HUMAN RIGHTS IN
WORLD POLITICS
PSC
335 / INTS 498, Spring 2001
T/Th
1:00pm - 2:15pm, WH 223 (Student Lounge)
Instructor: Dr.
David L. Richards
Office: WH213
Office
Hours: M/W: 10am-11:30am T/Th: 2:15-5:45pm
Phone (office): 625-9795
E-mail: Richards-D@mail.mssc.edu
In 1948, with the
atrocities of World War II fresh in mind, the General Assembly of the United
Nations passed "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." The
rights set out in this document (and its legally-binding successors) are
expressly "universal" in that they apply to all humans in all places
at all times. However, despite the nearly complete legal acceptance of the
principle of universal human rights by the sovereign states in the international
state system, the notion of universal human rights has been, and remains,
controversial.
While the original
human rights-related controversy among governments concerned the concept of
universality itself, much of today's conflict also relates to matters of enforcement.
That is, how far are states willing to go to ensure that other sovereign states
respect these rights as codified in international law? Many governments,
especially those in non-Western developing nations, see the notion of universal
human rights as a new form of Western imperialism that threatens both state
sovereignty and local culture.
This seminar will
familiarize students with the core theoretical knowledge and academic political
science literature in the subfield of comparative human rights. During the
course of the semester we will consider (in order):
1.
The philosophical foundations of the idea
of universal human rights
2.
International human rights agreements and human rights nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs)
3.
Human rights, realism, and US foreign
policy (can an ethical foreign policy be successful?)
4.
The general determinants and consequences of government abuse of human
rights
5.
Focus on: globalization and human rights
6.
The compatibility of non-Western cultures
with the idea of universal human rights.
BOOKS and READINGS
Purchase
Books
You will need to purchase four paperback books
for this class:
International
Human Rights
by Jack Donnelly
Westview Press
ISBN 0813399696
The
Human Rights Reader
edited by Micheline Ishay
Routledge
ISBN 0415918499
The
Umbrella of U.S. Power: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
Contradictions of U.S. Policy
by Noam Chomsky
Seven Stories Press
ISBN 1888363851
Human
Rights and International Political Economy in Third World Nations: Multinational
Corporations, Foreign Aid, and Repression
by William Meyer
Greenwood Publishing Group
ISBN 0275962806
Reserve Readings
In
addition to the purchase books, you will also be responsible for course
readings that are on 2-hr reserve in the library.
Most of our reserve readings are from political science journals, and some will have a lot of statistics in them. Do NOT let the lack of a statistical background frighten you, however! I will give a statistical primer in class that will tell you everything you need to know in order to get the most out of these readings.
·
I
recommend photocopying as much material as soon as possible. This
way, you will be able to work at your leisure throughout the semester, and it
will save you the hassle later on of being pressured to get a hold of a reading
at the last minute when someone else may have it signed out. As well, it will
allow me to get a hold of, or replace in time for everyone to get a copy, any
readings missing from the reserve room.
COURSE OUTLINE and ASSOCIATED READINGS
SECTION ONE
The Philosophical Foundations of the Idea
of Universal Human Rights
Books:
Donnelly: Chpts 1,2
Ishay:
Introduction, Selections 1.1, 1.2, 1.9, 2.2, 2.12, 4.1, 4.5
Meyer: Chpt 1
Reserve Readings:
An-Na'im,
Abdullahi Ahmed. ed. 1992. "Toward a Cross-Cultural Approach to Defining
International Standards of Human Rights." In Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives, ed. Abdullahi Ahmed
An-Na'im.
Howard,
Rhoda E. 1992. "Dignity, Community, and Human Rights." In Human Rights in
Cross-Cultural
Perspectives, ed. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im.
Johnson, M. Glenn. 1988. "Human
Rights in Divergent Conceptual Settings." in David Louis Cingranelli, ed.,
Human Rights: Theory and Measurement. pp.
41-59 (especially pp. 42-3).
Pourgerami, Abbas. 1991. Development and Democracy in the Third World.
pp. 94-101.
Mazrui, Ali. 1990. Cultural Forces in World Politics. pp. 7-9.
