values,…

A Culture Of Health And Human Rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Mariner, Wendy K; Annas, George J

2016-11-01

A culture of health can be seen as a social norm that values health as the nation's priority or as an appeal to improve the social determinants of health. Better population health will require changing social and economic policies. Effective changes are unlikely unless health advocates can leverage a framework broader than health to mobilize political action in collaboration with non-health sector advocates. We suggest that human rights-the dominant international source of norms for government responsibilities-provides this broader framework. Human rights, as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enforceable treaties, require governments to assure their populations nondiscriminatory access to food, water, education, work, social security, and a standard of living adequate for health and well-being. The policies needed to realize human rights also improve population health, well-being, and equity. Aspirations for human rights are strong enough to endure beyond inevitable setbacks to specific causes. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Participatory Democracy in Local School Districts: Fact or Fiction, Boon or Bane?

Science.gov (United States)

Hatley, Richard V.

1976-01-01

Discusses the viability of participatory democracy and representative democracy for educational decision-making and argues that pure representative democracy would be preferable to the combination of participatory and representative democracy that now predominates. (Available from the Kansas Association of School Boards, 825 Western, Topeka, KS…

Dewey versus "Dewey" on Democracy and Education

Science.gov (United States)

van der Ploeg, Piet

2016-01-01

In the literature on citizenship education, frequent references are made to Dewey. However, educationalists do not always interpret him correctly. To provide some counterbalance, I explain Dewey's views on education and democracy. I base this, not only on "Democracy and Education", but also on 17 articles that Dewey wrote after…

Questioning the parental right to educational authority - arguments for a pluralist public education system

OpenAIRE

Englund, Tomas

2010-01-01

What could the principle of a parental right to educational authority mean for democracy in the long run? Taking its starting point in three models of educational authority, this article questions the current permissive attitude to a parental right in this area. It does so in the light of the shortcomings of such a right with regard to pluralism in education for each child and a development towards a democracy with deliberative qualities, which is used here as a normative point of reference. ...

The human rights approach to climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft, Kristian Høyer

2013-01-01

are instrumentally applied as a solution to what could be called the “justice problem” in climate negotiations. In order to assess the degree to which human rights could be a useful approach to the justice problem with regard to to climate change, four major issues need to be examined. First...... presently and in the future, needs to be elucidated, as well as (b) the human rights principles that are at stake, and (c) the duties and duty holders involved. Third, the human right to emit greenhouse gases needs to be clarified in the context of subsistence rights and equal per capita emission rights...

The human factor: enhancing women's rights.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinzor, N

1995-01-01

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948, declares that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person. In practice, however, far from everyone has these rights, especially women. Many women worldwide have neither the awareness of nor access to family planning methods with which they could regulate their fertility and childbearing. Thus deprived of their reproductive freedom, these women cannot pursue education, employment, and other life options which would otherwise be readily available to them were they not saddled with poor reproductive health and too many children. Expanded choices enhance the status of women, which in turn helps them to reduce fertility rates and stabilize population growth. The author discusses how the wide range of cultural and social norms, and economic and political systems worldwide make it very difficult and complex to actually implement universal human rights.

Re-Thinking Normative Democracy and the Political Economy of Education

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Paul R.

2010-01-01

Normative thinking around democracy often emphasizes the supremacy of electoral politics, underplaying the salience of education as a defining feature to produce a more meaningful, engaged, inclusive form of democracy. Critical pedagogy can be an extremely useful, illuminating and transformative means and process of deconstructing how democracy is…

Political Left and Right: Our Hands-On Logic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frits Bienfait

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The origins and immediate vitality of the left/right divide which emerged in French revolutionary politics from 1789 can only be understood against the background of a much older classification dynamic based on the primacy of the right hand, first described by Robert Hertz in 1909. This dynamic infused political thinking first in Versailles and since 1815 in democracies throughout the world. In the process, the classical left/right polarity acquired a new dimension: the complementary notions of ‘accepting’ and ‘questioning’ the existing social order. An essential feature of both the age-old classical polarity and the ensuing political polarity is that they are intimately bound up with local and evolving social contexts: there is no single content-based definition of left and right. As long as the majority of us are predisposed to use our right hand when acting in the world, ‘left versus right’ will remain the most important political antithesis in western-type democracies.

