Social movements and the social construction of human rights

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 21, Issue 4, 1999, Pages 980-1008

  Stammers, Neil ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HUMAN RIGHTS; SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION; SOCIAL MOVEMENT;

EID: 0033395788     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.1999.0054     Document Type: Article

References (106)

1. A. Beiden Fields & Wolf-Dieter Narr, Human Rights as a Holistic Concept, 14 HUM. RTS. Q. 1, 5 (1992).
2. For an example of the way social movements appear in the human rights literature, see Burns H. Weston, Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE WORLD COMMUNITY: ISSUES AND ACTION 14 (Richard Pierre Claude & Burns H. Weston eds., 2d ed. 1992). In respect of power, see Richard Devlin, Solidarity or Solipsistic Tunnel Vision?: Reminiscences of a Renegade Rapporteur, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE 991 (Kathleen E. Mahoney & Paul Mahoney eds., 1993) [hereinafter A GLOBAL CHALLENGE]; Nicholas K. Blomley, Mobility, Empowerment and the Rights Revolution, 13 POL. GEOGRAPHY 407 (1994); Neil Stammers, Human Rights and Power, 43 POL. STUD. 70 (1993) [hereinafter Stammers, Human Rights]; Neil Stammers, A Critique of Social Approaches to Human Rights, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1995) [hereinafter Stammers, A Critique].
3. For an example of the way social movements appear in the human rights literature, see Burns H. Weston, Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE WORLD COMMUNITY: ISSUES AND ACTION 14 (Richard Pierre Claude & Burns H. Weston eds., 2d ed. 1992). In respect of power, see Richard Devlin, Solidarity or Solipsistic Tunnel Vision?: Reminiscences of a Renegade Rapporteur, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE 991 (Kathleen E. Mahoney & Paul Mahoney eds., 1993) [hereinafter A GLOBAL CHALLENGE]; Nicholas K. Blomley, Mobility, Empowerment and the Rights Revolution, 13 POL. GEOGRAPHY 407 (1994); Neil Stammers, Human Rights and Power, 43 POL. STUD. 70 (1993) [hereinafter Stammers, Human Rights]; Neil Stammers, A Critique of Social Approaches to Human Rights, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1995) [hereinafter Stammers, A Critique].
4. For an example of the way social movements appear in the human rights literature, see Burns H. Weston, Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE WORLD COMMUNITY: ISSUES AND ACTION 14 (Richard Pierre Claude & Burns H. Weston eds., 2d ed. 1992). In respect of power, see Richard Devlin, Solidarity or Solipsistic Tunnel Vision?: Reminiscences of a Renegade Rapporteur, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE 991 (Kathleen E. Mahoney & Paul Mahoney eds., 1993) [hereinafter A GLOBAL CHALLENGE]; Nicholas K. Blomley, Mobility, Empowerment and the Rights Revolution, 13 POL. GEOGRAPHY 407 (1994); Neil Stammers, Human Rights and Power, 43 POL. STUD. 70 (1993) [hereinafter Stammers, Human Rights]; Neil Stammers, A Critique of Social Approaches to Human Rights, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1995) [hereinafter Stammers, A Critique].
5. For an example of the way social movements appear in the human rights literature, see Burns H. Weston, Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE WORLD COMMUNITY: ISSUES AND ACTION 14 (Richard Pierre Claude & Burns H. Weston eds., 2d ed. 1992). In respect of power, see Richard Devlin, Solidarity or Solipsistic Tunnel Vision?: Reminiscences of a Renegade Rapporteur, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE 991 (Kathleen E. Mahoney & Paul Mahoney eds., 1993) [hereinafter A GLOBAL CHALLENGE]; Nicholas K. Blomley, Mobility, Empowerment and the Rights Revolution, 13 POL. GEOGRAPHY 407 (1994); Neil Stammers, Human Rights and Power, 43 POL. STUD. 70 (1993) [hereinafter Stammers, Human Rights]; Neil Stammers, A Critique of Social Approaches to Human Rights, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1995) [hereinafter Stammers, A Critique].