SECTION TWO
International Human Rights Agreements and
Human Rights NGOs
Books:
Donnelly: Chpt 4
Ishay: Selections 7.1, 7.2,7.3,7.7,7.8
Reserve
Readings:
Arzt, Donna E.. 1990. "The Application of
International Human Rights Law in Islamic States." Human Rights Quarterly 12: 202-230
Cingranelli, David L. and David L. Richards.
2000. "Measuring the Impact of Human Rights Organizations" In Claude
Welch, ed. NGOs and Human Rights: Promise
and Performance
Keck, Margaret, and Kathryn Sikkink. 1998. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks
in International Politics. Chpts 1 (Introduction) and 3 (Human Rights
Advocacy Networks in Latin America).
Web Pages:
Amnesty
International. 2000. Amnesty
International Report 2000. http://www.web.amnesty.org/web/ar2000web.nsf/
Human Rights Watch. 2000. Annual Report 2000.
http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/
SECTION THREE
Measurement
of Human Rights and US Foreign Policy
Books:
Chomsky:
entire book
Donnelly:
Chpts 5,6,7,8
Ishay:
Selections 6.8, 6.9, 6.12, 6.13, 6.14, 7.10
Meyer:
Chpts 2, 4
Reserve Readings:
Carleton, David and Michael Stohl. 1985.
"The Foreign Policy of Human Rights:Rhetoric and Reality from Jimmy Carter
to Ronald Reagan." Human Rights
Quarterly. 7:205-29.
Carter, Jimmy. 1977. "Speech on
Human Purposes in Foreign Policy." In The
Human Rights Reader, ed. Walter Lacquer and Barry Rubin.
Cingranelli, David Louis. 1993. Ethics, American Foreign Policy, and the
Third World, Chapters 1, 2, and 11.
Kirkpatrick, Jeane. 1981.
"Establishing a Viable Human Rights Policy." In The Human Rights Reader, ed. Walter Lacquer and Barry Rubin.
Morris, Morris David. 1979. Measuring the Condition of the World's Poor:
The Physical Quality of Life Index.
Poe, Steven C. 1991. "Human Rights
and the Allocation of U.S. Military Assistance." Journal of Peace Research 28:205-16.
Poe, Steven C. 1992. "Human Rights
and Economic Aid under Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter." American Journal of Political Science 36:147-67.
Regan, Patrick M. 1995. "U.S.
Economic Aid and Political Repression: An Empirical Evaluation of U.S. Foreign
Policy." Political Research
Quarterly 48.3:613-628.
Schoultz, Lars. 1980. "U.S. Foreign
Policy and Human Rights." Comparative
Politics 13:149-70.
Schoultz, Lars. 1981. "U.S. Policy
to Human Rights in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis of Two
Administrations." In Global Human
Rights: Public Policies, Comparative Measures, and NGO Strategies, ed. Ved
P. Nanda, James R. Scarritt, and George W. Shepard.
Vance, Cyrus. 1977. "Law Day Speech
on Human Rights and Foreign Policy." In The Human Rights Reader, ed. Walter Lacquer and Barry Rubin.
Web Pages:
Freedom House. 2000. Freedom In the World 1999-2000. http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2000/index.htm
United Nations Development Programme.
2000. Human Development Report, 2000.
http://www.undp.org/hdr2000/english/HDR2000.html
US Department of State 2000. 1999 Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices
http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/99hrp_report_toc.html
SECTION FOUR
General Determinants and Consequences of
Government Abuse of Human Rights
Books:
Donnelly:
Chpt 4
Reserve Readings:
Cingranelli, David L. and David L.
Richards. 2001. "Which Human Rights do States Violate, and Why?"
Cingranelli,
David L. and David L. Richards. 1999. "Respect for Human Rights After the
End of the Cold War" Journal of
Peace Research, 36.5: 511-534.
Henderson, Conway. 1991. "Conditions
Affecting the Use of Political Repression." Journal of Conflict Resolution 35:120-42.
Henderson, Conway. 1993. "Population
Pressures and Political Repression." Social
Science Quarterly 74:322-33.
Mitchell,
N. J., and J. M. McCormick 1988. Economic and Political Explanations of Human
Rights Violations. World Politics 40:476-498.
Poe, Steven C. and C. Neal Tate. 1994
"Repression of Rights to Personal Integrity in the 1980s: A Global
Analysis." American Political
Science Review 88:853-72
Poe, Steven C., C. Neal Tate and Linda
Camp Keith. 1999 "Repression of Rights to Personal Integrity
Revisited" International Studies
Quarterly 43: 291-313
Richards,
David L. 1999. "Perilous Proxy: Human Rights and the Presence of National
Elections." Social Science Quarterly
80: 648-665.
