The Politics of Human Rights Flashcards
(13 cards)
how to understand contemp human rights
Domestic politics is crucial to understanding
helps reveal the sources of abuses, the strengths of the resistance, and the prospects for change
Comparative politics is an essential tool in explaining how domestic factors influence human rights practices
Sources of Human Rights Violations: Rational Incentives
State repression is among the most notorious human rights abuses and is a product of both rational incentives and exclusionary ideologies
The most significant incentives for state leaders to violate human rights include:
* past repression
* low levels of democracy
* poverty
* war
* social threats or dissent
Sources of Human Rights Violations:
Exclusionary Ideologies
Exclusionary ideologies define the conditions under which it is deemed appropriate and even necessary to violate human rights norms
National security doctrines along with broader ideologies of discrimination (e.g. racism, sexism) = types of exclusionary ideology
Argentina Gen. Jorge Videla (1925-2013) quote
“a terrorist is not just someone with a gun or a bomb, but also someone who spreads ideas that are contrary to Western and Christian civilization”
Reckoning with human rights abuse: Argentina
1983: Transition to civilian government
1983- Pres. Raul Alfonsin elected, tries to prosecute high-level military officials and implement democratic reforms
1989-99: Pres. Carlos Menem sought military’s support, pardoned all members of the military junta either already convicted or still indicted
Aftermath of Authoritarianism Argentina
1999: Supreme Court revokes the pardons, prosecutions resume
2011: Several notorious war criminals
imprisoned for life
2017: 54 people tried for human rights violations at torture centre
Long arc of justice: convictions in Argentina (2017) quotes
The torturer Alfredo Astiz: “the blond
angel of death”
“In Argentina’s history, the death flights will always be regarded as an incomparable monstrosity,”
“It’s key that this vision held by most Argentines has been ratified with this sentence.” - human rights activist
Eduardo Jozami
The Path to Reform
Human rights change is a long-term process
State-society relations need to evolve to accommodate human rights norms
states tend to face pressure internationally (“above”) and domestically (“below”)
Regimes start by denying abuses; make small concessions; broaden reforms; finally, alter their behavior to safeguard rights
Armed conflict, deep societal divisions
inhibit this
Democracy and human rights:
Philippines
Philippines colonized by Spain
1890s: US seizes Philippines after winning Spanish-American War
US crushes rebellions over several decades
1965-86: Ferdinand Marcos governs as US- installed dictator
1986: Pro-democracy protests overthrow Marcos regime; Corazon Aquino elected to power
1987: Philippine democracy enshrined in new constitution
As mayor of Davao City, Duterte long suspected of running death squads
May 2015: Duterte campaigns on a law-and-order platform; vows to kill 100,000 criminals and dump their bodies in Manila Bay
April 2016: Duterte endorses sexual violence; disavows his party’s apology
Duterte’s policies (general)
May 2016: Duterte elected president; makes homophobic remarks
He promised to wage war on drug dealers, with the slogan “kill, kill, kill”
2018: International Criminal Court (ICC)
opens investigation into extra-judicial killings in Philippines
Drug war and Philippines’ democracy
Security forces and vigilante groups killed over 12,000 people during Duterte’s tenure (Human Rights Watch)
Many no connection to drug trade
intimidated and arrested journalists, political opposition
disinformation via social media platforms
Policies- Press freedom under Duterte
Journalist Maria Ressa, 2022: “A combination of bots, fake accounts, and content creators – real people doing the bidding of a government determined to mislead its people - infected our citizenry like a virus.”
Feb. 2019: Ressa arrested in Philippines based on libel case
Critics claim these are trumped-up charges
Dec. 2021: Ressa awarded Nobel Peace Prize
She is currently out on bail
The path forward
2022: Philippines law forbids president from running for a second term
Duterte 75% approval rating when leaving office
2022: Duterte’s daughter Sara elected Vice-President; former dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ son Bongbong elected President
drug war killings continue