Teachers' Pedagogical Perspectives and Teaching Practices on Human Rights in Cyprus: An Empirical Exploration and Implications for Human Rights Education

Science.gov (United States)

Zembylas, Michalinos; Charalambous, Constadina; Charalambous, Panayiota

2016-01-01

This paper describes a qualitative study that explored the understandings of human rights, pedagogical perspectives and practices in human rights teaching of three Greek-Cypriot elementary teachers. The study revealed some significant challenges in human rights teaching that seemed to be common for all three participating teachers. First, all of…

Devouring the Other: Democracy in Music Education

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Elizabeth

2008-01-01

In this essay, the author builds on Val Plumwood's (1993, p. 192) notion of "devouring the other" to address fundamental problems of social justice and difference in liberal democracies and music education. The problem with liberal democracies is that they assimilate (devour) difference; consensual treatment of its citizens is predicated on the…

48 Human Rights in and around Cuba

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gustafsson, Jan

2015-01-01

The article takes point of department in the current reform process in Cuba and its perspectives regarding human rights. To understand the background of the fundamental human rights' problems in Cuba, an analysis of the 'constituting dichotomy' is included and discussed in relation to its represe...... representation in the film, 'Strawberry and Chocolate'. The further perspectives for human rights in Cuba in relation to other Developments in Latin America constitutes the last part....

Jurisdiction Size and Local Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, David Dreyer; Serritslew, Søren

2011-01-01

and problems of endogeneity. We focus on internal political efficacy, a psychological condition that many see as necessary for high-quality participatory democracy. We identify a quasiexperiment, a large-scale municipal reform in Denmark, which allows us to estimate a causal effect of jurisdiction size......Optimal jurisdiction size is a cornerstone of government design. A strong tradition in political thought argues that democracy thrives in smaller jurisdictions, but existing studies of the effects of jurisdiction size, mostly cross-sectional in nature, yield ambiguous results due to sorting effects...

"Democracy Will Not Fall from the Sky." A Comparative Study of Teacher Education Students' Perceptions of Democracy in Two Neo-Liberal Societies: Argentina and Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Zyngier, David; Traverso, María Delia; Murriello, Adriana

2015-01-01

This paper compares and contrasts pre-service teachers' (PSTs) beliefs about democracy in Argentina and Australia. While there are many important studies of how school students understand democracy and democratic participation, few have studied what teachers, and especially pre-service teachers, think about democracy. This paper uses a mixed…

Land administration, planning and human rights

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Enemark, Stig; Hvingel, Line Træholt; Galland, Daniel

2014-01-01

The people-to-land relationship is dynamic and changes over time in response to cultural, social, and economic development. Land policies, institutions and land administration systems are key tools aimed at governing this relationship. Such tools will normally include the means for allocating...... and controlling rights, restrictions and responsibilities in land – often termed RRRs. Each of the RRRs encompasses a human rights dimension that should be seen and unfolded as more than just political rhetoric. This paper attempts to analyse the aspect of human rights in relation to land administration systems...... with a special focus on less developed countries struggling to build adequate systems for governing the RRRs in land. In doing so, the paper conceives planning as a key function and means of land administration systems by which human rights should be underpinned in solving concrete land issues....

Human rights reasoning and medical law: a sceptical essay.

Science.gov (United States)

Wall, Jesse

2015-03-01

I am sceptical as to the contribution that human rights can make to our evaluation of medical law. I will argue here that viewing medical law through a human rights framework provides no greater clarity, insight or focus. If anything, human rights reasoning clouds any bioethical or evaluative analysis. In Section 1 of this article, I outline the general structure of human rights reasoning. I will describe human rights reasoning as (a) reasoning from rights that each person has 'by virtue of their humanity', (b) reasoning from rights that provide 'hard to defeat' reasons for action and (c) reasoning from abstract norms to specified duties. I will then argue in Section 2 that, unless we (a) re-conceive of human rights as narrow categories of liberties, it becomes (b) necessary for our human rights reasoning to gauge the normative force of each claim or liberty. When we apply this approach to disputes in medical law, we (in the best case scenario) end up (c) 'looking straight through' the human right to the (disagreement about) values and features that each person has by virtue of their humanity. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

HUMAN BEINGS TRAFFICKING IN THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS CASE-LAW

OpenAIRE

Laura-Cristiana SPĂTARU-NEGURĂ

2017-01-01

After last year’s analysis regarding the European Union’s commitment to fight against the human beings trafficking, we have considered to further explore the human beings trafficking approach in the European Court of Human Rights case-law, the most developped regional jurisdiction on human rights. Surprisingly, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms does not make an express reference to the human beings trafficking. However, we have to bear in mind...