Film:
Death
and the Maiden, written by Ariel Dorfman
SECTION FIVE
Globalization and Human Rights
Books:
Meyer,
Chpts 3, 5, 6
Reserve
Readings:
Moon, Bruce E. and William J. Dixon.
1992. "Basic Needs and Growth-Welfare Trade-Offs." International Studies Quarterly 36:
191-212.
Richards, David L. 2001.
"Information Globalization and Human Rights." In ed., Juliann
Allison, Information Technology and
International Relations (page numbers yet unavailable)
Richards, David L., Ron Gelleny and David
Sacko. 2001. "Money With A Mean Streak? Foreign Economic Penetration and
Government Respect for Human Rights in Developing Countries." International Studies Quarterly (page
numbers yet unavailable)
GRADED
COMPONENTS
1.
Paper
(30%): You will be responsible for writing a research
paper on the compatibility of a particular cultural perspective with the idea
of individual human rights. You must choose a culture other than Western
Culture. Acceptable cultures include African, Sinic (including Japan), Islamic,
Hindu/Buddhist, Animist or Indigenous. The paper title will be:
"The
Compatibility of ________________ Culture with the Idea of Universal,
Individual Human Rights."
The
paper will be divided into nine sections as follows:
Part
I: Introduction: How old is _______
culture? In what regions of the world does it predominate? In what countries is this the predominant
culture? In what countries is this a
significant minority culture? What
percentage of the world's population adheres to these cultural beliefs? What proportion of the world's people adhere
to these beliefs?
Part
II: Support for International Human
Rights Agreements. What is the record of ________ countries in signing and
ratifying major human rights agreements?
What reservations have their representatives noted?
Part
III: "Central Values and Beliefs of
______________ Culture"
Part
IV: "Physical Integrity Rights"
Part
V:
"Civil Liberties"
Part
VI: "Political Rights"
Part
VII: "Economic and Social Rights"
Part
VIII: "The _________ Conception of
Human Rights." Consider ________
culture in terms of the five dimensions of thinking about human rights
described by M. Glenn Johnson on pages 42 and 43 of his chapter titled
"Human Rights in Divergent Conceptual Settings" in David L.
Cingranelli, ed., Human Rights: Theory
and Measurement.
Part
IX: "Conclusion"
Summarize what you have found out about the ________ culture in terms of
conflict and compatibility with the idea of universal, individual human rights.
The
completed paper (approximately 20 pages in length) is due at the end of the
semester (05/01/01). You will, however, be handing in drafts of individual
sections of the paper throughout the semester. The draft deadline schedule is:
·
Sections I and II: February 1st
·
Section III: March 1st
·
Section IV, V, VI, VII: April 10th
·
Final Draft (includes all nine sections):
May 1st
The timely
completion of these drafts is imperative
and will count towards the final paper grade. Points lost for late drafts will
be deducted from your final paper grade. You will lose 2 pts for each business
day a draft is late.
Why the draft system? Turning in a paper an
instructor has not seen, at the end of a semester, accomplishes nothing. The
goal here is to learn, and learning
is both an interactive process and a trial and error process. An instructor
making you pay for your mistakes (with a bad grade) at the end of a semester,
when there is no time left to learn from them, is not education -- it is
futility. Thus, you and I will work on your paper together throughout the
semester so that you can learn from the mistakes you make. Remember that a
truly careful person is someone who learns from the mistakes he/she makes, not
someone who is timid for the reason of not making any. Do not make the mistake, however, of thinking because I will be
helping you, that I will be doing your paper for you. That will not happen. You
will be assigned a numerical grade on a scale of 0 - 100 for your paper.
2. Presentations (30%): Each
student will be assigned approximately two reserve readings from the syllabus
and will present on these in class over the course of the semester. The number of these assignments will
depend on class-size, and likely, extras will be available for extra credit.
Presentations on Readings:
Presentations should be 10 minutes (minimum),
and should describe:
·
Who the authors are and when the piece
was written
·
What the authors aimed to do in the
article
·
How they proceeded
·
What they found or concluded
·
Also, presenters should critique the
authors' approach, either theoretically or methodologically, offer suggestions
for improvement, compare this to other similar work, and speculate as to what
future research in this area might explore.
