PSC 86403

Course Description

This course will focus on key concepts in human rights, and examine their analytical value in the context of varying approaches towards the promotion and protection of internationally recognized human rights norms. In particular, the course will examine these concepts in light of (a) the recent debates in international relations theory on the role of ideas and norms; and (b) the growing convergence between international human rights law and international humanitarian law. It will assess the impact of normative considerations, as well as the role of the relevant actors, on a whole set of critical issue areas including discrimination, accountability, human security, human development, and legal empowerment.

1. Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience. Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms. (Princeton University Press, 2001).

2. Richard Falk, Human Rights Horizons. (Routledge, 2000).

3. Independent International Commission on Kosovo, The Kosovo Report:

Conflict, International Response, Lessons Learned. (Oxford University Press,

2000). It can be accessed at: http://www.kosovocommission.org/reports/

4. Audie Klotz, Norms in International Relations. The Struggle Against Apartheid. (Cornell University Press, 1995).

5. Mahmood Mamdani, When Victims Become Killers. (Princeton University Press, 2001).

6. Martha C. Nussbaum, Women and Human Development. The Capabilities Approach. (Cambridge University Press, 2000).

7. Mark Osiel, Mass Atrocity, Ordinary Evil, and Hannah Arendt. (Yale University Press, 2001).

8. Samantha Power, A Problem from Hell. America and the Age of Genocide. (Basic Books, 2002).

9. Thomas Risse, Stephen Ropp, and Kathryn Sikkink (eds.), The Power of Human Rights. International Norms and Domestic Change (Cambridge University Press, 1999).

10. Henry Steiner and Philip Alston, International Human Rights. Law, Policy, Morals. (Oxford University Press, 2000).

11. Ward Thomas, The Ethics of Destruction. Norms and Force in International Relations. (Cornell University Press, 2001).

Certain documents listed below (including journal articles) can be accessed via internet. You must become familiar, if you are not already, with the United Nations’ website (www.un.org). The following documents are available at http://www.un.org/Docs/SG/

1. An Agenda for Peace, 17 June 1992.

2. An Agenda for Peace, Supplement, 3 January 1995.

3. Report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 8 September 1999; and Report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 30 March 2001; (they are available at http://www.reliefweb.int/ocha_ol/civilians/

4. The Millenium Report of the Secretary-General (A/54/2000).

Finally, you should consult the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights website (http://www.unhchr.ch/); it includes a wealth of information on the relevant treaties, as well as numerous reports on human rights issues.

A 20-25 page paper to be chosen after consultation with the instructor (80% of the grade). Oral presentations and class participation will count for 20% of the grade.

Week I

What are human rights? The evolution and normative framework of international human rights.

Henry Steiner and Philip Alston, International Human Rights in Context, pp. 323-402. Michael Ignatieff, “The Attack on Human Rights,” Foreign Affairs (November-December 2001), pp. 102-116; Richard Falk, Human Rights Horizons, pp. 37-56.

Ideas and Norms in International Politics.

Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience, pp. 21-36; Audie Klotz, Norms in International Relations, pp. 13-35; Ward Thomas, The Ethics of Destruction, pp. pp. 1-26.

Week III

Ideas and Norms in International Politics (continued). The socialization of international human rights norms.

Thomas, pp. 27-45; Thomas Risse, Stephen Ropp and Kathryn Sikkink, The Power of Human Rights, pp. 1-38.

Week IV

The capabilities approach.

Martha Nussbaum, Women and Human Development, pp. 1-110.

Week V

International human rights law and international humanitarian law: the growing convergence.

Steiner and Alston, pp. 56-135; Theodor Meron, “The Humanization of Humanitarian Law,” 94AJIL(2000) (available on lexis-nexis).

Week VI

The promotion and protection of international human rights. Critical issue areas: dealing with mass atrocities. Historical and conceptual dimensions of genocide.

Mark J. Osiel, Mass Atrocity, Ordinary Evil, and Hannah Arendt, pp. 62-148; Samantha Power, A Problem from Hell, pp. 87-245.

Week VII

Genocide (continued): causes and responses.

Mahmood Mamdani, When Victims Become Killers, pp. 159-233; George Andreopoulos, On the Prevention of Genocide. Humanitarian Intervention and the Role of the United Nations (to be distributed in class).

The challenge of human security

Falk, pp. 67-85; An Agenda for Peace; An Agenda for Peace, Supplement; The Millenium Report.

The challenge of human security (continued). Self-Determination.

Falk, pp. 97-125; The Kosovo Report.

Week X

Torture, disappearances and extrajudicial executions. The struggle against apartheid.

Clark, 37-167; Klotz, pp. 39-147.

Week XI

Constraints on the use of force. The humanitarian aspects of protection.

Thomas, pp. 147-179; Report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (September 1999 and March 2001).

Week XII

The quest for accountability: addressing the activities of non-state actors.

International Council on Human Rights Policy, Beyond Voluntarism. Human Rights and the developing international legal obligations of companies (2002) (it can be accessed at www.ichrp.org); George Andreopoulos, On the Accountability of non-state armed groups (to be distributed in class).

Legal empowerment: challenges and prospects.

Asian Development Bank, Legal Empowerment: Advancing Good Governance and Poverty Reduction, Overview Report (June 2001) (to be placed on reserve).

Do human rights norms matter? Concluding remarks.

Klotz, pp. 151-173; Thomas, pp. 181-196; Risse and Ropp, pp. 234-278.

PSC 86403

CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES IN INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS

Week I

Week II