6. For an example of the way social movements appear in the human rights literature, see Burns H. Weston, Human Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE WORLD COMMUNITY: ISSUES AND ACTION 14 (Richard Pierre Claude & Burns H. Weston eds., 2d ed. 1992). In respect of power, see Richard Devlin, Solidarity or Solipsistic Tunnel Vision?: Reminiscences of a Renegade Rapporteur, in HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE 991 (Kathleen E. Mahoney & Paul Mahoney eds., 1993) [hereinafter A GLOBAL CHALLENGE]; Nicholas K. Blomley, Mobility, Empowerment and the Rights Revolution, 13 POL. GEOGRAPHY 407 (1994); Neil Stammers, Human Rights and Power, 43 POL. STUD. 70 (1993) [hereinafter Stammers, Human Rights]; Neil Stammers, A Critique of Social Approaches to Human Rights, 17 HUM. RTS. Q. 488 (1995) [hereinafter Stammers, A Critique].
7. See generally ANTHONY CIDDENS, THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIETY: OUTLINE OF THE THEORY OF STRUCTURATION (1984); IRA J. COHEN, STRUCTURATION THEORY: ANTHONY GIDDENS AND THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIAL LIFE (1989); ROY BHASKAR, RECLAIMING REALITY: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY (1989); ANDREW COLLIER, CRITICAL REALISM: AN INTRODUCTION TO ROY BHASKAR'S PHILOSOPHY (1994).
8. See generally ANTHONY CIDDENS, THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIETY: OUTLINE OF THE THEORY OF STRUCTURATION (1984); IRA J. COHEN, STRUCTURATION THEORY: ANTHONY GIDDENS AND THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIAL LIFE (1989); ROY BHASKAR, RECLAIMING REALITY: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY (1989); ANDREW COLLIER, CRITICAL REALISM: AN INTRODUCTION TO ROY BHASKAR'S PHILOSOPHY (1994).
9. See generally ANTHONY CIDDENS, THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIETY: OUTLINE OF THE THEORY OF STRUCTURATION (1984); IRA J. COHEN, STRUCTURATION THEORY: ANTHONY GIDDENS AND THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIAL LIFE (1989); ROY BHASKAR, RECLAIMING REALITY: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY (1989); ANDREW COLLIER, CRITICAL REALISM: AN INTRODUCTION TO ROY BHASKAR'S PHILOSOPHY (1994).
10. See generally ANTHONY CIDDENS, THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIETY: OUTLINE OF THE THEORY OF STRUCTURATION (1984); IRA J. COHEN, STRUCTURATION THEORY: ANTHONY GIDDENS AND THE CONSTITUTION OF SOCIAL LIFE (1989); ROY BHASKAR, RECLAIMING REALITY: A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY (1989); ANDREW COLLIER, CRITICAL REALISM: AN INTRODUCTION TO ROY BHASKAR'S PHILOSOPHY (1994).
11. See, e.g., Eva Brems, Enemies or Allies?: Feminism and Cultural Relativism as Dissident Voices in Human Rights Discourse, 19 HUM. RTS. Q. 136 (1997).
12. Including recent studies of global change. See, e.g., Stephen Gill, The Global Panopticon?: The Neoliberal State, Economic Life, and Democratic Surveillance, 20 ALTERNATIVES 1 (1995); Kate Manzo, Global Power and South African Politics: A Foucauldian Analysis, 17 ALTERNATIVES 23 (1992).
13. Including recent studies of global change. See, e.g., Stephen Gill, The Global Panopticon?: The Neoliberal State, Economic Life, and Democratic Surveillance, 20 ALTERNATIVES 1 (1995); Kate Manzo, Global Power and South African Politics: A Foucauldian Analysis, 17 ALTERNATIVES 23 (1992).
14. See STEVEN LUKES, POWER: A RADICAL VIEW (1974).
15. See MICHEL FOUCAULT, POWER/KNOWLEDGE: SELECTED INTERVIEWS AND OTHER WRITINGS 1972-1977 (1980); Michel Foucault, Afterword to HUBERT L. DREYFUS & PAUL RABINOW, MICHEL FOUCAULT: BEYOND STRUCTURALISM AND HERMENEUTICS 208 (1982).
16. See MICHEL FOUCAULT, POWER/KNOWLEDGE: SELECTED INTERVIEWS AND OTHER WRITINGS 1972-1977 (1980); Michel Foucault, Afterword to HUBERT L. DREYFUS & PAUL RABINOW, MICHEL FOUCAULT: BEYOND STRUCTURALISM AND HERMENEUTICS 208 (1982).
17. For a brief, useful discussion of this point, see Sandra Lee Bartky, Agency: What's the Problem?, in PROVOKING AGENTS: GENDER AND AGENCY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE 178, 186 (Judith Kegan Gardiner ed., 1995).