For those not presenting on any given day, you
are to come to class prepared with a
question or two about the readings that would provoke thought and discussion.
·
I REQUIRE that presenters summarize their
presentations into a one-page (minimum) typed
handout for all other seminar participants.
These are due the day OF the presentation -- not afterwards. Be sure to
bring enough copies for everyone, including the instructor. If tables, charts
or illustrations are central to the reading you are presenting on, then you
might wish to include these as additions to your handout, or as an overhead for
your presentation. The result of this is
that at the end of the semester everyone will have a complete set of notes on
what we covered in class. This will be of particularly GREAT benefit in
preparing for the exam. Granted, there is a large amount of material to be
covered in this class, and by "team-reading" in this manner, everyone
will have all material covered.
Your participation and attendance are requisite.
To achieve an acceptable performance level you will be required to complete a
large amount of reading PRIOR to
each meeting. In order to achieve an "A" grade a student must do all
readings, master the required material, and
be able and willing to comment on these readings in class. You will be assigned
a numerical grade on a scale of 0 - 100 for your presentations / handouts.
3.
Human Rights Coding (20%): In order to acquire both a deep knowledge
of human rights in a few selected countries and an understanding of how
policymakers and political scientists make judgments about government respect
for human rights in countries around the world, you will participate in the
coding of some human rights data from Amnesty International and the US State
Department. This will be a one-of-a-kind hands-on experience, and all material
is available on the web, so your work will not confined to library
reserve-material hours (that is, you can make your own working hours rather
than have the library set them for you). You will be given a detailed handout
describing this process. We will begin this work when we begin Section Three,
“Measurement of Human Rights and US Foreign Policy.” You will be assigned a
numerical grade of 0 – 100 for your coding work.
4.
Final Exam (20 %): You will be taking a final exam that will
test your general knowledge of the material gone over in class, as well as from
our readings. Each of the five sections of the course will be represented by
one question. You will choose two essay questions from among the five total
questions. A review session will be held during the class prior to the exam.
Your final exam will be distributed in class on Thursday, May 3rd,
and will be due anytime between then and the end of the final exam session as
scheduled for this class by the registrar. You will be assigned a numerical
grade on a scale of 0 - 100 for this exam.
GRADE CALCULATION
Your final grade will be calculated as:
FINAL GRADE = .30(Paper) +
.30(Participation/Presentations) + .20(Coding) + 20(Exam)
Final class grades will be assigned as: 90-100 ( A )
80-89 ( B )
70-79 ( C )
60-69 ( D )
00-59 ( F )
The instructor reserves the right to raise
borderline grades, with such decisions being based on a student’s effort in the
course, improvement, participation, and merit.
CLASS RULES
Attendance:
Your regular attendance and participation are necessary to make this class as
fruitful as possible. You are allowed three unexcused absences without penalty.
An excused absence is one where you have either an officially documented
college-sanctioned event (sports / conference / trip), or a documented medical
excuse (for *you*). For each unexcused absence above three, your final class
GPA will be lowered 2 points.
Makeup
Exams: Makeup exams present severe equity problems for
everyone involved in the course. Makeup exams will only be scheduled for those
with documented medical or
college-sanctioned-activity associated excuses. There are NO exceptions to
the makeup exam rule.
Lateness
and Incompletes: Assignments are due at the beginning of the assigned class period.
An assignment is late once all other assignments have been collected and the
regular class session has begun. The ONLY exception is for those with documented
medical excuse (not college-sanctioned-events). Excuses such as "The
printer broke," "I ran out of toner," or "The computer
crashed" will not be accepted. A point deduction will be taken for each
day an assignment is late, beginning after the start of the class period on the
day on which it was due.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism and/or
cheating on any assignments or exams will result in a zero for the work in
question and subsequent College disciplinary proceedings in accordance with
College procedures.
Disabilities:
If you are an individual with a disability and require accommodations for this
class, please notify the instructor or Melissa Locher, Disabilities
Coordinator, at the Learning Center (625-9516).
NO CLASS
There will be a few times during the semester
when no class will be held. Days when there will be no class are (as of the
beginning of the semester):
February 8; March 13, 15; April 19