Culture and Its Role in Promoting Democracy and Good Governance in Africa: Finding the Missing Link

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Justine Igbokwe-Ibeto

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The paper examines the role of culture in promoting democracy and good governance in Africa. It also explores the concepts surrounding an optimal governance arrangement for cultural and democratic institutions and the challenges current arrangements have on organizational governance and structures to deliver optimal and effective outcomes. The paper argues that for culture to promote democracy and good governance, actions should be taken towards cultural re-orientation with the aim of making it useful to our democracy and governance. The emphasis on humanity and personhood finds expression in several African maxims. Regrettably, the culture of individualism and primitive accumulation of wealth have dislocated humanity and personhood in Africa. We therefore, recommend among others, that communalism, high moral order in governance, community and state relations based on duties and obligations of the people to the state, deep sense of hard work and self-reliant, even as they embrace best practices from outside the continent of Africa. With these and other steps if implemented will launch the continent on the path of democratization and good governance by retrieving and showcasing its uniqueness as a people with deep sense of history and pride.

How do South Africans understand Democracy and Christianity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The average South African is often seen as Christian and as supporting democracy, but research suggests many of the fundamentals of democracy and Christianity are clearly not accepted unconditionally. Africa Insight Vol.34(2/3) 2004: 16-22 ...

The Right to strike: International and regional legal instruments with accent of legislation in Republic of Macedonia

OpenAIRE

Majhosev, Andon; Denkova, Jadranka

2013-01-01

The right to strike is a universal democratic right of all employees, regardless of where they are employed: Real or public sector. Depending on the degree of realization of this right in a state, it is accordingly evaluated on the scale of democracy. Therefore, we can say that the right to strike is a fundamental measure of democratic values of a society. There is no real democracy without the right to strike. The right to strike is governed by international legal instruments (acts) of the U...

Flavour democracy and the lepton-quark hierarchy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fritzsch, H.; Muenchen Univ.; Plankl, J.

1990-01-01

The mass hierarchy of the leptons and quarks is interpreted as a consequence of a coherent state phenomenon ('flavour democracy'). It is emphasized that particular forms of the mass matrices can arise from the coherent state basis. The violations of the 'flavour democracy' turn out to be relatively large. Numerical examples are presented. (orig.)

The Human Right of Home Education

Science.gov (United States)

Donnelly, Michael P.

2016-01-01

Homeschooling is legal and growing in many countries but is virtually forbidden by law in Germany and a few others. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has reviewed and upheld this ban. Is home education a human right? How do these courts employ their jurisprudence of proportionality to find banning home education does not violate relevant…

Coronial law and practice: a human rights perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Freckelton, Ian; McGregor, Simon

2014-03-01

Coronial law and practice inevitably impact upon the human rights of those affected by deaths. It is important that such rights be incorporated in how death investigations, up to and including coronial inquests, take place. This article explores the significant impact of the jurisprudence emanating from the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the application of such law by the courts of the United Kingdom and potentially in other countries. It argues that viewing the work of coroners through the lens of human rights is a constructive approach and that, although in the coronial legislation of Australia and New Zealand, many human rights, especially those of family members, and civil liberties are explicitly protected, there remain real advantages in reflecting upon compliance with human rights by death investigation procedures and decision-making.

Global bioethics and human rights in an African context: A reformed theological discourse on global bioethics as a new human rights ethos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.L. Rheeder

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The 2005 UNESCO Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBHR is specifically aimed at Africa and developing countries from other regions. The acceptance of this UNESCO instrument shows that global bioethics and human rights have become part of the bioethics discourse of today. It is clear that there is a certain affinity between human rights and bioethics, which makes such a link desirable. The value of this link lies in the fact that human rights facilitate a normative universal expansion of bioethical principles. The human rights framework provides bioethical principles with some authority and political influence, an instrument that can protect people in our broken context. Human rights practice and a reformed understanding of natural law both show that humanity can reach consensus on ethical principles such as those found in the UDBHR. Consensus on the theoretical foundation of human rights is not a prerequisite for the successful utilisation of these principles.

How is an absolute democracy possible?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Bednarek

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In the last part of the Empire trilogy, Commonwealth, Negri and Hardt ask about the possibility of the self-governance of the multitude. When answering, they argue that absolute democracy, understood as the political articulation of the multitude that does not entail its unification (construction of the people is possible. As Negri states, this way of thinking about political articulation is rooted in the tradition of democratic materialism and constitutes the alternative to the dominant current of modern political philosophy that identifies political power with sovereignty. The multitude organizes itself politically by means of the constitutive power, identical with the ontological creativity or productivity of the multitude. To state the problem of political organization means to state the problem of class composition: political democracy is at the same time economic democracy.

Teaching about Human Rights and American Indians.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Karen D.

1996-01-01

Presents a flexible lesson plan integrating teaching about human rights into the existing curriculum about American Indians. Asserts that American Indians have the right to maintain their cultural ways and connects that subject to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Includes three lists of resources and references. (MJP)

Human rights and the challenges of science and technology: Commentary on Meier et al. "Translating the human right to water and sanitation into public policy reform" and Hall et al. "The human right to water: the importance of domestic and productive water rights".