18. See LUKES, supra note 6.
19. See, for example, the definition given in ALAN SCOTT, IDEOLOGY AND THE NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 6 (1991).
20. See especially Richard Falk, The Global Promise of Social Movements: Explorations at the Edge of Time, 12 ALTERNATIVES 173 (1987); Social Movements and World Politics, MILLENIUM (Special Issue), Winter 1994.
21. See especially Richard Falk, The Global Promise of Social Movements: Explorations at the Edge of Time, 12 ALTERNATIVES 173 (1987); Social Movements and World Politics, MILLENIUM (Special Issue), Winter 1994.
22. This has been a fundamental debate in the field of social movement studies since the rise of the so-called "new social movements" in the mid-1960s. For critical analysis, see Paul D'Anieri et al., New Social Movements In Historical Perspective, 22 COMP. POL. 445 (1990); David Plotke, What's So New About New Social Movements?, 20 SOCIALIST REV. 81 (1990); Steven M. Beuchler, New Social Movement Theories, 36 Soc. Q. 441 (1995); Neil Stammers, Social Movements and the Challenge to Power, in POLITICS AND CLOBALISATION: KNOWLEDGE, ETHICS, AGENCY (Malcolm Shaw ed., forthcoming 1999).
23. This has been a fundamental debate in the field of social movement studies since the rise of the so-called "new social movements" in the mid-1960s. For critical analysis, see Paul D'Anieri et al., New Social Movements In Historical Perspective, 22 COMP. POL. 445 (1990); David Plotke, What's So New About New Social Movements?, 20 SOCIALIST REV. 81 (1990); Steven M. Beuchler, New Social Movement Theories, 36 Soc. Q. 441 (1995); Neil Stammers, Social Movements and the Challenge to Power, in POLITICS AND CLOBALISATION: KNOWLEDGE, ETHICS, AGENCY (Malcolm Shaw ed., forthcoming 1999).
24. This has been a fundamental debate in the field of social movement studies since the rise of the so-called "new social movements" in the mid-1960s. For critical analysis, see Paul D'Anieri et al., New Social Movements In Historical Perspective, 22 COMP. POL. 445 (1990); David Plotke, What's So New About New Social Movements?, 20 SOCIALIST REV. 81 (1990); Steven M. Beuchler, New Social Movement Theories, 36 Soc. Q. 441 (1995); Neil Stammers, Social Movements and the Challenge to Power, in POLITICS AND CLOBALISATION: KNOWLEDGE, ETHICS, AGENCY (Malcolm Shaw ed., forthcoming 1999).
25. This has been a fundamental debate in the field of social movement studies since the rise of the so-called "new social movements" in the mid-1960s. For critical analysis, see Paul D'Anieri et al., New Social Movements In Historical Perspective, 22 COMP. POL. 445 (1990); David Plotke, What's So New About New Social Movements?, 20 SOCIALIST REV. 81 (1990); Steven M. Beuchler, New Social Movement Theories, 36 Soc. Q. 441 (1995); Neil Stammers, Social Movements and the Challenge to Power, in POLITICS AND CLOBALISATION: KNOWLEDGE, ETHICS, AGENCY (Malcolm Shaw ed., forthcoming 1999).
26. See ALAIN TOURAINE, THE SELF-PRODUCTION OF SOCIETY (1977); ALAIN TOURAINE, THE VOICE AND THE EYE: AN ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS (1981).
27. See ALAIN TOURAINE, THE SELF-PRODUCTION OF SOCIETY (1977); ALAIN TOURAINE, THE VOICE AND THE EYE: AN ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS (1981).
28. See generally ALBERTO MELUCCI, NOMADS OF THE PRESENT: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND INDIVIDUAL NEEDS IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY (John Keane & Paul Mier eds., 1989).
29. See JEAN COHEN & ANDREW ARATO, CIVIL SOCIETY AND POLITICAL THEORY (1992).
30. See, e.g., MELUCCI, supra note 14; Alan Scott, Political Culture and Social Movements, in POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FORMS OF MODERNITY 127 (John Allen et al. eds., 1992).
31. The interest/identity dichotomy has been extensively used analytically to distinguish between "old" and "new" social movements, with "old" movements being said to be predominantly concerned with the pursuit of material interests and "new" movements being said to be much more concerned with identities. Without wishing to foreclose that debate, in switching the emphasis towards focusing on an instrumental/expressive dialectic, we can recognize that, historically, social movements have always encompassed both, at least to some extent. There was an important expressive dimension to the "old" labor movement just as there were/are clear expressive dimensions to nationalist movements - whether of the nineteenth or twentieth century varieties. On "new" dimensions of "old" movements, see Kenneth H. Tucker, How New are the New Social Movements?, 8 THEORY, CULTURE & SOC'Y., May 1991, at 75 (1991); Craig Calhoun, "New Social Movements" of the Early Nineteenth Century, 17 Soc. Sci. HIST. 385 (1993). I am also avoiding the use of the "strategy"/"identity" relation as discussed by Cohen and Arato and many others because these terms seem to relate more to distinctions arising out of the study of social movements (i.e., resource mobilization theory versus new social movement theory) rather than to distinctions within movements themselves. See generally COHEN & ARATO, supra note 15.
32. The interest/identity dichotomy has been extensively used analytically to distinguish between "old" and "new" social movements, with "old" movements being said to be predominantly concerned with the pursuit of material interests and "new" movements being said to be much more concerned with identities. Without wishing to foreclose that debate, in switching the emphasis towards focusing on an instrumental/expressive dialectic, we can recognize that, historically, social movements have always encompassed both, at least to some extent. There was an important expressive dimension to the "old" labor movement just as there were/are clear expressive dimensions to nationalist movements - whether of the nineteenth or twentieth century varieties. On "new" dimensions of "old" movements, see Kenneth H. Tucker, How New are the New Social Movements?, 8 THEORY, CULTURE & SOC'Y., May 1991, at 75 (1991); Craig Calhoun, "New Social Movements" of the Early Nineteenth Century, 17 Soc. Sci. HIST. 385 (1993). I am also avoiding the use of the "strategy"/"identity" relation as discussed by Cohen and Arato and many others because these terms seem to relate more to distinctions arising out of the study of social movements (i.e., resource mobilization theory versus new social movement theory) rather than to distinctions within movements themselves. See generally COHEN & ARATO, supra note 15.
33. David Beetham, Introduction: Human Rights in the Study of Politics, in POLITICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS 1, 8 (David Beetham ed., 1995).
34. See generally A GLOBAL CHALLENGE, supra note 2.
35. See Weston, supra note 2.
36. Interesting exceptions are Fields & Narr, supra note 1; Blomley, supra note 2; Alan Hunt, Rights and Social Movements: Counter-Hegemonic Strategies, 17 J.L. & Soc'v 309 (1990); Nikhil Aziz, The Human Rights Debate in an Era of Globalization: Hegemony of Discourse, 27 BULL. CONCERNED ASIAN SCHOLARS, Oct.-Dec. 1995, at 9; J.L. Richardson, Contending Liberalisms: Past and Present, 3 EUR. J. OF INT'L REL. 5 (1997).
37. Interesting exceptions are Fields & Narr, supra note 1; Blomley, supra note 2; Alan Hunt, Rights and Social Movements: Counter-Hegemonic Strategies, 17 J.L. & Soc'v 309 (1990); Nikhil Aziz, The Human Rights Debate in an Era of Globalization: Hegemony of Discourse, 27 BULL. CONCERNED ASIAN SCHOLARS, Oct.-Dec. 1995, at 9; J.L. Richardson, Contending Liberalisms: Past and Present, 3 EUR. J. OF INT'L REL. 5 (1997).
38. Interesting exceptions are Fields & Narr, supra note 1; Blomley, supra note 2; Alan Hunt, Rights and Social Movements: Counter-Hegemonic Strategies, 17 J.L. & Soc'v 309 (1990); Nikhil Aziz, The Human Rights Debate in an Era of Globalization: Hegemony of Discourse, 27 BULL. CONCERNED ASIAN SCHOLARS, Oct.-Dec. 1995, at 9; J.L. Richardson, Contending Liberalisms: Past and Present, 3 EUR. J. OF INT'L REL. 5 (1997).
39. See Amy Bartholomew & Margit Mayer, Nomads of the Present: Melucci's Contribution to "New Social Movement" Theory, 9 THEORY, CULTURE & SOC'Y., Nov. 1992, at 141. This is a point that is rarely made. Yet, in an interesting review of Nomads of the Present, Bartholomew and Mayer suggest that Melucci fails to address the "expressive" dimension of rights discourses because he "erects an overly sharp dichotomy between political-strategic-instrumental action and political representation on the one hand and everyday life, culture, identity formation and symbolic challenges on the other." Id. at 154.
40. See Hunt, supra note 21, at 314.
41. See, e.g., JACK DONNELLY, UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN THEORY & PRACTICE 28-29 (1989); Margaret Macdonald, Natural Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS 40 (A.I. Melden ed., 1970); Kenneth Minogue, The History of the Idea of Human Rights, in THE HUMAN RIGHTS READER 3, 5 (Walter Laqueur & Barry Rubin eds., 1979).
42. See, e.g., JACK DONNELLY, UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN THEORY & PRACTICE 28-29 (1989); Margaret Macdonald, Natural Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS 40 (A.I. Melden ed., 1970); Kenneth Minogue, The History of the Idea of Human Rights, in THE HUMAN RIGHTS READER 3, 5 (Walter Laqueur & Barry Rubin eds., 1979).
43. See, e.g., JACK DONNELLY, UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN THEORY & PRACTICE 28-29 (1989); Margaret Macdonald, Natural Rights, in HUMAN RIGHTS 40 (A.I. Melden ed., 1970); Kenneth Minogue, The History of the Idea of Human Rights, in THE HUMAN RIGHTS READER 3, 5 (Walter Laqueur & Barry Rubin eds., 1979).
44. See Richardson, supra note 21, at 8.
45. Id.
46. Peter Laslett, Introduction to JOHN LOCKE, Two TREATISES OF GOVERNMENT 3, 21 (Peter Laslett ed., Cambridge Univ. Press 1988) (1690).
47. Weston, supra note 2, at 19.
48. The origins of the formulation of a people's right to national self-determination can be found in the early declarations of natural rights, but its modern form only developed after World War I, following Woodrow Wilson's "14 point speech" and the emergence of anti-imperialist movements.
49. MELUCI, supra note 14, at 76. Melucci explains this capacity in terms of what he calls contemporary social movements. I am therefore proposing a much wider applicability.
50. See, e.g., Weston, supra note 2; DONNELLY, supra note 24; RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE SEARCH FOR COMMUNITY (1995); Susan Mendus, Human Rights in Political Theory, in POLITICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS 10, supra note 18.
51. See, e.g., Weston, supra note 2; DONNELLY, supra note 24; RHODA E. HOWARD, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE SEARCH FOR COMMUNITY (1995); Susan Mendus, Human Rights in Political Theory, in POLITICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS 10, supra note 18.
52. The suggestion that we have human rights "simply because we are human" is articulated most explicitly by Jack Donnelly and Rhoda Howard. See generally DONNELLY, supra note 24; HOWARD, supra note 31. The works of John Vincent and Henry Shue can also be described as "social-democratic" in orientation. See, e.g., HENRY SHUE, BASIC RIGHTS: SUBSISTENCE, AFFLUENCE AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY (1980); R.J. VINCENT, HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (1986). These points are taken up in Stammers, A Critique, supra note 2.
53. The suggestion that we have human rights "simply because we are human" is articulated most explicitly by Jack Donnelly and Rhoda Howard. See generally DONNELLY, supra note 24; HOWARD, supra note 31. The works of John Vincent and Henry Shue can also be described as "social-democratic" in orientation. See, e.g., HENRY SHUE, BASIC RIGHTS: SUBSISTENCE, AFFLUENCE AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY (1980); R.J. VINCENT, HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (1986). These points are taken up in Stammers, A Critique, supra note 2.
54. The suggestion that we have human rights "simply because we are human" is articulated most explicitly by Jack Donnelly and Rhoda Howard. See generally DONNELLY, supra note 24; HOWARD, supra note 31. The works of John Vincent and Henry Shue can also be described as "social-democratic" in orientation. See, e.g., HENRY SHUE, BASIC RIGHTS: SUBSISTENCE, AFFLUENCE AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY (1980); R.J. VINCENT, HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (1986). These points are taken up in Stammers, A Critique, supra note 2.
55. DONNELLY, supra note 24, at 14.
56. This is overwhelmingly so, even though occasionally some obligations are placed on other bodies such as the United Nations and NGOs. See, e.g., Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted 18 Dec./ 1979, G.A. Res. 34/180, U.N. GAOR, 34th Sess., Supp. No. 46, U.N. Doc. A/34/46 (1980) (entered into force 3 Sept. 1981), reprinted in 19 I.L.M. 33 (1980); Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development, and Peace, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, U.N. GAOR, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.177/20 (1995) (recommended to the UN General Assembly by the Committee on the Status of Women on 7 Oct. 1995), reprinted in THE HUMAN RIGHTS READER: MAJOR POLITICAL WRITINGS, ESSAYS, SPEECHES, AND DOCUMENTS FROM THE BIBLE TO THE PRESENT 491 (Micheline R. Ishay ed., 1995) [hereinafter MAJOR POLITICAL WRITINGS].
57. This is overwhelmingly so, even though occasionally some obligations are placed on other bodies such as the United Nations and NGOs. See, e.g., Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted 18 Dec./ 1979, G.A. Res. 34/180, U.N. GAOR, 34th Sess., Supp. No. 46, U.N. Doc. A/34/46 (1980) (entered into force 3 Sept. 1981), reprinted in 19 I.L.M. 33 (1980); Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development, and Peace, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, U.N. GAOR, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.177/20 (1995) (recommended to the UN General Assembly by the Committee on the Status of Women on 7 Oct. 1995), reprinted in THE HUMAN RIGHTS READER: MAJOR POLITICAL WRITINGS, ESSAYS, SPEECHES, AND DOCUMENTS FROM THE BIBLE TO THE PRESENT 491 (Micheline R. Ishay ed., 1995) [hereinafter MAJOR POLITICAL WRITINGS].
58. This is overwhelmingly so, even though occasionally some obligations are placed on other bodies such as the United Nations and NGOs. See, e.g., Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted 18 Dec./ 1979, G.A. Res. 34/180, U.N. GAOR, 34th Sess., Supp. No. 46, U.N. Doc. A/34/46 (1980) (entered into force 3 Sept. 1981), reprinted in 19 I.L.M. 33 (1980); Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development, and Peace, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, U.N. GAOR, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.177/20 (1995) (recommended to the UN General Assembly by the Committee on the Status of Women on 7 Oct. 1995), reprinted in THE HUMAN RIGHTS READER: MAJOR POLITICAL WRITINGS, ESSAYS, SPEECHES, AND DOCUMENTS FROM THE BIBLE TO THE PRESENT 491 (Micheline R. Ishay ed., 1995) [hereinafter MAJOR POLITICAL WRITINGS].
59. See HOWARD, supra note 31; Richard A. Wilson, Human Rights, Culture and Context: An Introduction, in HUMAN RIGHTS, CULTURE & CONTEXT: ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 1 (Richard A. Wilson ed., 1997) [hereinafter ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES].
60. See, e.g., MICHAEL WALZER, JUST AND UNJUST WARS: A MORAL ARGUMENT WITH HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS (2d ed. 1992); Michael Walzer, The Moral Standing of States: A Response to Four Critics, 9 PHIL. & PUB. AFF. 209 (1980).
61. See, e.g., MICHAEL WALZER, JUST AND UNJUST WARS: A MORAL ARGUMENT WITH HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS (2d ed. 1992); Michael Walzer, The Moral Standing of States: A Response to Four Critics, 9 PHIL. & PUB. AFF. 209 (1980).
62. See, e.g., John H. Simpson, "The Great Reversal": Selves, Communities and the Global System, 57 Soc. RELIGION 115 (1996).
63. This is not, of course, true of all Marxist approaches. See, e.g., E.P. THOMPSON, THE SECRET STATE, State Research Pamphlet No.1 (1979); Hunt, supra note 21.
64. See, e.g., HUMAN RIGHTS: CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES (Adamantia Pollis & Peter Schwab eds., 1980) [hereinafter CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES].
65. Pheng Cheah, Posit(ion)ing Human Rights, 9 PUB. CULTURE 233 (1997).
66. Gill, supra note 5, at 1.
67. Fields & Narr, supra note 1.
68. Id. at 3 (emphasis added).
69. See Wilson, supra note 35.
70. Id. at 14.
71. Id. at 16 (emphasis added).
72. See, e.g., Gill, supra note 5; CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES, supra note 39; Rajni Kothari, Globalization: A World Adrift, 22 ALTERNATIVES 227 (1997).
73. DONNELLY, supra note 24, at 29.
74. Blomley, supra note 2, at 413.
75. Id. at 412.
76. KARL MARX, On the Jewish Question, in KARL MARX: SELECTED WRITINGS 39 (David McLellan ed., 1977).
77. Richard A. Wilson, Representing Human Rights Violations: Social Contexts and Subjectivities, in ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES, supra note 35, at 134, 134.
78. Wilson, supra note 35, at 16. See generally Wilson, supra note 52.
79. WENDY BROWN, STATES OF INJURY: POWER AND FREEDOM IN LATE MODERNITY 96 (1995).
80. See, for example, Weber's perspective on increasing rationalization. FROM MAX WEBER: ESSAYS IN SOCIOLOGY (Hans H. Gerth & C. Wright Mills eds., 1970). The classic, if flawed, work on organization and oligarchy is ROBERT MICHELS, POLITICAL PARTIES: A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE OLIGARCHICAL TENDENCIES OF MODERN DEMOCRACY (1962). In respect of social movements, see Mayer N. Zald & Roberta Ash, Social Movement Organizations: Growth, Decay and Change, in STUDIES IN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 461 (Barry McLaughlin ed., 1969); Karl-Werner Brand, Cyclical Aspects of New Social Movements: Waves of Cultural Criticism and Mobilization Cycles of New Middle-class Radicalism, in CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL ORDER: NEW SOCIAL AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN WESTERN DEMOCRACIES 23 (Russell J. Dalton & Manfred Kuechler eds., 1990) [hereinafter CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL ORDER]; Claus Offe, Reflections on the Institutional Self-transformation of Movement Politics: A Tentative Stage Model, in CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL ORDER, supra, at 232.
81. See, for example, Weber's perspective on increasing rationalization. FROM MAX WEBER: ESSAYS IN SOCIOLOGY (Hans H. Gerth & C. Wright Mills eds., 1970). The classic, if flawed, work on organization and oligarchy is ROBERT MICHELS, POLITICAL PARTIES: A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE OLIGARCHICAL TENDENCIES OF MODERN DEMOCRACY (1962). In respect of social movements, see Mayer N. Zald & Roberta Ash, Social Movement Organizations: Growth, Decay and Change, in STUDIES IN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 461 (Barry McLaughlin ed., 1969); Karl-Werner Brand, Cyclical Aspects of New Social Movements: Waves of Cultural Criticism and Mobilization Cycles of New Middle-class Radicalism, in CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL ORDER: NEW SOCIAL AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN WESTERN DEMOCRACIES 23 (Russell J. Dalton & Manfred Kuechler eds., 1990) [hereinafter CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL ORDER]; Claus Offe, Reflections on the Institutional Self-transformation of Movement Politics: A Tentative Stage Model, in CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL ORDER, supra, at 232.
82. See, for example, Weber's perspective on increasing rationalization. FROM MAX WEBER: ESSAYS IN SOCIOLOGY (Hans H. Gerth & C. Wright Mills eds., 1970). The classic, if flawed, work on organization and oligarchy is ROBERT MICHELS, POLITICAL PARTIES: A SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE OLIGARCHICAL TENDENCIES OF MODERN DEMOCRACY (1962). In respect of social movements, see Mayer N. Zald & Roberta Ash, Social Movement Organizations: Growth, Decay and Change, in STUDIES IN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS 461 (Barry McLaughlin ed., 1969); Karl-Werner Brand, Cyclical Aspects of New Social Movements: Waves of Cultural Criticism and Mobilization Cycles of New Middle-class Radicalism, in CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL ORDER: NEW SOCIAL AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN WESTERN DEMOCRACIES 23 (Russell J. Dalton & Manfred Kuechler eds., 1990) [hereinafter CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL ORDER]; Claus Offe, Reflections on the Institutional Self-transformation of Movement Politics: A Tentative Stage Model, in CHALLENGING THE POLITICAL ORDER, supra, at 232.
83. See, e.g., Stammers, Human Rights, supra note 2.
84. This understanding is drawn from works such as ANTHONY GIDDENS, THE CONSEQUENCES OF MODERNITY (1991); DAVID HELD, DEMOCRACY AND THE GLOBAL ORDER: FROM THE MODERN STATE TO COSMOPOLITAN GOVERNANCE (1995); THE TRANSFORMATION OF DEMOCRACY?: GLOBALIZATION AND TERRITORIAL DEMOCRACY (Anthony McGrew ed., 1997); MODERNITY AND ITS FUTURES (Stuart Hall et al. eds., 1992).
85. This understanding is drawn from works such as ANTHONY GIDDENS, THE CONSEQUENCES OF MODERNITY (1991); DAVID HELD, DEMOCRACY AND THE GLOBAL ORDER: FROM THE MODERN STATE TO COSMOPOLITAN GOVERNANCE (1995); THE TRANSFORMATION OF DEMOCRACY?: GLOBALIZATION AND TERRITORIAL DEMOCRACY (Anthony McGrew ed., 1997); MODERNITY AND ITS FUTURES (Stuart Hall et al. eds., 1992).
86. This understanding is drawn from works such as ANTHONY GIDDENS, THE CONSEQUENCES OF MODERNITY (1991); DAVID HELD, DEMOCRACY AND THE GLOBAL ORDER: FROM THE MODERN STATE TO COSMOPOLITAN GOVERNANCE (1995); THE TRANSFORMATION OF DEMOCRACY?: GLOBALIZATION AND TERRITORIAL DEMOCRACY (Anthony McGrew ed., 1997); MODERNITY AND ITS FUTURES (Stuart Hall et al. eds., 1992).
87. This understanding is drawn from works such as ANTHONY GIDDENS, THE CONSEQUENCES OF MODERNITY (1991); DAVID HELD, DEMOCRACY AND THE GLOBAL ORDER: FROM THE MODERN STATE TO COSMOPOLITAN GOVERNANCE (1995); THE TRANSFORMATION OF DEMOCRACY?: GLOBALIZATION AND TERRITORIAL DEMOCRACY (Anthony McGrew ed., 1997); MODERNITY AND ITS FUTURES (Stuart Hall et al. eds., 1992).
88. In contrast to the oft asserted interdependence and indivisibility of all human rights. See, e.g., Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, U.N. GAOR, World Conf. on Hum. Rts., 48th Sess., 22d plen. mtg., art. 5, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.157/24 (1993), reprinted in 32 I.L.M. 1661 (1993). See also MAJOR POLITICAL WRITINGS, supra note 34, at 479, 482. The slogan for the 50th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights is likewise "All human rights for all," supposedly highlighting "the universality, the indivisibility and the interrelationship of all human rights" and reinforcing the idea that all human rights "should be taken in their totality and not disassociated from one another." Press release DPI/1937/A - 97-33083 - Feb. 1998, UN Department of Public Information (on file with author).
89. For the debate on "Asian values," see, for example, Joseph Chan, The Asian Challenge to Universal Human Rights: A Philosophical Appraisal, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION 25 (James T.H. Tang ed., 1995); CHANDRA MUZAFFAR, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER (1993); Tom Young, Rights as Discourse and Practice in Contemporary Politics and International Relations, paper presented at the 25th Anniversary Conference of Millenium, held at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 17th-19th Oct. 1996 (on file with author).
90. For the debate on "Asian values," see, for example, Joseph Chan, The Asian Challenge to Universal Human Rights: A Philosophical Appraisal, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION 25 (James T.H. Tang ed., 1995); CHANDRA MUZAFFAR, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER (1993); Tom Young, Rights as Discourse and Practice in Contemporary Politics and International Relations, paper presented at the 25th Anniversary Conference of Millenium, held at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 17th-19th Oct. 1996 (on file with author).
91. For the debate on "Asian values," see, for example, Joseph Chan, The Asian Challenge to Universal Human Rights: A Philosophical Appraisal, in HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION 25 (James T.H. Tang ed., 1995); CHANDRA MUZAFFAR, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER (1993); Tom Young, Rights as Discourse and Practice in Contemporary Politics and International Relations, paper presented at the 25th Anniversary Conference of Millenium, held at the London School of Economics and Political Science, 17th-19th Oct. 1996 (on file with author).
92. Kothari, supra note 47, at 228.
93. Argued strongly by, for example, DONNELLY, supra note 24. See also Stammers, A Critique, supra note 2.
94. See SHUE, supra note 32; VINCENT, supra note 32.
95. HELD, supra note 57.
96. Id. at 204 n.5.
97. Id. at 222.
98. Id. at 286.
99. Hunt makes the interesting point that the social democratic project in respect of economic and social rights, rather than empowering dignified rights holders, has, instead, created welfare state "supplicants." See generally Hunt, supra note 21.
100. COMMISSION ON GLOBAL GOVERNANCE, OUR GLOBAL NEIGHBOURHOOD 56 (1995).
101. MELUCCI, supra note 14, at 76.
102. See, e.g., Falk, supra note 11; Richardson, supra note 21; Aziz, supra note 21.
103. Aziz, supra note 21, at 14.
104. Stammers, supra note 12.
105. VINCENT, supra note 32, at 102.
106. Devlin, supra note 2, at 998-99.